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Winter 2004/2005 - Newsletter
www.horsewhisperer.com
DANCES WITH HORSES
Holiday Greeting
Winter arrived with a vengeance just as Thanksgiving weekend
came to a close. I was in Salt Lake City and just back from Europe where I’d
also experienced my share of damp and cold. The mid-teen weather gave me just
the push I needed to head south to Arizona where I will be headquartering this
winter in the Cave Creek area.
Abrupt weather changes can be pretty tough on horses.
But there is good news. Our reliable weather predictors give us a heads-up so
we are able to be prepared. It’s all about food, water and shelter, all of
which need to be available when weather conditions suddenly change. Shelter
needn’t be more than a way to get out of the wind, rain, or wet snow. Water
needs to be available in abundance and not covered with ice. Horses will not
drink extremely cold water in the proper quantity, which can lead to colic. I
believe horses should have about as much hay as they will eat in extreme
conditions. This is what helps them stay warm. A full belly = a warm horse in
almost any condition. |
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Your Horse Live Show- Stonleigh, England
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I’ve just returned from three weeks in England participating
in one of the largest horse venues of the year as well as doing clinics. It was
quite interesting and not quite the level of sophistication I’d expected.
For some reason I had the idea that the horse culture in
England would be at a much higher level in terms of education than we have here
in the States. At the very high end the competitors seem to be on a similar
level throughout the world. And at the beginning level there are plenty who are
just starting their equine journey and whose quest for knowledge is insatiable,
not so different from here. And Western riding and natural horsemanship are
very much on the rise in England so our message was warmly received.
Julie Goodnight and I represented the United States at the
show. Julie, an expert equitation instructor, did a wonderful job of winding
the budding natural horsemanship movement into her demonstration. She is simply
one of the great communicators and uses metaphors effectively as she helps
riders bridge the communication gap. Julie and I demonstrated twice each day
over two days and had to split seventy-minutes, which was challenging for each
of us since we’re both used to a full hour if not more.
I worked with three different horses demonstrating my 7-Step
Safety System, that evolved into riding a difficult quarter horse,
preparing an unridden horse for that first ride, advanced problem solving, and
finally teaching sound ground manners. My horses were challenging, as I’d not
handled any of them prior to the show. Since I was the only demonstrator
working with unfamiliar horses, the crowd took a keen interest. I as well
fielded some very good questions from the attentive audience.
Julie and I were in heavy company since most of the English
demonstrators were very high-level competitors in dressage and jumping. Richard
Davidson, Tim Stockdale and Graham Fletcher competed in the Olympics and at
least one gold medal was brought home to Great Britain.
Our organizer, Sandie Chambers, has pioneered Horse Trainers
International as a means to spread quality horsemanship throughout the globe.
Her vision is far-reaching and her energy limitless. Hats off to Sandie for
aiming high.
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Gentle Solutions Book
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Years in the making, my book on the remarkable set of
exercises that I teach throughout the world is finally in print. With Sylvia
Scott as my co-author we have jointly captured the story of how this all
happened in Gentle Solutions: Frank Bell’s Seven Steps To A Safer Horse.
From my earliest memories of horses to the accident that nudged me into
creating my safety system, the book unfolds to enlighten and educate readers.
This is not just a how-to read. We’ve attempted to add interesting stories as
well as pertinent prey/predator information and a clear explanation of eye
changing, a problem little understood and the underlying nemesis of far too
many horse problems. The book ends with a story of bonding with an unfamiliar
horse on the banks of the Missouri River in Montana. Graymare literally
followed me right down this deep fast river after only several minutes of
attention. Years later I returned to this same location to work with this
mare’s offspring and say good-bye to a friend of twenty-five years. My friend
Jim Tobey, diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s tragic disease had only a little over a
year to live. But we packed it in on the banks of the river we’d come to know
and love.
I think you will find this a good read with plenty of
substance and education |
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V-Thinking
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In each newsletter I attempt to delve into some of the
concepts that make me unique. My goal is simplicity and my motto “less is
more.” I believe there is a real tendency to use gimmicks and too much
specialized tack to communicate with horses. It is my belief that a
well-trained horse can be ridden with a piece of twine or nothing for that
matter. In any case this quarter I’ve chosen to pinpoint a concept I’ve coined,
namely “V-Thinking.”
Incidentally this is well explained in the new book along
with diagrams.
All our training and communication begins in our mind at the
bottom of the V. Whether we want the horse to do something or stop doing
something, the approach is the same. We progressively make our wishes more
obvious. This may require becoming downright demonstrative with our desires.
Let me make a couple examples.
- You want your dull horse to go forward without kicking.
Sitting on the horse you have decided to push the go button. Your mind has
said, “Let’s go now.” But the horse isn’t with you, so you sit up and tilt your
upper body forward, which is the very first physical cue. Your hands may very
well have moved forward as well. The horse is still standing. Very, very
lightly you begin playing the drums on your horse’s sides as your legs first in
the knee area begin to agitate, then with each bump the drum beats harder as it
progresses down your legs into the stirrup until using extreme bumping/kicking.
Now most any horse worth his salt will move out well before
letting the air out of him. But the exact moment the horse does take one tiny
step, quit the agitation and stroke the horse. As importantly, keep your body
in a rhythm with the horse’s so your body is saying, “We’ve got some work to
do. Let’s get after it now.”
If your timing is accurate, in a very short time the horse
will learn to avoid that obnoxious drum and move out well before. You’ve
politely said, “We can do this the easy, gentle way or this can evolve to using
as much pressure as needed. Your choice, Mr. Horse.” As your timing improves
the horse will choose to make the right decision and move progressively lower
on the V, until ultimately your mind will tell the horse it is time to go.
Now this has been an example of asking for something to
happen. Now let’s explore the opposite: when you want something to stop,
like an unwanted behavior.
- Your horse kicks other horses as they move up behind
and try to pass. You’ve been asked to tie a red flag on your horse’s tail to
alert other riders.
Out on the trail we go. I’m riding your horse and you are on
one of my school horses. I ask you to ride up from behind into the danger area.
The very moment the ears go back on the subject horse I begin with an obnoxious
“shhhhhhhhhhh”
sound that gets progressively louder and is followed with
the progressively physical bumping of the reins in an upward fashion as my seat
and legs also begin to agitate. Observing the horse’s attitude closely, the
exact moment those ears move forward, all that noise and physical agitation ends
and the stroking begins, saying very clearly to the horse, “I will not put up
with that attitude.” By starting with the “shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” sound the
horse is forewarned that he’s moving into the wrong zone, the black zone. Again
with accurate timing a plethora of unwanted behaviors can be eliminated in
moments as the horse decides to choose the white zone.
The last example of V thinking involves helping horses
overcome fears and phobias.
- For instance your horse is fearful of bicycles,
four-wheelers, and motorcycles. Beginning with the bicycle will be the easiest
place to start. Your neighbor kids love to ride their bikes, so you ask them to
do so as far away as possible, the lowest on the V, but visible to the horse.
You are there supporting your horse through this with lots of attention and
stroking in the face, neck, whither areas. As the horse handles this, you
motion for the kids to come in closer as you continue supporting the horse and
keeping his mind occupied. With good timing and support the kids will be riding
around the horse in the time it takes, could be minutes or days. The point is,
as the horse becomes fearful, pull his mind from the problem with lavish
support or focused activity. Your hands on the horse’s whither can work
wonders.
In conclusion, with accurate timing we are able to change
horses’ unwanted behaviors, tune them up to become sharply responsive, and as
well help them through their demons by always giving them the best deal
possible to learn. That good deal begins in your mind.
And one more quick piece of advice. The longer it takes a
horse to digest/understand your wishes, the longer you should allow it to soak
in. Ultimately the long way will be the short way.
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Clinics
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This winter and spring I will be conducting public and private
clinics throughout the country. I will be based in Cave Creek, Arizona, but
will be traveling extensively. We have clinics in the making in Arizona, Texas,
Florida, and California this winter. Virginia, Montana, Iowa, Colorado, and
California are shaping up for spring/summer clinics. All clinics are posted at: Clinic and Event Schedule.
If you, your club, or group of riders would like to sponsor
a Frank Bell clinic we welcome you to explore our options at: Organizing a Clinic.
Organizing a group for a weekend private clinic is an
excellent way to spend two days of learning and fun.
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Accreditation
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Eric Schoch of Carnation, Washington and Chris Mitchell of
Salem, Alabama are our newest accredited instructors. With several dozen
trainers spanning the globe on the road to accreditation our ranks are expanding.
Our goal is to have 7-Step Safety Instructors in barns and stables worldwide.
We invite you to explore this option. This is not complicated nor does it take
years of tests, levels, and huge funds to match. This is about teaching this
proven logical set of exercises so that horses and riders travel in confidence,
instead of fear. This is about having a simple plan before riding that
dramatically heightens horse/rider safety. This is about turning safety into an
artful dance called “Ballet in the Saddle” as the duo performs this graceful
dressage maneuver that uses the horse’s energy constructively. Join us.
Congratulations to Eric and Chris!
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Alabama Clinic
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We have just completed a very successful 2-day clinic in
Clayton, Alabama thanks to the organizational skills of Chris and Heather
Mitchell and Heather Wierzbicki. These three beat the bushes so intensely that
we had participants coming in from Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia,
Mississippi, Florida, and of course Alabama. Ranging in ages from 10- 62 we had
riders from all skill levels and walks of life as well as horses with years of
experience and some with very little. Without exception every single horse and
rider make huge strides. One very hot Tennessee Walker in particular that could
absolutely not stand still under any circumstances transformed into a quiet
happy stead with a very happy Brittany Holley astride. Brittany's ten year old
sister, Kelsey participated in the very challenging final exercise, a pinwheel
as a group of eight performed perfect figures of 8! With temperatures dipping
into the very cold for this part of the world, the 7 Steps once again produced
relaxed horses and confident riders.
Seasoned trainer, Page Turner from Charlottesville, VA (www.blueridgestables.net) drove
fourteen hours with two horses to attend the two-day clinic. Page was a big
help in demonstrating some of the higher level maneuvers as well as teaching
her version of several exercises. We look forward to Page's active involvement
in several of our programs in the future.
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Products and Holiday Special
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With the book now available we’ve included this work into
our Getting Started, Foundation, and Complete System packages.
We have as well added my foundation work “Discover the Horse You Never
Knew” in VHS/DVD to a variety of our packages as the plus option.
Through December 31, 2004, we are offering a holiday
special of a 10% discount on all orders over $100
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Remember - Your success is our success.
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Happy holidays from the whole gang at Dances With Horses. See you next year!
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Copyright 2004, Dances With
Horses Inc.
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