Since the horse's predators were among the fastest creatures on the planet and in the case of wolves and man, they were also the smartest—most cunning predators, the horse needed incredible instincts to survive. Their survival is proof that they posses these instincts.

To counter the stealthy stalking of their enemies, horses developed one the most sensitive alarm systems in nature. The slightest perception of an unnatural movement can trigger the flight response which for countless millennia enabled the horse to escape the stealthiest cats, and cunningest wolves, and smartest humans.

The horse can smell a carnivore at great distances. The horse can hear disturbances to the natural order of sound that humans cannot hear. The horse can see movement imperceptible to many other species, including humans—and can do so in the dark of night. The horse is an exquisite sensory system of nerves which culminate into a hair-trigger alarm system, which when activated, releases an explosion of energy channeled into an instantaneous flight for survival. The horse is naturally fearful, and for millions of years he has had every reason to be. And he has lost almost none of this instinct in the 90 odd centuries that he has been associating with humans.

Selective breeding has done a great deal to change the appearance of the horse in the past several thousand years, but it has changed the essence of the horse very little. It remains for personal relationships between people and horses to make these changes, to divert the energy which nature has focused on flight and survival into areas of development which produce harmony and peaceful coexistence between horses and their riders.

Every successful horse training experience can be interpreted in terms of "relationship". And as with a first date, things can go terribly wrong when meeting up with a horse for the first time. Taking it slow—spending the time to develop trust and comfort in the relationship is good advice for first dates and everyone's first meeting with a horse.

Frank Bell's training philosophy is refreshingly unique in that it encompasses a much bigger picture of the horse than most trainers bring to their first meeting. In this day and age of hurrying, seeking immediate gratification, and take, take, take, he has chosen to do nothing but give to his horses—until they are ready to give back to him—willingly, happily, and eagerly. Bell has made it his personal mission to seek out the most difficult, bothered, and even dangerous horses to work with. Without using force or other common strong-arm tactics, Bell develops a foundation of trust upon which all further development must be built. He transforms the horse's distrust into trust and the horse's problems into accomplishments. Soon the horse is giving to Bell exactly what is wanted, and doing so out of a willingness to please. The word "love" would not be inappropriate here.

When making initial contact with a horse, Bell puts the highest importance on making a lasting, unforgettable first impression. Just as with people, that first impression is extremely important with horses. With gentle but studied moves, Bell explores the animal with his hands, pressing, patting, wiping, and probing to find the animal's responsive areas. Soon the horse is caught up in the enjoyment of the experience. The tension vanishes and the bonding begins. Through touch, Bell communicates trust and love, and every moment is spent reinforcing these feelings between horse and trainer. Soon the horse is effusively displaying affection for the human carnivore—the predator—and eons of evolutionary conditioning are being unraveled through caresses and strokes.

Once this communion is established, horses will do amazing things for Bell. Horses—wild only minutes before—will permit him to move them in strange ways, move strange noisy objects over, under, and around them, and even ride them.

Frank Bell cannot remember a time when he did not have this ability to establish uncommon relationships with animals. But much of what he brings to his training demonstrations has been learned. He has studied the wisdom of the American Plains Indians with the help of a Lakota Sioux teacher, and he has studied under some of this century's most accomplished horse whisperers. Bell believes that virtually everything that he knows and has learned can be taught to others. "It is not magic, but a synergy of the head and the heart," Bell says. "Anyone with a love of horses and a willingness to learn new approaches can do what I do," Bell concludes.

SAFETY FIRST

The focus of Bell's training is on the development of a "safe" relationship with the horse. All of the training one puts into a horse is layered on top of the horse's instinctive nature, which is to explode into flight whenever the biological alarm system activates. Proper training lowers the activation level of the horse's instinctual behaviors, and most of those instinctual behaviors are disruptive or even dangerous when expressed during riding.

When a horse is properly trained and the rider is knowledgeable enough to reinforce that training over the long-term, the incidence of dangerous instinctive behavior is negligible. A sudden surprise to the horse might prompt a reaction, but it will be moderate and very short-term, something which compromises the rider's control only momentarily and usually without injury of any kind. When properly trained, the horse and rider share a level of trust which carries them through surprise situations and otherwise dangerous confrontations. "When the trust is properly developed, the horse can tolerate almost anything. And the horse would do almost anything before it would endanger the rider," Bell says.

Only when a bond of trust has been established does Bell begin asking anything of the horse. He begins by asking simple responses from the horse, and when the horse delivers, it is rewarded with "release and praise". In minutes, he will have previously unmanageable horses performing perfectly, and doing so willingly and with enthusiasm. That the horses enjoy their education is evidenced by their reluctance to quit when the sessions are over.

Bell's relationship with his equine students is not transitory, as can be seen when he walks through a stable populated with his former students. The horses poke their noses at him begging for attention as he walks by. Seldom does he disappoint them, but usually stops for a brief "visit". Bell explains, "Just as we all had teachers in school whose classes we looked foreword to and those we didn't because they were boring. I strive to make it fun and rewarding, so each horse can't wait to get to work."

Several years ago a gangly 2-year-old Arabian filly came to Bell. She was royally bred to run with the winners, but chose to hurt anyone brave enough to climb on her back. She went through Bell's bonding program, her problems were addressed, then she went on into the racing world to do quite well. In the summer of 1996 Bell was at the track in Colorado attending to another one of his projects, a horse named Magnifico who had also needed help. Bell was leaning against one of the stalls when he felt the warm breath and whiskers of a horse at his neck. He reached back and stroked the horse's face and asked the trainer who this friendly critter was. When the name Soaring Fastneasy came back, they melted into each other like long lost friends. She seemed to say to him, "Where have you been for so long? I've been waiting." He was quick to let her know he felt exactly the same as they caught up on lost time. In 1996 she won over $60,000 to finish second money winning Arabian mare in the country.

Each horse has unique problems and each horse has problems common to most horses. Bell is keenly observant as to where the horse is bothered and addresses that specific issue. Once the problem is taken care of and it ceases to be a problem, the horse can blossom. Conventional thinking avoids problem areas with somewhat of a "work around" approach. We have all heard, "You can't do that with my horse. My horse doesn't like that." These are red flags to Bell. "Find the problem and fix it. Only then can the horse develop to its potential, Bell says. By fixing the problems on the ground—in the ring—we do not have to deal with them during a ride. This is what Bell's "Safety First" program is all about, explains one of his assistants. "The Bell Safety System takes most of the risk out of riding." He confronts the problems on the ground and in the round pen before riding the horse. "It's quite similar to a pilot checking his plane out before takeoff. Then you can count on a safe ride/flight," the assistant asserts.
Copyright 1997 Dances with Horses, Inc. Reposted here with permission.

Frank Bell, Dances with Horses: http://www.horsewhisperer.com