Late  Spring  2003 - Newsletter

www.horsewhisperer.com

SPRINGTIME GREETINGS
from
DANCES WITH HORSES

I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying springtime and horses with plenty of energy. We’re presently en route back to Idaho from Florida. We’ve been crossing the country, conducting private horse clinics and various other gigs along the way. I’m finding common issues with horse owners who have done very little riding during the wintertime and are desperately in need of ground exercises to bring their horses up to safety speed.

Zion Farms

If there is ever a time to use the 7-Step Safety System, it's during spring months, when horses haven't been handled in a while and are feeling great with all the new green grass and warmer weather. As well, vastly changing weather that’s warm, even hot one day, then blustery, rainy, and cool the next. This really whipsaws horses into different mood swings and levels of energy on almost a daily basis.

We just completed a one-day intensive clinic at beautiful Zion Farms in Rome, Georgia. This is a magnificent area during spring, year around for that matter, but it’s hot and humid in the summer.

Check out Zion Farms at www.zionfarms.com

We had a variety of riders and horses, from a statuesque seven-year-old thoroughbred gelding, to a six-year-old pony with bad manners, to a very pushy - really a bully - paint racking horse with incredible gaits and lots of potential. In most cases, the owners were in way over their heads and lacked the knowledge and skills to address these issues.

Horses will invariably take over and will literally lead the dance if given half a chance. And that was exactly the case there. It got progressively worse from there to the point where these horses literally ran over and knocked down their owners, hurting and intimidating them. These owners not only didn't have the skills for better handling of their horses, but also most were afraid to get appropriately tough with their " little babies" who had the full potential to hurt them seriously. I jumped right into it, took over and showed them how to lead properly. I had the horses' respect in seconds but the minute the horse goes back to the owner, it invariably begins to backslide. (You all know exactly what I'm talking about.)

We eventually made great progress and had everyone riding their horses in control by end of the day but this is a far too typical occurrence, I find, and exactly what our program is about – spreading the word about safety with horses and proper horse handling. Many of these folks were not matched well to their horses to begin with and that’s far too often the case. I cannot stress how important that issue is. Start with a decent horse, not a " basket case" with little or poor handling, and you’ll get better results.

It is important to remember that slack in the rope is your friend when leading a horse. If you are leading the horse and incorrectly hanging onto that lead line right under the horse’s chin, you have no leeway to work with if the horse acts up, plus you have the horse right on top of you dangerously. Conversely, with a couple of feet of lead rope between you and the horse, you have a useful tool to keep the horse in his space while respecting your space, as well. For a too-pushy horse, swing the end of the lead rope in front of the horse, like a propeller, and you’ll set it up for the horse to walk into it uncomfortably if he decides to lead the dance. Pretty quickly the horse figures out that it is infinitely more comfortable to stay farther behind.

All unwanted behavior is easily fixed by setting the horse up properly. If the horse hits a brick wall with a specific undesirable behavior, he’ll change. But your timing has got to be split-second accurate there. Have your plan in place and be poised to put it right to work. Understand the theory behind what you are doing. Learn the technique well and improve your timing. The outcome is that a horse that clearly understands just what you want and what you don't want.

California American Horse Trainers  Group Symposium

The end of March found Alex and I in Temecula, California, participating in a symposium with the American Horse Trainers Group. Unfortunately, the symposium took place the same weekend that the war with Iraq began. Bad timing. As a result, the event was poorly attended, but nonetheless well performed by all the AHTG trainers. The attendants received a whole lot for their buck with lots of time to talk with us one-on-one.

I performed the Seven Steps on a two-year-old quarter horse gelding of reining breeding who only had about a month of riding on him. The horse came along well and didn't really have any glaring issues. The next day, I was scheduled to tackle problem solving, but started with foal handling as Josh Lyons brought a youngster from across the street, and the horse needed to get right to work. I plugged the little chestnut right into the program and had him doing the Seven Steps magnificently within a half hour, including foot handling.

Issues of the various horses I was given to work with included: clippers, ear handling, pull back, and ground manners. The clipper issue was the biggest problem with one of the horses who allegedly " couldn't be clipped." Now, this was a good-sized, very strong quarter horse that would melt down and quickly take over when given the chance. I only saw him react that way once, and I had my ammo ready. The moment that horse showed his ugly side, I assertively backed him, while making the loud " shhhhhhhhhh" noise, then paused to let it sink in. He looked bewildered, seemingly saying, " Well no one ever got tough like that before!" Then, he dropped his head, licked his lips, and we went back to work with the clippers. It was all about advance/retreat with the cordless clippers. Up the neck from the withers and back down I worked. Waving the clippers out front, off and on, helped to desensitize him to the noise. Within about fifteen minutes, that horse was calmly accepting the clippers right up by his ears and under his chin.

I didn't do a lot of clipping, as my goal really was about planting the seed that it was all right, no need to be frightened, and I worked to build that confidence in him to handle all future clippings. The crowd loved it and the owner was astonished. She'd never even tried to clip the horse, but had heard it was impossible to do with this horse. Interesting how a couple of failures by inexperienced trainers had people believing they can't do something! You can desensitize a horse to anything if you follow this advance/retreat route.

I held private sessions the rest of the week in California. Many were similar to the situations I mentioned earlier, with owners in over their heads with horses they probably shouldn't own. I also worked with " trainers" who knew little and were completely intimidated by their horses. Invariably, respect in leading, the remarkably effective Seven Steps, and the one-rein stop bring these people along light-years ahead in their learning curves.

Since we in the American Horse Trainers Group teach " training tools you can use," we learned some valuable methods from each other. In some of my private sessions later, I applied a new technique I learned from Josh Lyons at the symposium when he started a two-year-old Arab filly. I was dealing with a six-year-old quarter horse gelding who had very high energy and was easily spooked. He already had dumped his owner dangerously several times. Now, this was one freaked-out horse that melted down with the desensitizing step and especially with the plastic bag on the end of an extendable wand.

I worked with the horse one afternoon and made good headway, but when it came time to saddle, I found a very bad saddle fit. Actually, Clay Harper was with me and he did the saddle assessment. Clay is an expert at this very important aspect and he does an excellent saddle-fitting demo at our AHTG Symposiums. We tried two saddles with this gelding, and both were far too tight in the shoulders/wither area. We then made an appointment for the next day while the owner located another wider-tree saddle. Later, with the new saddle, the horse was much improved. The saddle fit reasonably well.

Then I used a technique learned from Josh that involves tying a rope or lariat to the horn of the saddle. As the horse moves around the round pen, I pulled on the rope, emulating saddle movement and the binding of the girth. This was challenging and it took old Red a few laps to settle into it. Next, I ran the rope through a stirrup and again tied it to the saddle horn. As the horse moved around, I drew the rope so that it caused the stirrups to flap against the horse’s side. This too was challenging for Red, but he eventually became desensitized and settled into it, which was actually a fairly major issue for Red to overcome.

When the horse finally settled, licked his lips, did ballet on the ground, and  a one-rein stop well on the ground, I climbed on and rode successfully. Next, I had the owner do the same. She was nervous as all get-out. I insisted on  the helmet. She was relieved when the ride was over, and had plenty of homework to get to with her jumpy gelding, but now she now had the proper tools to help him (and her) progress. Try this new technique out the next time you either start a horse or have a jumpy one, and ease into it. This is one of the best training tools I've found in a long time!

Return To Colorado

Upon returning to my old stomping grounds in Colorado, I’ve rekindled old acquaintances and made new ones as well. With a full plate of private sessions in front of me, I’m certain to encounter many of the same hurdles, and no doubt some new ones.

My friend Terry Drapper, who owns and manages the Perry Park Ranch, is now wearing a different hat these days as he introduces at-risk teen girls to the rigors and realities of ranch life and horses. Ranging in age from twelve to eighteen, Terry is giving these urbanites a chance to succeed at a variety of ranch tasks, from hiking into the steep mountains, cleaning stalls, repairing fences, to controlling and riding horses. Terry reports that the sense of accomplishment when these girls have cantered for the first time is almost beyond words. By the time they get onto the bus to head back into the city, they feel like they can handle just about anything. Most importantly they feel great about themselves. Hats off to Terry!

On that same note, seldom does a week go by that I don’t hear from a party wanting to initiate similar programs. The use of horses to heal humans is exploding throughout this country. You can read about the " Horses Healing Humans" program I started some years ago on my web site.

Well, that's it from Colorado! In the next few days I will conduct some business, instruct in private sessions, and prep for the upcoming June 14-15 American Horse Trainers Group symposium to be held at High Prairie Farms in Parker, Colorado. Plan now to come to this or another one of our upcoming symposiums. The concept of combining various talented trainers under one venue is working well as we give the public " Training Tools You Can Use," not a circus show, and we also get a great opportunity to learn from each other, which in my mind is what it's all about. Check out the American Horse Trainers Group new  web site at: www.americanhorsetrainersgroup.com

Until we meet again . . . Safe Riding . . . Happy Trails . . . and let me  hear your stories!

- Frank Bell

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