By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

WAYNESVILLE, Ohio — He’s known in southwest Ohio as the “horse whisperer.”

So good is his communication methods with horses that adult horse owners in Warren and surrounding counties have asked him to teach his techniques to their children.

Earlier this month Helge Buflod hosted a Natural Methods for Horse and Rider clinic at Cross Creek Stables in Waynesville for 12 young riders and their mounts. The children paid $125 for the seven-hour session and walked away with confidence and better understanding of their horse’s language.

The majority of the kids in his clinic are children of his adult clients.
“Their parents had horsemanship classes from me and they want their kids to be involved in that same process and learn how to communicate with their horse much better,” Buflod said.

Many in southwest Ohio know Buflod as the trainer who can work with a wild stallion in the morning and have that same horse ready to ride by afternoon. According to Buflod, understanding the horse and what it is thinking is key. And, he’s quick to point out that his “natural methods” clinics are much more than simply learning how to get on and off a horse.

“Natural horsemanship is learning the horse’s language, learning how horses communicate to each other and not so much how people communicate to horses,” Buflod said.

“The kids learn the horse’s language and what’s important to them and then apply that when dealing with their horse.”

Without muttering a single work, Buflod uses simple head motions, easy-going gestures or concentrated glances at a horse to manipulate the animal.

“I call it plain talking, but it’s also referred to as horse whispering,” Buflod said.

And the children caught on quickly. The first half of the day was spent inside the barn. There the young riders learned how to desentize their mounts, making them unafraid of sudden movements or cracks of a whip.

Riders learned how to “drive” their horse, or make them move simply by motioning or looking at a certain part of the horse. Water-based paint on each horse’s hind quarters was used to illustrate the locations of these drive lines and pressure points.
“The hind quarters is where all the energy from a horse comes from,” Buflod said. “That’s the part of the horse that acts as the motor.”

In the afternoon the riders took to the outside arena.
There they learned more desentizing techniques, learning how to navigate the horse through many obstacles. Horses were confronted by bridge structures, barrels, other animals (llamas, pigs and even a fake deer), motorized vehicles and and plastic sheets that resembled water falls.

Fun was added to the training when horses and riders engaged in “horse pinball.” Horses learned to push balls around the arena under the direction of the students.

“With the adults ride through the course, but with the kids we do it in hand, allowing the kids to lead the horses through various obstacles,” Buflod said.

Buflod proved to the class that any horse, young or old, can learn under these natural methods. A 24 year-old Arabian named Khadir was used by one young clinic attendee. Buflod showed those in attendance that the methods work for the most stubborn of animals, even Khadir.

“It works 100 percent of the time,” Buflod said. “It may take more patience with some older horses, but a horse of any age can learn. The horse already knows this language. It’s more about humans telling them we know what they know.”

Interest in the “natural methods” clinic was quite high.

“We had a lot more interest than we could allow under one barn, so we’ll be having more of these,” Buflod said.

Buflod holds six clinics for adults and two clinics for kids. On June 28 he’ll conduct a gaited horsemanship clinic, followed by an adult horsemanship clinid on Aug. 23. An advanced horsemanship clinic is slated for Sept. 13.

On Oct. 11 a Confidence Course Showdown will be held, pitting the top three winners from each clinic’s Confidence Course. The latter two clinics will be at Phelps Farm in Midland, Ohio.

For more information about Helge’s Horse Training call 937-689-9475 or visit www.helgeshorsetraining.com