I train horses for Hollywood and celebrities like Beyoncé and the Kardashians. The horses prepare just like actors and get scripts to memorize their parts.

• Carlotta Montanari started her horse training company, Four Legs on Set, three years ago.
• Since then she's landed huge clients like Beyoncé and the Kardashians.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Carlotta Montanari, owner of horse training company Four Legs on Set. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been in the entertainment business for 25 years as an actress — but as much as I love acting, the best day of my life on set was when I booked a commercial where I had to work with a horse for the first time.

The experience was so healing and beautiful for me that I decided I would start to rescue horses. After that, I adopted my first horse, Mumbo.

I rescued four horses and realized I needed an excuse to spend more time with my horses — I wanted to be on set with them everyday. So I formed my horse training company for Hollywood productions, Four Legs on Set, almost three years ago.

I had no idea my horse training company would become such a great success. I started out by making little kids' dreams come true at birthday parties, and before I knew it I was on Hollywood sets surrounded by incredible clients.

In such a short time, we've been able to serve clients like Chanel, the Kardashians, Beyoncé, Amazon, Sony and so many others.

I provide both glamor horses and trick horses: Glamor horses are hired for their beauty, while trick horses perform tricks on set.

Our fees vary widely based on the number of wranglers needed, whether or not there's travel involved and the length of the shoot.

We mostly provide horses for photo shoots, film, television, and commercials, but I've also provided horses for proposals — I once helped a man recreate his proposal to his wife of 32 years on horseback, for her birthday.

We do a lot of photo shoots that last an hour or two and we charge between $500 and $1,000 per hour, but we also have jobs that last days that cost around $25,000 in total.

I've worked with actors and singers who are afraid of horses

The most fascinating part of the job for me is the few minutes I have when we first arrive to quickly analyze the psychology of the client we're working with.

Within minutes, I need to make them feel comfortable and really give them all the knowledge they need in order for them to do their job and work with the horse. I tell performers that while horses are big and possibly intimidating, they're really like big puppies.

Working with people who have a fear of horses is a very interesting part of my job, but I enjoy finding out how to gain their trust. When they learn to trust me, I can work on building a bond between them and my horse.

I once worked on two episodes of a TV show with a big celebrity who is well-known to be scared of horses — but she really loved horses in her work. Her first experience with a horse involved a bad fall, and that stayed with her.

For this project, she had to pose next to a Friesian, which is a big, long-haired horse. I made sure I was right there next to her, and held her hand through it. I explained to her, "This is how he moves, because his body weight is so big."

She wanted to hug his face in the shot, so I helped her place her hands the way I knew the horse was most comfortable, and they were both able to become comfortable with one another.

Even though she was a little bit intimidated, by the end, she wanted to cuddle with him. They looked wonderful and very natural together on camera.

My horses prepare just like actors — we start with the script and have to be prepared for any last-minute changes on set

The moment one or more of my horses are hired, I get the script. I prepare my horse so that when we get to set, they know what they're going to do, and what the talent needs to do on the horse or next to the horse.

A simple example would be a music video where the singer will sing on top of the horse, while wearing a weird dress or a big, unique wig.

Some horses don't need much preparation for something like that because they're very experienced. For those horses who may not have ever had an umbrella on their head, I need to expose them to that a few days beforehand.

If I know that the horse needs to run, and then at the end of his run, he needs to rear on two legs, then I rehearse that with the horse in the days leading up to going on set.

Often though, a director will switch things up and say something like, "I want the horse to rear" at the last minute — but maybe we had been told the horse wouldn't be rearing that day, and we haven't practiced that. That's okay too.

The most complicated thing about horse handling for production is to train a horse to do something on cue in a foreign location and surrounded by a set, lighting, cameras, and hundreds of people.

Assuming that the horse we have is a rearing horse (not all horses rear), I ask for a few minutes and I do it two times with the horse by myself, on the set. In those few minutes, I talk to the horse and tell them lovingly what we're going to do.

The horse memorizes what it needs to do because of the great relationship we have — because of my presence, the horse feels comfortable. So I make sure I'm on every set for every job with my horses. I do have a team, but sometimes I'm a one-woman show.

There is a lot of pressure when you're on set — a lot is being demanded of you and your horse, and you're being paid to get the horse to do something. But no matter how much pressure there is, I will never let that push me to abandon my philosophy of gentle interactions with my horses.

I always find a way to make the scene happen, but there are things my company doesn't do. For instance, we never do Westerns because I don't do scenes where the horse falls down or gets injured.

We also don't do very long projects. Take the series "Yellowstone", for example — horses go on location and stay there for months. I like to be able to take my horses to work and then bring them home.

The hardest part of being on set is when people forget horses are living, breathing beings

Anxiousness can happen with any horse, but it's especially common for stallions, as they are more sensitive. When you're in a place that's new or different to them, they might need some time to adjust.

Every horse is different, but some of them relax when they can walk around. Other horses might relax with a treat, while others might like a cuddle. I just listen to the horse's needs and try to take their mind off things until they're ready.

You would think the hardest part of horse handling on set is when someone is scared, but it's really about the patience of those on set.

Proving to the talent that the horse is capable of performing and has their back safely is not difficult for me. The difficulty is when there's not a good understanding from the production about the horse's needs.

It's happened only a couple of times where, in the moment, the director (usually not the artist) doesn't understand that a horse is not a statue and they have to be more flexible with time when working with horses.

If we're having a photo shoot, the production has to be mindful that horses need to shift their balance, and walk and move. Sometimes that adds extra time, which is inevitable when you're working with another living thing.

Horse training in Hollywood requires a strong love of horses, because it's not an instant cash-in

Owning production horses is a big decision and responsibility. But if your goal is to be a wrangler on set, you don't need to own your own horses — you can go and learn from companies who exist already.

If you want to break into this job, finding people whose work you respect and want to emulate is the right way to go. Work with trainers and learn the business, but do it out of a genuine love for horses. If you don't have the passion and patience, your interest will run its course.

It takes time to build a relationship with horses and to build relationships in the industry. This is not a job that will make you a millionaire — you have to have the fire and passion for it because money will not support the work enough to keep you going. A Hollywood horse wrangler can be a starving artist just like any other.

If you work in Hollywood and would like to share your story, email Eboni Boykin-Patterson at eboykinpatterson@insider.com.