|
|
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! Making it Simple! Making It Safe! Get There Now! |  |
|
Site Menu |
|
|
|
||||
|
|
LEROY LEARNS TO LET DOWN . . . ON THE GROUND
Chris Pachel is truly a student of the horse. His insatiable appetite to learn matches his enthusiasm for horses and everything about them. And Chris is no spring chicken. He’s been at this game for sometime, so has a few years wisdom under his belt. Chris called me early in the summer about a horse he wanted to help conquer some challenging issues. Apparently his horse Leroy just had a hard time really letting down, trusting and relaxing, especially with loud noises like guns. You see Chris participated in battlefield reenactments and wanted to confidently use Leroy. He’d fired some rounds with Leroy in tow and it just wasn’t a pretty sight. Leroy was right on the verge of seriously melting down. A patient man, Chris wasn’t in a hurry, so it was well into fall before our schedules coincided and he was able to bring Leroy to Windrider Ranch. Chris arrived early afternoon on a warm fall day. He was exactly two minutes late. Now leaving Jackson Hole, Wyoming and driving a stock trailer over Teton Pass, then negotiating the winding roads in central eastern Idaho up to my place, well, it’s a schlep and a half. “You’re two minutes late Chris,” I chided with a smirk. As we shook hands firmly he let me know he’d have arrived at least fifteen minutes earlier had there not been construction. I immediately took a liking to this medium sized truly western man. From his dress to his demeanor, everything about Chris Pachel wreaked ‘The West.’ Sometimes this doesn’t work so well for me, especially with macho types but Chris was different. He had an openness and obvious yen for learning that just jumped out of him. His calm son Brett had accompanied him on this adventure. It felt to me like a good team as we moved to the rear to unload the infamous Leroy. Leroy the Magnificent! As I was preparing my gear for a lay-down session, out from the trailer emerged a magnificent specimen of horseflesh. Leroy was huge! Not so much by height, just by presence. He was part draft with huge bone and feet and the coloring sometime associated with Native American horses, almost indescribable. A medium gray/brown with splashes of white and black and even red with a big white paint-horse marking on his belly, he was truly a sight to behold. His full floating mane and tail were like the icing on the cake. But even more impressive was his movement. He seemed to move, as so many drafts do, in slow motion. He glided and drifted and covered the ground with amazing grace. And he had a friendly and curious eye with a tinge of uncertainty. That uncertainty was my challenge. “How old is he Chris,” I inquired? “And remind me a bit about his history. I just don’t quite remember what you’d told me when we first talked.” “He’s seven and I’ve had him three years. He was really freaked when I got him. He’d been in a dude string and obviously abused. They told me after about four miles straight uphill, he’d settle down a bit. He’s not a mean horse Frank, just can’t completely relax. So it’s pretty hard for me to do the same. Ya know?’ “If you’re not riding in confidence, you’re riding in fear and horses know exactly where you are,’ I added my two cents. “My goal is to find a horse’s hole or holes and fix them then I can ride confidently. It’s kind of like a puzzle to me, and that’s the challenge. I can’t dominate. I’m not that big or strong. I like to think I’m above that attitude. I want to finesse it and use my mind to help him overcome his stuff. It’s a searching process. So I’ll get to work and see what I can find inside old Leroy’s tangle.” “Do you guys know much about my work,” I asked Rhett and Chris? “Not really Frank. I watched part of your demonstration in Jackson in ’97. In fact I helped set up the round pen with Virgil Bailey. We’re pretty good friends and he and Kathy suggested I get with you for help.” My Wild Ride to Notoriety I flashed back on a fundraiser I’d done in Jackson Hole six years earlier. What a show I’d put on, if I do say so. I started a two-year old quarter horse filly, worked with a sketched out eighteen-year-old Morgan with foot handling issues, and then took on a mustang. The wild one had hardly been touched and was a handful but I rode that horse as well, if only for a short distance. It was only my third demonstration raising funds for handicapped riding programs, but I was pretty tuned up and confident at the time. Articles appeared in both local papers. In fact I shared the front page with a fella named Al Gore. I got the big picture and article. He was somewhere on the back pages. A columnist named Skip Sheffield had been visiting from Florida. He did a piece for his home paper, the Boca Raton Gazette that the Associated Press had grabbed and suddenly everyone in the country was reading about my day with three horses in Jackson. At the end of the riding clinic I’d completed several days later I’d asked the participants for suggestions. Kathy Brody, one of the organizers and Virgil’s better half said, “You need to break it down into steps an ABC so people can get it.” I’d taken her suggestion to heart and within a couple weeks outlined the exact exercises I did to gentle horses. From that humble beginning, my world burst open as horsemen and women empowered themselves and their horses with this logical set of exercises that Western Horseman Magazine later published in a three-part series by equine journalist Karen Boush. My whole horse career flashed right before my eyes as I reminisced on that summer day some years ago. “Well let me give you a quick rendition of my deal with horses. I got busted up about fifteen years ago and didn’t much like it. So I promised myself to not ride dicey horses or unridden ones without a ground system in place that would promote my well being. So I religiously work through this set of exercises with every single horse every single time. I’m talking about even foot handling or vaccinating or trailer loading. If I do these exercises, then the horses are ready for whatever I throw at them. It’s even amazing to me how well it works. You see the lay down session is pretty serious stuff. So I want Leroy to feel real good about me at the front end. That way we’ll probably get there a lot quicker and with less stress. My goal is to stress your horse as little as possible. But this is a heavy deal so he will be somewhat stressed no matter what. I really kind of hate having to do this, but realize in the long run, it’s best for the horse. Tom Dorrance said so wisely a long time ago, ‘The long way is the short way.’ Those two brothers, Tom and Bill have changed the whole world for horses and people. You’ve read their works Chris?” ‘Sure have. Read Tom’s book ‘True Unity’ years ago. And Bill and Leslie Desmond’s ‘True Horsemanship Through Feel’ was a mammoth effort. A true masterpiece. I’m crazy for all this stuff. In fact here’s something you might like to see,” Chris then handed me a tiny old hardback by John Rarey. “Oh my God,” I gasped as I looked at this masterpiece. “Where did you get this? I don’t believe it? “I collect all kinds of horse books. Aren’t too many who even know about Rarey. I’m glad you can appreciate it. I told ya. I’m reeeeeal into horses and everything horsey. It’s my life. I crack backs to support my horse habit. You know Frank, I’ve probably bought and sold over one-hundred and fifty horses!” “Wow. You are a nut case. Man I just cannot believe you found this book. Thirty cents! Look at that. That’s what it cost back in the 1800’s. Unbelievable.” I handed the treasure back to Chris shaking my head and turned back to the inestimable Leroy. John Rarey. One of the greatest horsemen/ whisperers of all time John Rarey and I had a lot in common. We both grew up in Ohio and thrived on the challenge of difficult horses. Rarey literally took on horses that killed people and turned them around fast, real fast. He traveled the world showcasing his talents and wowed crowds unfailingly. And he was young as he did this. I believe he was in his thirties when he did most of his road shows. To those in the know, Rarey is regarded as one of the true icons of this past genre that is now reemerging, now being popularly called horse whisperering. But while there are charlatans now, just as there were then, he was the absolute genuine article, the real deal. I’d read about Rarey in preparation for a speech I’d done at a Michigan State Veterinary conference years earlier. His name along with Xenaphone, Alexander the Great, Daniel Sullivan, and the Dorrances will always be in the history books. I exist in awe of the fact that I truly understand these men’s affinity for the horse. We feel what the horse feels. We ache for their anguish. We hate the abusers and do our best to show the lost ones their way home, back to being ok with themselves and with the humans. Back to Leroy Leroy was animatedly inspecting the round pen, along with its smells and boundaries. He seemed happy to unwind in the shade of the lodge pole trees that surrounded the pen and stretch his legs out. I walked over to him and offered a hand. He took a short sniff then tried to resume his wanderings. But I blocked his exit, laid a hand on his neck, and we ‘shook hands.’ I stroked is face and neck and ears and then rubbed his eyes. He leaned in to me in appreciation. “We’re gonna get along just fine Leroy. Here to help you Old Boy,” I cooed as I tried to make a good first impression and begin our journey into the deepest part of his soul, I slipped on my soft rope halter with the twelve foot yacht rope lead. We moved to the center of the forty foot round pen and had a big ‘get acquainted session’ that I call bonding. It’s the first and perhaps most important step in my sequence of exercises that puts the horse almost immediately at ease and sets he stage for a fruitful session. And so it was. Me n Leroy getting to know each other. He melted into my attentions and almost immediately trusted me to manipulate him in about any way I chose to. His big mouth worked in a sign of relaxation and understanding. His tail wasn’t clamped down, but soft and pliable. For his size he had amazing agility. The exercise I call ‘Ballet on the Ground’ is a turn on the forehand followed by a turn on the haunches. Once he understood my directions, he performed like a well-practiced dancer. “This guy’s quite an athlete. You see how well he uses himself,” I noted to my two attentive observers? “I call this ‘Ballet on the Ground.’ This connects the brain to the feet helps the horse get focused and forces his attention and complete involvement. Fabulous exercise. Learn this one before your rides and your horses start off in a real good place. So instead of heading Leroy uphill for a half hour and burning off that valuable energy, you have a sane horse ready for a pleasant day of riding.” “You need to teach us that one Frank. I really like that. You look like you’re doing Tai Chi with the horse. It’s so graceful- the two of you,” observed and commented Chris. “Yes, you do need to learn this one. Both of you. You will not believe how well this puts you both in sync,” I replied. After Leroy accepted me tossing the twelve-foot yacht rope lead over his head and then his body, I then moved on to a more difficult challenge, a loud plastic bag on my extendable wand. Leroy was able to handle it well without moving, but I had something else in mind. “I want him to be able to move rationally around me as I wave and touch him with it. That is the true test of his cool,” I informed Chris and Brett. “This is something I do a little differently than most trainers. Most want the horse to stand perfectly still. But my thinking is- how much standing still do we really do when riding? Aren’t we moving most of the time? And if your slicker gets loose or the wind whips a bag by, is your horse going to blow? This exercise really helps horses prepare for staying cool under pressure and is one of the best of my series of confidence building exercises. It’s all part of the desensitizing process that in my mind is a huge and extremely important hurdle for most horses.” “That is a little different twist on ‘sacking out’ isn’t it Frank,” asked Chris. “Sure is and a part of the puzzle that some many miss. Sure I want a horse to stand still when confronted with challenges. But to me it’s far more important to stay cool while moving, Rational movement is the key,” I added. This was not easy for Leroy and definitely new thinking. He shot around me and stopped abruptly as the flag waved around him and touched his back. I eased off a bit and talked calmly in soothing tones. I clucked him forward with the flag on his back and just allowed him to carry it. Once he handled that I got progressively more aggressive with the bag until he was beginning to accept it calmly while moving. Then we quit and I allowed it to soak in. He lowered his head licked his lips as if to say, “Okay. Took a minute and now I get it. You’re not trying to hurt me.” Show TimeWith Leroy accepting my version of desensitizing, the fifth step in my program, it was time to proceed to the lay down session. Leroy stood patiently as I secured a hobble on each foot and a surcingle around his girth area. Then we took a little walk around the pen. At first he comically lifted his front feet high in the air as we walked around the pen, then settled into it. “Time for his first real test. I always start with one leg up. If he can handle that, then we go to the other side. When he can walk around a little on three legs and stay cool, then he’s ready to lay down with the running W. I lifted his leg up and attached a two-ended clip to the D-ring on the surcingle and to the hobble, then moved back quickly. Leroy just stood there quietly like the big quiet draft that was part of him. “Ok Leroy gotta move now Boy. Doesn’t do any good if he doesn’t take some steps. His attitude will help give an idea of how he’ll accept the laying down. Does he lie down on his own much Chris,” I asked? “Hardly ever. Nothing like my other horses who will just about throw down anywhere,” Chris answered. “Hummm that usually does indicate some uptightness,” I added. With some urging from behind Leroy leapt forward a couple of steps then I led him a few steps. He performed just ok, but I didn’t make a big issue of it. He was a huge horse and this may have just been quite difficult because of his size. Smaller more nimble horses will move around the pen like nothing bothers them and that is what I prefer, that is as long as it is sane, rational movement. But Leroy tried hard and stayed cool, so we moved on. The Moment of TruthWith the other front leg in the air Leroy moved about the same. He was a bit hesitant, but by no means melting down. I loved him up and walked him around until he was relaxed then ran the ¼” smooth rope through the surcingle, down through the hobble ring and back up and down until there was the distinct W. “Okay Chris. I want you to lead Leroy at a fast walk around the edge of the pen, then turn toward the middle and be prepared to get away from him . . . fast. No telling how he’ll handle this,” I instructed. So off we went, the three of us, Leroy high-stepping right along with me in the middle of the round pen. When Chris had Leroy in just the right position I pulled hard on the rope that would ease him onto his knees. But as strong as Leroy was, he balked when he felt the pressure and only one leg came up. “Let’s try it again,” I assured. Again we took the circle at a good pace and with Chris in front and me behind this time we really had him moving along at the perfect momentum to succeed and did. Leroy went to his knees as Chris scurried out of the way and I backed off. Leroy looked around with a noticeable quiver in his mouth and a lot of white in his eyes. “EEEEEEEEEasy Boy,” I cooed over and over to him. But he was not pleased about this odd set of circumstances and hopped forward on his knees at least a dozen times before extending his neck while breathing hard and then hopping some more. This went on for an agonizingly long time until he finally heaved over onto his side. “Good. This is what we need. Now we’ll just let him settle for a bit,” I apprised my assistants. Leroy was breathing pretty hard and sweating in his chest area all normal. After a few minutes I lowered my stature and began to ease in while talking in a soothing reassuring manner. But this pushed him over the edge. His eyes widened showing too much white and his upper back leg stiffened and up he came abruptly onto his knees and again hopped around for a full minute before tiring and choosing to lie down on his side. Again I waited, but this time sent in someone he knew better than me. Chris got on all fours and crept in with a voice of constant soft assurance. He was able to reach Leroy and stroke his face and neck and Leroy seemed to settle a bit. But the moment we turned up the heat by moving in the background or making any noise, he was back up scrambling around with way too much white in his eyes. This went on for sometime. Up and down over and over, and I was getting worried. Experience = Knowledge= KnowingnessI’d learned this technique almost ten years earlier from a very accomplished trainer from Utah. We’d done a whole two days of laying down a number of difficult horses in a clinic format. Since that time I’d done the same to dozens of horses and had some amazing turn-arounds. In not one instance had the horse not improved, and most quite dramatically. Some horses required multiple sessions while others seemed to benefit from one good session. Understanding that we had one day to get as much done as possible, I took a deep breath. “This is pretty unique Chris. In fact I’ve never seen one fight this hard. He’s okay. He’s not overheated or hurting himself in any way. He just can’t seem to let down and relax about it. My gut says ‘let’s just give him some more time and less stress when he’s down and see if he’ll relax.’ It’s such a fine line how far to push. And every single horse reacts differently. He’s definitely got some serious foundational cracks that he’s having to face and just can’t. I think if we stay with it, he’ll make it.” “Frank I completely trust your judgment,” voiced a patient and determined Chris. And so it was. The quarter hours turned into half hours and we gained ground slowly and then lost ground abruptly with Leroy back on his knees or even at times all the way up, standing. But we didn’t quit on Leroy. Every time he was down and beginning to accept stimuli he got better and better and more relaxed very slow but sure progress. It’s like a three-ring circus. One person is loving on the horse as the other walks within his vision and the third rattles the gate lightly. We are all sensitive to Leroy’s reactions and my word stops everything. Slowly we gained ground until something clicked in Leroy’s psyche and he seemed to progress past a huge threshold. Acceptance would be a good word here. Finally the progressively louder rattling of the gate didn’t bother him. He finally accepted the walking around in front of him, and then progressed to handling my stepping across his neck from each direction Leroy kept his cool. His eyes softened and the white almost totally dissappered. His tail relaxed, and his back leg laid quietly on the ground. He sighed deeply several times as Brett stroked him lovingly. And now I felt it was time for the real test, the sharp loud shot from a pistol. Leroy’s Final Test I instructed Chris to walk a good distance away behind his trailer. I raised my hand in the air and he fired his pistol loaded with blanks just once. Leroy flinched noticeably and straightened his upper back let, but Rhett calmed him right back down. Again Chris fired and again Leroy flinched, but not quite as much. We were all elated to observe Leroy accepting the shots without flipping out. Gradually the shots became closer in repetition and proximity until Chris was in the round pen with us firing three or four shots in a row only several yards from where Leroy was stretched out on the ground. I removed the hobbles and surcingle and encouraged Leroy to get up. By now he was so relaxed he would have preferred to stay down which is quite common for the tough ones. They finally breakthrough the heavy barrier and completely let down as if to say, ‘Nothing can hurt me because there’s nothing to fear. Now that I’ve learned how relaxed I can be, well I believe I’ll just hang here for a while longer.’ And that is exactly why we work this process with the extremely difficult cases just like Leroy. When Leroy did stand up we lavished him with praise and stroking. He had indeed become the most important, brilliant, calm horse in the whole world or at least that’s what we wanted him to feel. And he did. His big drafty eyes were calm and showing very little white. His was alert but had mellowed noticeably as he licked his big lips and let out a long sigh of relief. With Brett at the end of the 12’ slack lead Chris fired off a series of shots closer than ever before. Leroy noticed but had no inclination to pull back or freak out. Then Chris took the lead and fired another series of the last of his blanks. His eyes watched Leroy closely as he fired from the end of the lead, a mere twelve feet from his horse. Leroy stood quietly as Chris walked in and praised him with genuine gusto then we all followed suit. Chris was elated. Loud noises in the past had Leroy at the end of the lead on the verge of freaking out. “What do you think Chris? Have we achieved what you’d hoped for,” I queried. “This last round is exactly what I was after. If Leroy can stand quietly as shots are fired we have a good chance of doing the reenactments. Brett took Leroy for a good walk to let him unwind and work out the kinks as Chris and I tidied up. The book Chris had shown me earlier by John Rarey was just where he’d left it, sitting on a post at the edge of the round pen. I handed it to Chris saying, “Need to take good care of this classic Chris.” “No Frank. That’s for you. I want you to have it.” I couldn’t believe it. “How will you ever find another one,” I asked? “Oh I’m on the lookout all the time for such rare works, and I find them. I’ve got a huge library. Don’t worry about it Frank. Just enjoy the book.” By now Brett was back with Leroy the magnificent and ready for the trip home. I bid a hearty farewell to Leroy and gave him a good eye rub. He leaned hard into me, then pulled back and took a long look at me as if to say, “Thanks for the help. I needed it.” Frank Bell and his accredited instructors have been helping horses with their people problems for several decades. He writes interesting stories about these horses and their challenges. He also helps people better understand how to communicate with these magnificent creatures by answering their vexing questions on his website. Frank has designed a logical set of exercises that immediately places both parties on higher ground . . . without the need for a round pen. This 7-Step Safety System has been featured in horse magazines and ezines throughout the world including Western Horseman magazine. Frank’s video “Discover the Horse You Never Knew” fully outlines “the system” and is available in the audio/video library that includes twelve works. Join Frank Bell’s Gentle Solution Revolution and breakthrough your training barriers.
Frank Bell and his accredited instructors have been helping horses with their people problems for several decades. He writes interesting and educational stories about these horses and their challenges. He also helps people better understand how to communicate with these magnificent creatures by answering their vexing questions on his website. Frank has designed a logical set of exercises that immediately places both parties on higher ground . . . without the need for a round pen. Suddenly both parties are riding in confidence instead of fear. Frank Bell's 7-Step Safety System (7-SSS) has been featured in horse magazines and e-zines throughout the world including a three-part series in Western Horseman magazine. Frank's video " Discover the Horse You Never Knew" fully outlines " the system" and is available in the audio/video library that includes thirteen works.
Join Frank Bell's Gentle Solution Revolution and breakthrough your training barriers now!
800-871-7635 |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2000-2005 by Dances With Horses, Inc., P.O. Box 819, Rexburg, ID 83440, Ph: (800) 871-7635, Fax: (208) 356-7817, E-Mail: frankbell@horsewhisperer.com |
Home
