Spring  2003 - Newsletter

www.horsewhisperer.com

SPRING GREETINGS
from
DANCES WITH HORSES

Mid-March finds me missing horses. I don’t handle the horses here enough to satisfy my own need to handle horses. But I’m only a couple weeks away from working with some interesting challenges as I make the jump from relating to horses and horse people to relating to horses while applying the same concepts into the corporate world. I will gentle several horses in front of high-level executives and help them see the rewards of using ‘gentle solutions’ within their own ranks. This may open a whole new avenue of communication into the business world. Imagine!

January Symposium In Tucson

The January symposium with the other players of American Horse Trainers Group was a great success. January 11-12 found Clay Harper, Josh Lyons, Steve Sikora, and myself in front of about 600 horsemen over two days of very cool Tucson winter. I led off with the 7 Steps on the perfect horse. I mean this horse put on the greatest show that Arizona cold morning. He was ripping around the round pen, bucking and snorting before the show. He responded to the steps like a champ and did ballet like a ballroom dancer, as well as ballet in the saddle. It was magical.

Steve demonstrated the value of being able to competently round pen a horse into the trailer. Brilliant exercise that is now in my repertoire. Josh’s horse Taz is beyond brilliant. I’ve never seen such a connection and level of training. So much to be learned from this amazing young man. Clay was the M.C. superior as he finishes his recovery.

I did problem solving the second day and was challenged. The first mare was the trailer loading volunteer, so had been worked already. She didn’t understand how to balance on three feet and shoeing had been a struggle. They’d missed a step. Using my 12’ lead I lifted her foot and held it. She would walk into it and have to stumble. She just did not understand how to stand and balance, which I taught her with the rope. Within a couple minutes she as giving it up and standing quietly. When she struggled I made a shhhhhhhhhhhhh noise and pulled her leg a bit off to the side. The second she stopped so did I and moved into her soothingly. Standing like a champ in another few minutes.

The second horse was a very energetic three year old Arab filly. This delicate chestnut had major ear issues. Major. I couldn’t get my hand even close to her left ear without her rearing and fighting to get away. The other ear was worse. This was a project and the three hundred watching wanted their money’s worth. I gave it to them as I patiently worked up the neck and mane as well as up the front of the head. But it was a rough go. She had been really put through something horrible to react the way she did. Some macho man has obviously eared her down. I shifted to the rope, tossing it over her ears. Then pulling the lead up the neck onto the mane up to as close to her ears as possible. I gained, but worked hard for it. Just getting the lead to hang down the middle of her forehead with repeated tossing, took many a toss. But I did make it and by the time I’d finished with her I was able to stroke her left ear slowly from front to back. It was enough and a good place to leave her.

The next horse was a nine-year-old bay brood mare of quarter horse breeding. She as a sweetheart that had never been handled nor ridden so had spook issues, foot-handling issues, and pulled back when tied. I started with the feet, of course after the first three steps of my Seven Step System. She gave all four feet perfectly. Apparently somebody didn’t know how to ask politely or properly. Onto to pullback I did not have an adequate place to tie her, so I set up the belly-rope and taught her to lead very well until with a flag right in her face and me on the other end, she did not want to pull back. I explained the process to the audience and encouraged those horse owners who have animals with serious pullback issues to he ‘Solving 7 Common Horse Problems’ video to fully understand this remedy. But she was still head-shy and a bit spooky, so we moved into that venue.

Confidence Building

This poor horse had probably been hit right in the face. Every time my hand went into the air anywhere nearby, she flinched. So I started with twirling my lead waaaaaaaaaay out away from her and reassured soothingly while moving in to make contact. She pulled away from me, so fearful of the swinging rope. But I stretched my arm and continued and finally touched her jaw then got my fingers under it and she eased up and sighed as I worked the V under her jaw and continued with the rope. Inch by inch the rope’s length increased until it was right over her head and she was licking her lips. From there it was a matter of telling her just about everything was okay, from shaking the gate aggressively to tossing ropes, blankets, and a slicker all over her while she moved rationally around in a comfortable circle. By the end of he session she was so relaxed, she invited the ride. I declined. Time ran out.

We distributed a satisfaction, comments survey the second day. The 7 Steps were heartily embraced, as was my approach to problem solving along with many of the techniques the others used. It as a great start to what we hope will be a successful venue.

American Horse Trainers Group

Our next two-day symposium will be held in Temecula, CA March 22 & 23. Then we’re looking at Austin, Texas in May, Denver, Colorado in July, and Virginia in September. Watch our web schedule for dates and locations.

The Wild Horses of Abaco

The news is all good with the 16 strong Abaco Wild Horses. They are moving better since our December trimming and doctoring sessions and are sometimes hard to even locate. Mimi has been out several times and not found them which means they are moving out more ideal as we prepare them for the challenges of the forest.

The paperwork is still in the background somewhere, so we’re unable to proceed with the fencing. But the government just announced in their budget an allotment of up to $10,000 per year to help manage the new preserve. That was very welcome news to the tenacious Mimi whose heart and soul go into making this preserve a reality. In the meantime we survey them twice weekly and wait for the Bahamas government to produce paperwork.

Spring/Summer Clinics

Our clinic schedule has endless possibilities. We’re looking for just the right situations for this spring, summer, and fall. Let us know ASAP if you want to attend a Frank Bell  7 Step clinic in your area. If you have any interest in organizing a clinic, read over our guidelines and contact us via email or call 1-800-871-7635.

We are presently considering clinics in NC, VA, PA, MI, SD, CO, UT, and of course at Windrider Ranch in Ashton, ID. We will begin taking privates beginning late summer or early fall. The Bell Institute’s official opening will be next spring.

Links and Sponsors

We are beginning to form some alliances with companies whose products we believe in. These include Supracor Pads, Synergist Saddles, and Leather Therapy. These companies make the finest products in their fields and should be taken seriously. Take a moment and peruse our links pages from time to time. We will be adding links we believe in.

New Articles and Jean Hennen Poetry

Several years ago at one of our weeklong intensives in Colorado Jean Hennen wrote some beautiful poetry expressing her interpretation of what was unfolding. We’ve posted this piece for your enjoyment: Poems About Frank Bell.

The articles written by and about Frank are constantly changing, as is our newsletter. Check in with us frequently to see what’s happening at Dances With Horses.

In the Meantime- Happy Trails and Safe Riding

- Frank Bell and Dances With Horses

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