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Testimonial:
Dakota
I am the proud adopter of a 4
year old Quarter Horse, but not just any QH. Dakota is
extremely athletic, intelligent, and sensitive, and had
learned to take full advantage of his previous
trainer. Now that I had him, I was faced with the
challenge of trying to curb his knowledge of "If I run
away real hard and real fast, I don't have to do what they
want, and I don't have to be confused." A year after
adoption, I earned Dakota's trust and cooperation, or so I
thought, and proudly took him to the Central Wisconsin
Horse Expo, where we were enrolled in a clinic with
Charles. Weather was not cooperating with our onsite
plans, and with the excitement of previous trailering in
the thunder and rain, I was confident that Dakota and I
would not be capable of loading again and trailering to
the nearest indoor arena. Charles offered to help me load
Dakota so that we could still participate in the clinic.
Within about three minutes of taking Dakota's lead line,
Charles had exposed and identified the bad habits that I
thought I had fixed, but had merely masked. With anyone
other than me, and any conditions other than ideal, my
horse was still a mental mess, and I had no idea. Charles
not only went above and beyond by loading Dakota onto the
trailer, but by the time he was through, had Dakota
walking in on his own. During the clinic, Charles spent
one-on-one time working with each participant and their
individual challenges. He showed me how to keep Dakota's
attention, and when he wanted to flee, how to control it.
Most important, however, is not what Dakota was taught,
but what I was taught: My horse is not safe if I have to
tiptoe around him. I should be able to work with him just
as well when he is excited, as when he is calm. I lost
control of Dakota for the first time in a year during the
clinic, and then again, and again, but eventually learned
how to keep control of him. By the end of the clinic, I
could no longer trigger his flight response, and I cannot
describe the feeling of seeing him look towards me for
comfort, instead of running away. The entire weekend that
followed was full of crowds, loudspeakers, vehicles and
all sorts of 'horse-eating monsters'. Not once did Dakota
lose his composure, and I contribute much of that to
Charles Wilhelm's clinic, and the work that he did above
and beyond what was asked of him.
Thank You Charles! -Amy Curtis
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