Following Brenda Oldstrom's instructions, Bradley M. Fletcher (Alan) and Rachel Simpson (Jill) learn how to bridle a horse.

Brenda and Mark Oldstrom are counselors in Bloomington and, when time permits after work and on weekends, avid horseowners and riders. They have two fine horses which are stabled on a farm near their home in Elletsville, and they were kind enough to invite some of our Equus company to meet their animals. On a Sunday afternoon in September, a small caravan drove from the IUB campus to the Oldstrom's stable, where Brenda Oldstrom discussed horses and their care with many of the cast members who play horses, as well as Rachel Simpson (Jill), Bradley M. Fletcher (Alan), and Brian G. Gartz (Harry)—the cast members who handle horses. Murray McGibbon, director, Shawn Johnson, the Equus stage manager, and Tom Shafer, dramaturg, also accompanied them.
      Brenda Oldstrom loves horses and shared her regard and respect for the animals as she instructed actors on horse behavior, care, and safety. The objective of the visit was to help the cast of Equus learn appropriate behaviors and actions that horses and humans use around one another. The "horse actors" studied the ways horses walked, stood, held their legs at rest, shifted their weight, and moved their heads. The "human actors" attended to specific actions that they employ in the play: Rachel and Bradley thoroughly brushed a horse, learning the shape of the horse's back and the way to hold a brush and curry comb.

Brian G. Hartz kneels, balances, and delicately, yet firmly, cleans out a horse's hoof with a hoof pick.

Brian learned the techniques of cleaning a horse's hoof with a hoof pick, avoiding the heart-shaped center of the hoof-the frog-the living tissue of the hoof itself. It took him a few tries to master the balance and posture necessary to use the hoof pick with some authority. Brad learned how to bridle a horse, memorizing the motion and placement that would serve his miming of the action on stage.
       "This kind of exercise can be vitally helpful to an actor," Murray McGibbon said. "They'll be basing their actions on a reality they simply cannot get from reading or watching films. Indeed, some of these people have never been around a horse before, and this experience will simply inform and ground their acting."
      After an hour or so of learning and horseplay, the theatre company thanked Brenda Oldstrom for her help and for sharing her horses. As they made their way to their IU van, it was apparent that Ms. Oldstrom had managed to share her enthusiasm about horses in a meaningful way. "I wonder what my dad would say," one of the cast members said, not completely joking, "if I asked him for a horse?"