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Frank Bell's Gentle Solution Revolution^™

Natural horsemanship clinics, horse training techniques and unique horse training products using Horsewhisperer Frank Bell's acclaimed Gentle Solutions. Frank's Safe and Simple techniques for training horses can achieve instant results - even with problem horses!

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Horse Problem Questions & Answers

Kicking Horse

" You can't walk past his withers or he will cock his back leg and kick you..."

I own a 12 year old gelding and when we bought him, we were told that he was a little touchy in his back feet. Weelllllll....you can't walk past his withers or he will cock his back leg and kick you. It's horrible, my fiancé refuses to give the horse back because this horse is an awesome roping horse. He's dedicated to fixing his problem. We don't know how to go about solving it or if we even can. We have tried starting from the beginning and acting like he was a young horse who was just starting out in the breaking process.

We did the sacking out, the round pen work and all that jazz, but nothing has worked. We don't know if reprimand would be good on this horse. If he kicks, should we reprimand that kick with a whip or what? He is a jackrabbit! If you walk towards him, he snorts and you can see the white in his eyes, he will shy away from you all of the time. My fiancé has now been able to brush back towards the hind legs, but once he gets so far, this horse will cock his leg like no other. I believe it has something to do with his butt. When you are on top of him and you put your hand at the top of his tail, he curls it under like a dog that has been whipped, and when he cocks his leg, he pulls it close to him like he's hiding his under body. I'm not sure. I'm lost for ideas.

Toshia Iowa

Dear Toshia:

I can offer a couple of suggestions that may help. It does sound to me like he's been abused - especially near the back end - and needs to be brought back. I'm sure his feet need to be trimmed, so it's something that needs to be taken care of.

With a horse like this I would begin by making friends and trying to build the trust as high as possible on the ground. I've developed a set of exercises that has helped thousands of horses and their owners. It all begins with bonding and ideally melting the horse. This is accomplished by finding his secret spots and melting him, basically " loving him up." I do things like rub the horse's eyes, ears, inside of the mouth and nose. I feather the horse's tongue and help him work his mouth since a loose mouth is a relaxed horse. I teach the horse to drop his head with downward pressure on the lead releasing for the smallest try, the slightest change. Once we've established a real relationship, then we focus on his issues which are likely a lot more than just kicking. It would be a matter of exploring out to the edge of what the horse can handle, then retreating, reassuring, then starting over. With this specific issue I would use a pole, whip, or one of our extendable wands to touch his back legs. That way he can kick to his heart's content and accomplish nothing but waste his energy. I do a lot of work with wild horses and use a 12' pole to make initial contact. With time, empathy, and patience I'm able to touch these untouched horses pretty much everywhere within about a half hour.

Read the " Fishing For Mustangs" article on my site. This should be most helpful to you. The best recommendation I can make would be to learn my 7-Step Safety System. I've created an audio book, a video, and a laminated pocket card to help people just like you. Read the three Western Horseman articles at the news/press link. The fourth step in my set of exercises is called " The Dance Begins." This specific maneuver will help those back legs dramatically - period! If you like my approach, order the " Getting Started Package." This will give you the information and tools to succeed and help your horse reach his full potential. As it stands now you're playing Russian roulette and it's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt. My focus is safety for you and your horse.

Happy Trails and Safe Riding,

Frank Bell

Dear Mr. Bell:

I have a 4 month old filly. She is completely weaned from her mother and doing really well. My question is, How do I get her to stop kicking at me? I have been trying to get her us to being touched all over and that's when she kicks at me. I purchased her and her mother about 6 weeks ago. They had been put out to pasture from shortly after the filly was born till I got them home. About 2 weeks ago I caught a dog chasing her in our pasture. I yelled at the dog to go home and a few days later the dog and its owners moved. I haven't had any more trouble with dogs but now I have a filly that wants to kick. What do I do?

Your Student,
Sara Hilder
Hampton, NY

Hello Sara-

I assume this is happening while she is haltered? If that is the case, there must be a reprimand when she tries to kick you. Make a shhhhhhhhhhhhh noise and a good solid downward jerk on the lead. Then let it soak in for a bit before starting the touching again. Most youngsters like having their butts scratched just above the tail. Once you get that, then you start working elsewhere. And experiment with touch. Some like firm, some light. I call it search touching. Find what she likes and when it’s really working, quit and walk away. Pretty soon she’ll be hunting you up for more of it.

Another good option would be to pole her all over. We call this Pole Gentling and use it on mustangs for the initial touching. Any kind of pole will work and a 12’ bamboo pole bought at landscape stores is the best tool. Start in the wither area and work from there. I’ll attach my article called “Fishing for Mustangs” that describes this remarkable procedure that I learned from ace horseman John Sharp, now 91 years young.

Let me make a couple suggestions on my products that would be a big help to you:

My “Young Horses Series Plus” will give you the three videos you’ll need for her- Working with Young Horses, Starting the Young Horse, and my foundation work Discover the Horse You Never Knew. This way you’ll have a plan and a logical set of exercises to work that will establish your directorship, build trust and confidence for both of you, and connect her brain and feet. When it’s time to ride her, a good ways down the road, she’ll be ready and so will you!

Click Here To Get Young Horses Series Plus

Safe Riding,
Frank Bell

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Horse Training Video Packages

Video and Audio Library

Complete 12 Video Library plus audio book. This comprehensive, money-saving collection provides you with an in-depth video library for achieving total success with your horse the Gentle Solutions way!

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" Problem Solving Series - Plus" Horse Training Videos

Problem Solving Horse Training Video Series

Six problem solving videos including Discover the Horse You Never Knew, Spooking & Shying, Trailer Loading, Solving 7 Common Horse Problems, Mounting the Difficult Horse, Water & Bridge Crossing, Pocketcard. Our Problem Solving Series Plus will help you address many of the typical issues we all face with our horses using Frank Bell's Gentle Solutions.

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Individual Horse Training Videos

Horse Training Tips...

Discover the Horse You Never Knew!

A 60-minute video that will change you and your horse's life and relationship! Frank's Foundation Video...the place to start!

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