“Hi Frank thank you for the tips, I emailed you asking how to catch my horse which was taking me anything from 5 to 10 mins, he would just turn and walk away countless times sometimes he would trot off when in a bigger paddock and I would just give up.
Now, since I have been scratching him he either walks up to me or I walk up to him, bloody amazing.
I will look into that dvd you mentioned. My name is Geoff and I live at a little place called Bagshot about 17kms out of the rural City of Bendigo which is in Victoria, Australia.
I am a, lets say mature beginner rider married to a women who has had horses most of her life. Any way thanks once againand I will check out that dvd.”
~ Cheers mate, Geoff
“I joined your DVD of the month club a while back and have truly enjoyed every one of the DVDs I’ve received so far. Your stratightforward guidance and demonstrations in the videos are clear and easy to understand. I recently received the Communication in the Saddle DVD and just finished watching it. I wanted to share with you how much I appreciate this DVD in particular.
I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to training. I’m good at gentling and I’m good at getting my horses ready for just plain old riding – no fancy stuff. I have been wanting to learn how to teach my horses to sidepass specifically so I can maneuver around objects on the trail and open gates without having to dismount every time. You explained sidepssing so clearly in the Communication in the Saddle DVD! Funny thing is – I thought it was going to be really hard to do. Thanks so much for simplifying it for me. The instruction on using leg and seat pressure is also very helpful as this too was something I didn’t fully understand. I absolutely LOVE this DVD. Thanks for helping me figure out how to get to the next level with my horses!
With the help of all the DVDs I’ve received so far, I’ve been able to move my horses to levels I never imagined possible. My horses are soft, supple and responsive to what I ask of them. I’m looking forward to the next DVD, and the next one after that! Keep them coming. I just can’t get enough. Happy trails!”
~ Cami Miranda , Blythe, GA
“Dear Frank and Jim, I just want to thank the two of you personally for helping me get through some tough times with Hero. As a colt, you both taught me how to handle him, feed him, and begin our journey. I have learned the lesson of buying a young horse without a clue about how to care for them. I teach my students from my mistakes and the information I sought to learn as a result of a really bad decision. Thank you for being there from day 1 when I bought Hero! You both two taught me sooooo much in Tuscon!”
~ Hero & Deb
“Catherine got into major search mode for a Tennessee walker or Rocky Mountain horse but the price tag for a well trained safe one is pretty high. Have looked at a couple that were advertised as calm and willing but they didn’t pass the Frank Bell safe horsey tests. Some were just too flaky and spoiled.
I did work the 7SSS magic on a mare that looked like she was either going to run off through the bit with her “experienced” rider (who never once flexed her head to the side or disengaged her hind end) or just buck him off.
He explained that they are ALL like that the first few minutes when they haven’t been ridden. When he was done and went to demo a different horse for Catherine I took the horse to an arena with her saddle still on and no bridle, just a halter and lead rope and ran very slowly through the first six steps.
I said aloud to no one there that if I were Frank Bell I would get on that horse at that time because she gave every indication that she was cool with it. But then, I ain’t no Frank Bell neither! So I softly told the horse that I was more nervous than she was as I put weight into the stirrup a few times getting partly up and off until she turned her head towards me and gave me THIS LOOK, like, “are we going to do this thing?”
So I did. Practiced exactly what u taught us so well, and that horse stayed soft and we walked and trotted and one rein stopped, and backed up and moved off and repeated as necessary, all with the rope halter and lead rope. No drama.
The guy who rode her and was all over her face before came by as I was finishing and just stood and watched, obviously perplexed. I got off her, stroked her and thanked her for being such a good horse. She followed me to the gate without me leading her. I just said to the guy, “she’s a nice horse.”
When he asked, I told him about your system and how it really helps both the horse and the rider to stay safe and give the horse the best deal. He seemed to really like that philosophy.
Anyway. The point of the story isn’t LOOK AT ME AND WHAT I DID, but rather that what YOU DID for me and by extension for the horse really worked. I was so jazzed after that I couldn’t stop replaying it in my head.
When we saw that horse being ridden we both said there was no way we were going to get on that horse because she was all over the place and obviously hyped up with fear and/or pain.
Some rodeo guy watching it was sure she was going to buck the guy off or explode. Of course, the rodeo guy also said ground work was a waste of time and you have to get up in the middle of them to work out the problems. He didn’t say a word after I was done riding her, though.
I’m a new guy with LOTS to learn, hopefully not the hard way, and what you did for me and that horse that day brought tears to my eyes. Of course, if u tell anyone, I will have to hunt you down and kill you in your own kitchen. Thanks. Frankie baby. Stay safe out there in horseyland.”
~ Nick
“Dear Frank,
Thank you for the most enjoyable and productive vacation I have ever had. I came home inspired, confident, and committed to communicating more effectively with my horses — and with any other horse I might encounter. It was a privilege and a pleasure to learn from a man who is fluent in the language of horses. You were so generous with the time and individual attention that you devoted to each one of us. I can’t imagine a situation more conducive to learning so much during a week immersed in all things equine. You are a gifted teacher as well as a gifted horseman.
Thanks also for the gift of your book The Horses That Touched My Heart. Those beautiful stories touched my heart, as I know they must for anyone who loves horses and who is interested in the mysteries of horse and human nature. Not only that, but the stories also helped me better understand the seven-step safety system.”
~ Kristin T.
“Frank, I feel led to communicate these words to you….THANK YOU!!!! You surely can not know the depth that you have changed my life and my whole life has always been about horses. Lately I’m using your 7 steps on 3-4 horses a day that I ride and on some unbroken 4 year olds also and these horses are bonding with me to the point that they even like to be ridden and look forward to our next daily adventure with a passion that could only be from me giving back to them and keeping them desiring more.
Part of each day there are 2 other trainers here who don’t use really any natural skills or any bonding techniques and sometimes they may even be annoyed by my taking the time to “access” my mount or bond with them, and I watch the way these horses are with them as compared to me and it’s totally a different animal! Now I’m not saying that I’m the next horse guru, but I do know that a huge door has been opened as to the way I see things. If I could help to share this with other people, that would be incredible, but you know to just be able to give to the horse, to forge this bond with each animal individually, well that is enough. Thanks to you Frank, may God bless you and may you have a wonderful birthday!”
~ Joe
“I used to ride with a tinge of fear and uncertainty. Horses knew it. Now, I ride every single horse ‘in confidence,’ and we both revel in our evolved time together. The difference is night and day. Both of us feel so much better for it. A masterful set of quite simple exercises. Thank you Frank Bell!”
~ Doris Hatch, MA
“Frank’s 7-steps completely changed my understanding of not only my horse, but all horses. The sequence and response of using his system is truly masterful.”
~ Bill Dapper, TN
“I came away with more new tools under my belt in 2 days than attending several 7-day natural horsemanship clinics. I’m amazed… Frank is a natural teacher.”
~ Cathy Dayton, WA
“I had no idea of the kind of relationship I could have with my horse until I met Frank Bell. He taught me and my horse how to be friends. I had no idea how much of the equation I was missing. Thank you for opening those doors Frank Bell.”
~ Butch Neithericut, MI
“Frank spent about 30 hours working with Raphael and me. It was a complete learning experience for both of us. It is a gentling process, not rough or abusive. I would recommend Frank over any other trainer.”
~ Jerry Leaser, Palmer Lake, CO
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that my draft horse could be ridden with only a piece of bailing twine. He is a totally different horse today. Before your clinic, he would stand in his stall and threaten anyone that would come near him. Now he nickers when we come into the barn and enjoys all the attention we can now give him. Every day we go through all 7 steps so that his confidence and mine grow. He is a totally new horse!”
~ Heidi Kucera, Atherton, CA
“My horse (Arabes) bucked so hard she broke my pelvis. In a short time, Frank had my wife, Linda, (a novice) riding Arabes confidently and without incident.”
~ Bob Claymier, Marshall, VA
“I had several horses giving me fits. One had thrown a competent horsewoman and hurt her badly. The other went to her knees when mounted, terrified. Frank took each of these horses for a week, then shared his system with my daughter, Lynn. He was very adamant that Lynn fully understand just how to help these horses before taking them home. Frank accomplished more in a week than most trainers would in several months. Most importantly, he seems to genuinely care for the horse’s well-being.”
~ Sylvia McDonald, Larkspur, CO
“I watched Frank work with three troubled horses over a period of three hours. I then went home to try the Bell system on my difficult quarter horse, Amos. Amos had mystified the finest trainers in the Northwest and we were seemingly at a dead end. When my wife drove up and saw me riding Amos bareback using merely a halter and lead rope, she was wide-eyed with disbelief. We both attended Frank’s clinic the following three days, and a whole new world opened to us. Amos now happily carries my 13 year old daughter in local shows. They proudly collect ribbons as true partners. Frank literally changed our lives. I am now able to help other distressed horse people.”
~ David Bishop, Woodinville, WA