9/11, Safety and Horse Training

Here’s my 9/11 experience and how it relates to safety and preparation – including with your horses.

[This is a long email - there is a 9/11 special at the end if you don’t have time to read it.  I first sent this last year.]

Today I want to share my heart about something – and how 9/11 affected us and strengthened our resolve in many ways.

Don’t worry – I’ll tie it all in with handling your horses.  There’s still something to learn here.

I want to take you back to early August, 2001.

I took my entire family (all 7 of us) to Pennsylvania to visit my side of the family.  Most of them are scattered around South East PA.  My father was raised on a dairy farm (and milked by hand twice a day) and used horses as a kid for all kinds of tasks including pulling their milk wagon on their daily route to customers and stores.

As part of that trip my wife and I wanted to take the kids to New York City to experience the big city.  Now – we’re from Nebraska – think rolling hills, corn, soybeans, cattle, etc.  So a trip to The Big Apple would be quite a culture shock for us.

I think it was Tuesday morning – we took off early and drove to NYC.  We started on the Jersey side of the river and took a ferry trip to Ellis Island, went by the Statue of Liberty, and saw the city skyline from the river.  I wanted to do that to prepare my kids for the city.

It was awesome.

We then drove through one of the tunnels (Lincoln?) and right down into lower Manhattan.  We parked underground, below one of the financial buildings, immediately next to the World Trade Center towers.

That driving/parking experience alone was quite different than what we’re used to.  We did the typical tourist things like ride the subway to Times Square, walked around Broadway, etc.

You might say we were “country Hicks” in the big city :>) and probably stood out like a sore thumb.  Not quite like the Beverly Hillbillies, but you get the picture.

Ya know something interesting – for years I had heard that New Yorkers were rude and impolite.  What we experienced couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Every cop and every person we talked to were very helpful, engaging and polite.  Perhaps even more so than folks in Omaha.  We’re not shy and don’t hesitate to walk up to strangers and start a conversation.   It was a great experience.
(although a few questionable characters were on the subway that refused to make eye contact.)

We finished that day by going to the observation deck of the World Trade Center South Tower- I believe it was 111 stories high?  Just riding the elevators up that many floors was an amazing trip.

But stepping out on that roof and looking down was something to behold.  Looking down on all the other buildings, looking down on small airplanes and helicopters flying below us, seeing for miles along the river and all the little specks below.  It makes you feel so small.

Well – spin forward about a month to 9/11/2001.  We’re back home in Nebraska – Southwest of Omaha.

You know what happened that morning so I don’t have to describe it.

I was in my truck heading to see a client in rural Iowa and my wife called me and gave me the news about the first plane hitting the tower.  As soon as I answered I knew something grave had taken place.  She stood there
in unbelief – she could hardly talk.

We had just been standing on top of one of those two towers a month earlier.  It shook us. It was fresh in our minds.  It shook us to the core.

I got to my appointment but everyone was glued to the TV watching the event take place.  Just as I got there the second place hit.

I had to head home.  I was fearful for what was taking place and I needed to be with my family.

I drove fast to get home, listening on the radio the whole time and talking to my wife off and on.  I started making mental plans for preparation – you’ll understand why later.

The other plane hit the Pentagon and the plane in PA hit the ground.  What was going on?  Is any place safe?  Would this happen all over the USA?

A little later President Bush ordered all planes in US airspace to be grounded.  He was rushed to Air Force One and was in the air with F16 escorts.  They didn’t want him at the Whitehouse or other locations in the event they were targets as well.

We were now in the highest alert ever.  Our country was under attack and we didn’t know what to expect.

Our place in the country is in the frequent flight path of Offutt Air Force Base.  Offutt is the underground command post for our forces and, in the event of major threat situations – including nuclear war, would direct our nuclear response missiles, planes, ships, etc. around the world from here.  It’s a massive, hardened series of bunkers deep underground that is able to survive a nuclear attack.

They decided to fly Pres. Bush to Offutt and put him underground until they figured out what all was going on across the country.

Keep in mind – there were NO planes in the sky. It was eerie – no sounds of jets, no contrails. I told my kids to come out and look and listen – they may never experience this again in their lifetime.

There was a hint in the local news that Pres. Bush might come to Offutt and go underground until things settled down.

I was outside and here comes Air Force One heading to Offutt – he flew right over my place.  My immediate response was to say a prayer for our President, our armed forces and all those who will be responsible for carrying out our response to this tragedy.  I prayed for the families of the victims in NYC, PA and DC.

While I was shook – I also trusted that our forces around the world would respond appropriately and we would use our intelligence services to our benefit.

What’s all this have to do with horses?
Hang on – we’re almost there…..

If you’ve read my emails for very long you know I’m all about safety.  Train your horses to respect your space, you be in control and have them respond to your commands.  Wear a helmet.  Don’t let your horse decide when he wants move or where – he looks to YOU for direction.  He is trained not to spook under normal conditions.  And on and on….

Well, what you probably don’t know about me is that I am into preparation and planning.

If you looked into my truck you’d see tire chains, water, jumper cables, tow straps, tools, non-perishable food, spare V-Belts, etc.  I like to be prepared in all areas that I have control over.

I am also an Amateur Radio Operator (ham radio) and used to be actively involved in emergency communications for the various groups such as the Red Cross, National Weather Service and providing structured communications for mass-casualty drills, etc.

I have also taught survival skills, wilderness camping, and related stuff.  I like to be ready.

I could go on and on but you get the idea.

So for me – that mindset carries right over into anything I do – including when it comes to horse training and maintaining control.

I do my best to NOT be surprised.  I want horses to KNOW what to expect and RESPOND when
you direct them.

I urge you to take control of your horses as well.  If you have a horse you’re handling and are fearful or are putting yourself in danger because you know you don’t have control – then there’s no better time than right now to start changing that.

If you don’t – you may get hurt, broken or paralyzed.  [Did you know horseback riding is 20 times more  dangerous than riding a motorcycle?]

If you need help getting control of your horse then it all starts with knowledge.  You need to learn first and then go out and convey what you’ve learned by applying that knowledge in your handling and training your horses.

There is no such thing as a horse that is 100% safe.

All horses are wired to respond to threats.  However, if you take time to learn and control you horse, even in spooky situations for him, and take the time to build that trust relationship with him – then he will look to YOU for direction when things go bonkers.  That, my friends, is where you want to be.

I don’t want to find myself on top of a 1,200 pound bundle of muscle and trigger-happy nerves and have him go off under me
when confronted by everyday threats.  It’s a serious accident looking for a place to happen.

Our Jesse Beery course book is a great way to learn how to solve those pesky and dangerous problems with your horse.  You can get one free as part of the offer below.

Also – look over our selection of professional training DVDs.  There’s decades of training wisdom there you can take advantage of.  Again – our 9/11 special lets you get one free.

I might suggest something on groundwork and related stuff like Sue Robertson or Diana Quintana. Or Vickie Weigel’s
“How To Get rid of the Horse Eating Monster” DVD.

You can see them all here:

http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/DVD.html

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A Special Promotion to Celebrate 9/11

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So here’s a 9/11 special for you – it’s a bit different because you can pick your bonus.

Here’s how it works:

Buy any TWO of our training DVDs and then pick one more for free.

For example:

- buy any two DVDs and pick ANY other DVD for free
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/DVD.html

OK?  Just pick and pay for any two DVDs and get the
third DVD  for ‘nuthin.

http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/DVD.html

Just enter what DVD you want (the third DVD title)
into the Comments section of the checkout form.  Simple.

This 9/11 special ends Monday.

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So there you go – if you read all that you can  perhaps understand our sensitivity to 9/11 and the  real threat we face in today’s world.

Be ready, learn to think and apply knowledge  and adjust as conditions change.

That is a good position to be in whether you are talking about national security, personal defense or riding horses.

For our family it’s all about placing our Trust in the Lord,  be ready to meet Him, prepare and help others.

We base our lives individually and as a family  around those foundations.

And now you (and a few thousand others) know a bit more  about us.  Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Charlie Hicks

P.S. One more thing – my father dropped out of college after his 3rd year to join the new Air Force and he flew fighters and bombers in Korea, WW II, and other theaters around the world.  He then went into the missile program and ended up at Offutt working on the planning for the famous SR-71 Blackbird deployment.  (He did get his college degree later in life.)

But I had those country genes in me – and I got a double major in agriculture and later went into computers and networks.  But I stayed close to the farm over the years and combined computers/networks with with serving ag-related businesses.  Now you know the REST of the story!