By Steve Ayers
Camp Verde Bugle
Some call it whispering. Some call it gentling. Some still call it breaking.
Call it what you want, but the process of making a horse fit for human companionship isn’t what it once was.
For the last few decades, trainers have been preaching the gospel of “whispering,” a process of breaking and training that leverages a horse’s natural tendencies and personality.
Randy Helm is a fourth generation Arizonan who has spent his life around horses. He has broken his share the old fashioned way — a tedious and often traumatic process where the irresistible force of the trainer is pitted against the immovable spirit of the animal.
But that all stopped about 20 years ago when he saw a trainer do things with a horse, Helm never dreamed possible. Since 1994 he has taken scores of wild horse and made them loyal, hardworking companions.
