Training men and horses

Hank Curry is a trainer. But it's sometimes hard to tell which is the most difficult part of his job: taming the mustangs or the prisoners.

"It's a tough battle," he said. "I used to always tell novice riders to use an experienced horse. That's not an option here, so the guys and the horses are learning together."

Curry, 53, has been working for nearly a year with inmates at Warm Springs Correctional Center in the horse-training program. Once wild horses are rounded up off Nevada ranges, some are sent to the prison where they are gentled before being adopted by members of the general public.

"It's a very good opportunity for everyone involved," he said. "I've seen these guys' personalities change as they work with the horses.

"Some of these guys have come in with a little bit of a hot head. If you lose your temper, you're going to lose ground rather than gain ground. These horses have been in the wild their whole lives. If you want to get tough with them, they'll get tough right back."

Curry started breaking horses with his father in Thousand Oaks, Calif., around the age of 12.

He worked as a carpenter in a casino for 25 years to pay the bills but never gave up on horse training.

"It's always been my passion," he said. "I just grew up doing it my whole life."

He was hired for the training position at the correctional center in October and works with a group of 15 inmates at a time.

"It's worked out that I can make a living doing it and get benefits for my family," he said.

Although he said it can be challenging to work with the inmates, the experience has been mostly positive.

"They've been a pretty good bunch of guys to work with," he said. "The guys have initiative and most of them have had pretty good records in prison."

The more experienced men work with the horses at first. Then as the horses gentle, the lesser-experienced inmates take over.

Before becoming part of the program, inmates must pass a personal background check, an interview and have a clean prison record.

Even then, participants will be removed from the program if they do not work well with the horses or other inmates.

And they must show dedication to the job.

"You can't get a horse broke unless you're consistent in your training," Curry said. "You have to stay after it."