Testimonials

Flash

Rescuing horses is my passion. Depending on their experiences it is sometimes the case that the external healing is complete before their soul and mind return to normal. Shortly after agreeing to foster Flash from the United States Equine Rescue League, I realized there was much ground to cover. Flash was terrified of every movement we made. He was terrified of the halter, of the brush, of baths, and as hungry as he was, terrified to stick his head in the feed bucket, it was truly pitiful. With time, Flash trusted enough for us to have a daily functioning routine. Our goal is to rehabilitate the horses we take in and find them forever homes. I was starting to feel it would be forever before Flash would be capable of finding that home. Charles agreed to the challenge of working with Flash at the Equine Extravaganza in Richmond. Talking with Charles about Flash, it seemed he’d known Flash all along. He knew exactly what his fears were and taught me how to work on overcoming them. Charles achieved more with Flash in 2 days than anyone ever has. By the second day, Flash was bridled, saddled, and accepting some pressure on his back. The crowd surrounding Charles working with Flash continued to grow because they were so enthralled with what he was accomplishing with such a troubled horse. The work Charles did with Flash brought much attention to the many rescued horses that have so much to learn in order to trust us. Flash now has someone interested in Fostering him with intention to Adopt. I’m so grateful to Mr. Wilhelm for helping to make this a reality.

Charles also worked with my personal horse, Onyx. Onyx is a very smart, hardly rattled horse, but was not motivated to listen to me. Each time we rode, there was a power struggle and I have to say that he often won. Planting his feet, crow hopping and bucking were his tantrums to avoid my asking for work. I didn’t want to have to fight with my horse for us to ride, and so I asked for Mr. Wilhelm’s help with Onyx. The information I received from watching him work with Onyx was invaluable. Onyx was being disrespectful of me before I ever got in the saddle.  When I came home and applied the same techniques before riding, there was no difficulty in getting him to move forward and the tantrums and their frequency are waning.

Onyx

My experience over that weekend watching Charles work with both of the horses was amazing.  We all become accustomed to the behavior of our horses and get frustrated by some of the more negative aspects of their personality. Mr. Wilhelm helped me see the positive ways I can affect their behavior and establish a better working relationship with my horse. He also helped me understand how I can help the rescue horses I take in beyond the rehabilitation of their bodies. Thank you Charles for your time, your compassion, and your sharing of knowledge with me. I look forward to seeing you again in the future and will continually apply all that you’ve taught me. I can’t wait to learn more!

I am the proud adopter of a 4 year old Quarter Horse, but not just any
average 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 had 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 Wilhelm.  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 of all, 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 then again, but eventually learned how to keep
control of him.  By the end of the clinic, I could no longer trigger his
flight reaction, and I cannot describe the feeling from 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 one single time 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

UPDATE: 11-6-2007

I'm the girl that you helped out at the Central Wisconsin Horse Expo, with the runaway bay, Dakota. He's the one you loaded onto the trailer to get to the clinic.

Dakota's gotten wound up twice since the expo, and not even once has he tried to bolt, the difference is fantastic! I didn't move forward in training until I could work with him whether he was wound up or not. It wasn't long until his head was dropping and he backed smoothly and
easily. He thinks through things now and judges his actions off of mine instead of going on auto-pilot. He walks over tarps, and even keeps me in his weak eye if he thinks that's what I want. We had some difficulty with moving forward/lunging when we got home, because he thought that I wanted him to move his hindquarters away like we had him do at the clinic. That didn't take long to fix, now he understands the difference between the cues based on my body position. The lunge line you gave me gets good reviews at the barn too. Don't worry, I always make sure to tell them whose it is. He's since been saddled and ridden, all with no objections whatsoever! He even kept his head through shying at a killer black tire scuff on the arena
wall under saddle. We're at walk/trot right now. Thank you!

-Amy Curtis
 

Pictured is of one of our PMU foals at 14 months (Starting Baby Jaz is a guide to follow). Thank you!

- Wes Kranz-Wisconsin

I had high hopes for my love, Khristian, a 5 year old American Warmblood I have owned since he was a baby. Khristian was going to be jumper I had always wanted, so I put him in training right away, hoping I could keep him a stallion. He was just 4 when his trainer took him to his first show. It was nothing short of a disaster. Khristian was clearly not going to be the jumper I had hoped for. He would try to bite, he reared, and was a handful, but I was unwilling to give up on him. We came to the conclusion we had to castrate him in an effort to eliminate his aggressive behavior. That helped with the biting and aggressive behavior on the ground, but what was about to happen would be nothing less shocking to me. At his first show, he was rearing dangerously and threatened to fall over backwards, bucking and running around every corner. During the following two weeks, Khristians’s trainer would provoke him to rear and then pull him over to “scare” the bad behavior out of him. This was very dangerous and I didn’t want to further risk injuring him. I sought other help and after conversations with other trainers telling me to do everything “from take him to a cowboy” to “just throw him away, I heard about Charles Wilhelm and this gentle approach to horses. Charles told me that he would go back and “fill” in the training gaps and give him a couple of weeks before I came down to see his progress. I was able to get down to the training center and check out his progress. Within 20 minutes I was in tears. This “beast” as he was often described, was being ridden, backed up and improved his shoulder control 100%. Khristian is my baby and I will always love him with the heart of a mother. I am elated with his progress as he improves more every day and after 5 long years of waiting, I am finally able to ride my own horse. Our experience with Charles has been a God send. I recently bought a Hanoverian gelding with a hot attitude. After my experience with Khristian, I didn’t hesitate to send him right to Charles to begin working with him. The results are the same, pure transformation. Peacemaker is well on his way to being a fun and promising athlete. I have nothing but respect, love, and adoration for Charles and his staff. -Tavia Stephan

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the clinic I attended on Saturday the 23^rd. I feel like once I was able to go home and process things, that I actually learned a lot. As well as learning I have a lot to learn and my big red horse does too. Both of us are uneducated, and as a rider on an uneducated horse, I get very frustrated not knowing if I am asking correcting for things from my horse. I plan on practicing what I learned and attending the same clinic again in May, hopefully with much better co-ordination, posture, and a better understanding of my horse and how to move him. I found everyone there to be very pleasant and the environment very easy to learn in, as I learn best from example and practice.  It was a pleasure meeting Charles, he is a very patient and understanding man. It was well worth the drive from Monterey to experience with my horse the clinic that was given. I will return with pleasure.

Kellie Ricker