ARTICLES
The American Horse Whisperer
Captivated Syros

Horse Magazine - Syros
May 5, 2004

Written by Christina Psaltaki
Photos by Sofia Roussou

Using an antenna (from a TV set or a car, can’t really tell…), with a plastic bag you’ll get from a supermarket and a string halter, Franklin Levinson, the American horse whisperer ( and human if I may add..) created unforgettable impressions from Syros to all those who chose to participate the seminars organized by Indian Spirit Farm of Candio Voutsinou and Vangelis Vakondios.

Initially the plan was for one seminar starting beginning of May and in particular for the 3,4 and 5^th of the month. But participation and requests from the attendees were such as to create a second seminar for the 7,8 and 9^th as well.

People from all over Greece were attending, from places like Crete, Castoria, Karystos, Karditsa, Litohoro, Patras, Nafpaktos, Messolongi, Evia, Salonika, Amfikleia, Attica, Megara and of course Syros. In the second seminar16 students from the Sports Academy with their professor Pantelis Papachristopoulos were present, and raised hopes all over that the new generation will build its relationship with horses on a basis of trust and peace.

Franklin grew up amongst horses, following in his fathers’ footsteps as a polo player and became the younger enlisted player at the age of thirteen in Chicago.

While in his forties, he set up a farm in Maui in Hawaii, spending time between Maui and Colorado where he is now a permanent resident.

From Hawaii started the “ Maui Horse Whisperer Experience” an educational course much like what we’ve experienced in Syros and the “Adventures on horseback” a riding program in which tourists and local residents took part. It might have been the tourists that made Franklin famous around the world, since good news always travel by way of mouth faster… and believe me, if you meet Franklin up close and if you share of course his love of horses, you will be talking about him to others!

What makes the outcome of each seminar with Franklin so magical, is the simplicity with which he deals with horses and questions about them, when to all of us things look so complicated.

The magic key

One of the greatest issues that people have when facing a horse, even if they don’t always admit it, is insecurity since horses are stronger and bigger. On the other hand, horses are by nature more secure, being a prey animal, when they are free in the herd, rather than in the company of humans. Very few people around the world, compared to those owning or being involved with horses, can say they have established a prefect relationship with them. And such a relationship can truly exceed imagination when humans can gain the trust of a horse and keep it this way. Because this is what it takes for such a relationship to develop, be safe and successful.

Imagine that your ideal relationship with your horse in locked in a steel box and that you have literally thousands of keys of all sorts and shapes in your hands but only one opens this box for you. You need to find the right key. So, what you’d do? OK, you can quit imagining, it only takes patience. That’s all !

Franklin’s target in these seminars is to try to show to people how to experience peace with a horse and how to win it’s trust. Exactly. His trust not his fear. Horses are by nature predisposed to fear, without us having to assist in this at all.

So let’s dance !

Franklin compares the relationship between humans and equines with a dance couple.

Man leads and woman follows - human leads, horse follows. Does it seem difficult?

Impossible to happen with your stallion? Not likely with your mare? Unbelievable with your young colt?

But we saw it happen in Syros with the horses Franklin danced with. Indeed all it requires is patience, a lot of patience. No rushing, no violence, no sudden movements. Just gentleness, clear intentions toward the horse and patience. If it takes years to consider someone your friend, it doesn’t happen the same way with your horse. But you need to be clear and truthful from beginning to end, which is not always that easy. Humans are the ones who are not consistent in this relationship.

We must be very clear on what we request from the horse at all times. If we don’t we make it confused and afraid.

The dance floor

Only the best and experienced dancers, who have self-confidence, can dance anywhere, anytime. For the dance students you need to have a specific place where they will learn.

If the student is the horse, then you need a round pen. This is just a circular sandy arena, 20 meters across, with a high fence of about 2 meters .You can see the round pen constructed in Syros in the pictures.

The choreography

Horse enters the round pen and Franklin allows him some time to acclimatize. Usually the horse will not approach Franklin but rather avoids contact. Franklin says if he would approach would be a positive thing but rarely happens, especially with uneasy horses.

It is best the round pen to be clear of any grass so that the horse will not be distracted.

If the horse is stabled for days, it would be natural to roll in the sand a couple of times.

As soon as such preliminaries are concluded it’s time to start the dance.

Franklin holds a stick, an antenna with a plastic bag tied in one end. By moving the antenna he forces the horse, without actual contact, to run in the round pen. The horse alarmed by the sound of the bag is complying. At a point, Franklin allows the horse to change direction.

The horse resists and he persists. “ I lead this dance,” say Franklin, “If he will not follow my lead I lose. Then he leads and this is not what I want.” The horse does change direction and goes a few rounds both ways. Then Franklin stops him and leaves his stick on the ground. The horse is licking and chewing. Franklin comments, “ This is very good. When the horse is licking and chewing he is informing you that he accepts you as the leader of the dance. He understands that you are the leader of the herd and although he might be a bit uncomfortable with the idea, he is willing to obey. Then it’s up to you to convince him to accept all the rest.”

The horse is not yet approaching Franklin and he decides to put him to work for a while longer. He uses the stick and the horse is galloping again.

“Horses are very lazy animals,” he says, “They will not run unless there is danger and what they normal wish to do is eat, enjoy the sun on their back, sleep and hang out with the herd.

By putting them to work I draw their attention from other horses in the area and make them concentrate on me. This is one of the reasons the round pen has such high walls.”

Progressing…..

After some more rounds Franklin puts down the stick, the horse stops and begins to lick and chew in a more obvious way this time. Franklin turns his back and heads to the other side of the round pen, while the horse is watching him move.

“ He feels I am the leader now and that I am not hostile towards him. He will shortly move close.” And indeed the horse does exactly so.

The first dance was successful. The horse comes very close and brings his nose close to Franklin’s face. “ This is a sign of curiosity” say he “ We will now share breaths and get to know each other.” Franklin is avoiding to touch the horse on his head, “ I would not like to have someone do this to me, so I don’t do it to the horse, its’ that simple.” He caresses the horse in his withers. “ We are progressing….” He says.

He asks from Candio to give him the halter, which he brought from the states. It is a very simple halter made from rope with knots is specific places. “ the knots will apply pressure in specific areas of the horse’s head, helping him to comply with the requested movements, without of course hurting him” says Franklin.

With slow, deliberate movements, Franklin brings the halter to the horse. He is not hurrying at all, he needs to make sure the horse is not feeling threatened about the new object. He lets him smell it, he touches him around his body with it to reassure him.

The horse is not responding negatively at all, he keeps licking and chewing and his ears are pointing to Franklin’s hand. So, the time has come, Franklin places a hand on the top of the horses’ neck and holds with the other hand the halter below the horse’s nose.

“ I use only the weight of my hand without applying any pressure to force him to lower his head” he says “ it’s mostly his own curiosity that makes him wear the halter.” And indeed the head comes up wearing the halter. Franklin now ties the halter and let’s the horse get used to the new accessory.

The lead rope is hanging freely touching the horse’s feet but he doesn’t seem to mind. “This is not always the case”, says Franklin “there are horses who require a lot more time in order to accept new things touching them. Yet no matter how long it takes, the method is the same. You only need more patience.”

The dance continues ….

The horse is wearing now the halter and has moved away from Franklin. He raises the stick from the ground and the little yellow bag is turning the horse to lightning….

After some more changes of direction the stick is dropped again. The horse is licking and chewing and approaches Franklin. He is now using the lead rope, that was dangling between the horse’s legs, in one hand and the stick in the other to longe the horse in a circle. Using the stick he is changing directions and the dance continues. The leader is the same.

At a certain point Franklin stops while keeping the stick in his hands. He lets the horse smell the bag. The horse rears in his hind legs, he is afraid. Franklin does not pull the rope, he simply frees more rope. The rope is not wrapped in his hand, as I have seen done many times. Franklin holds it in a way, as to let go whenever he seems fit part of it or all of it.

After some more work the horse is willing to smell the bag, he is no longer afraid.

How many languages do horses speak ?

Franklin is always talking to the horse in a gentle voice. The horse seems to understand even if he never heard English before. In reality it makes no difference what language you speak, English, Greek, Portoguese. The important thing is the tone of voice, which has to be, steady and calm. He is not shouting or making sudden movement. Franklin is moving gently doing only the necessary actions. In a little while he is caressing the horse with the bag all over his body. The animal is calm with ears turned toward Franklin and accepting the touch.

The jacket

Franklin asks Vangelis to bring a saddle pad. The horse is about to have his first saddle. Before that he needs to show he can handle any object permanently tied on his back.

“ We visited yesterday the farm of Eleni Iatropoulos where she breeds horses from Pinios,” say Franklin, who was very impressed by the looks and finesse of this breed. “Eleni ties a jacket around the body of her foals, even from the day they are born. She did it yesterday with a very handsome black foal born just a couple of days before, that was so calm and friendly, it could pass for a dog. This is a very good and practical way to accustom your foals, since the jacket puts minimum weight on their backs and the long sleeves can be tied underneath the horse to keep the garment in place. The horse will, in this fashion, accept the feel of foreign object and will be easier to wear a saddle in the future. Mrs. Iatropoulou sure knows how to take care of her horses…”

I don’t have to mention the change of coloration in Eleni’s cheeks when she heard this last statement from Franklin…

Does it fit ?

The saddle pad is the new object entering the round pen. Franklin leaves it on the ground.

The horse is curious and moves in to smell it. Franklin follows the same process in order to introduce the object to the horse. He touches it all over, starting from the head, moving down to his back and on… Very soon he just leaves the pad lying on the horse’s back and he seems like he was born wearing it. Franklin leaves the horse to make his own mind if he wishes to get rid of the pad, but he is only interested in the vegetation growing around the pen.

Tough time

“It’s time now for the saddle, or are we moving too fast?” Franklin is thinking aloud.

“Put it on, put it on” is the reply from the audience. A saddle is brought in the round pen and the process starts all over again, only the saddle is significantly heavier than the pad.

It’s not as easy to hold it and touch the horse like before, but it doesn’t take too much time for the horse to accept it, almost without any resistance. “ He has not yet realized that it is on him” say Franklin. “ When he does, you will surely know it”

He ties the saddle and lets go of the rope. The horse makes a few steps and Franklin takes up the stick and guides his movements. Before the first round is finished, the horse kicks back in the air. “ He just found out about the saddle and will soon get used to it.” said Franklin. The horse gallops around the pen and slowly, with the changes of direction averting his attention from the new feeling, the kicks become scarcer and stops altogether.

In the end he approaches Franklin and rubs his nose on Franklins shirt, licking and chewing. He has accepted the saddle. He has accepted the leader. So simple, isn’t it ?

Seminars were completed in two 3-day sessions. Each of the six days included a morning and evening session. What you just read was only a small part of what took place and it would take up a whole book to describe all the issues that were covered and the questions asked.

The purpose of the seminar was to offer solutions in many problems that pester horse owners and in the end result in the horses having problems.

It’s true that it might seem an easy way how Franklin handled all the horses, but in reality you need to spend a lot of time and have a lot of patience to experience success with your horse. Especially if it was raised and trained by someone else.

In Syros, the horses used were from the island itself. Although Franklin did not originally plan to work on difficult horses for their owners, I was personally touched to see the same owners moved to tears, when they experienced the change of their own horses while working with Franklin.

The skills of Franklin combined with the carefully planned support from the part of Candio and Vangelis, resulted in an excellent seminar, despite the variety of horses used, including stallions, mares and foals.

Questions were answered, notes taken and telephones exchanged and everyone had an unforgettable time.

Many expressed the desire to host a similar seminar in their own area, asking Franklin to come back in Greece in the near future and two of these invitations are close to materializing, as Franklin already discussed with the vet Dr. Elias Nikolakopoulos and Mr Kostas Moros who own a farm in the Parnassos mountain region.

Personally, I was very pleased by the hospitality of Candio and Vangelis and was impressed by the professionalism they showed in organizing such a task. I warmly thank them for their effort to acquire knowledge on horses and the correct behavior toward them and especially for their ability to make this happen for other horse-lovers from all over Greece.

With their effort they proved that it’s not money that drives success but love and care for whatever one is interested in.