Crossroads Ranch

05/28/2026

Crossroads Ranch is proud of our youngest! My grand daughter Lorelei’s first leadline class. Thank you to Kat and Bill for letting her ride Fire! Thank you Rebecca for organizing this for Lorelei! 💙

05/27/2026

So proud of Aegon! What a first show we are having!

05/27/2026

A good horsewoman doesn’t always measure success by the ribbon. Proud of Aegon, proud of our round, and proud of how far we’ve come together as a team. Aegon brought his whole heart into that ring today. Fifth in Amateur Geldings.

05/27/2026

Crossroads Ranch is at Tryon International Equestrian Center this week showing Aegon in the Magnolia Summer Classic Gypsy Vanner horse show.

05/18/2026

One of the things that makes our programs different is that we do not just train riders and horses. We study behavior.

Lost person behavior matters in search operations. Fear, exhaustion, injury, stress, terrain, and psychology all influence how people move and respond when they are missing. Horses often recognize environmental changes and abnormalities long before humans consciously process them. These are all reasons mounted search teams are so valuable.

At , our approach combines horsemanship, forensic science, forensic psychology, and specifically lost person behavior into real world mounted response training.

Science leads so connection can follow.

Explore how lost person behavior, forensic psychology, and mounted search operations intersect through the science based lens of the Equine Investigator and Forensic Horsemanship.

05/15/2026

Some of the biggest breakthroughs I have had with horses came the moment I stopped asking, “How do I stop this behavior?” and started asking, “Why does this behavior exist in the first place?”

Horses are not mind readers. They respond to pressure, timing, consistency, emotion, environment, and predictability. Too often humans label horses difficult, stubborn, reactive, or disconnected when the horse is simply responding logically to something we failed to recognize. That is the foundation of Forensic Horsemanship.

As an Equine Investigator, I approach horses the same way I approach suspicious deaths: evidence first. Science matters. Psychology matters. Observation matters. And when we truly understand the horse, connection becomes authentic instead of forced.

Science leads so connection can follow.

New blog now live on The Equine Investigator.

👉 Link in the comments

Dr. Laura Pettler explores equine psychology, behavior, and connection through the lens of Forensic Horsemanship where science, evidence, and understanding create stronger horse human partnerships.

05/06/2026

We are so grateful Arya is home.

04/22/2026

Baby XR Tullius loves “Uncle Enos—The Fun Uncle”, who let him cuddle and crawl all over while Enos did Tully’s feet. 😂💙🐴

❤️💞❤️