Meredith Hodges

Meredith Hodges and Richard Shrake Agree: Resistance Free is the Key!

By Helen T. Hertz

One loves mules, the other prefers horses, but famed equine trainers Richard Meredith Hodges and Richard Shrake share one thing in common: they both swear by resistance-free training. The two friends joined forces recently when Meredith hosted one of Richard’s Resistance-Free® Riding and Training Clinics at her Lucky Three Ranch in Loveland, Colo.

Richard Shrake has been teaching his training methods for more than 40 years. He’s trained World Champion horses and riders and judged major-breed World Championship shows. In his world travels he’s encountered all kinds of horses and horse owners.

“I’m teaching the horse’s language,” he says. “All of them speak the same language, regardless of breed, and what the horses are saying is, ‘Thank you for giving me leadership.’”

Richard’s methods are designed to foster a cooperative partnership between horse and rider based on mutual respect. Called the “ultimate coach” he teaches his students that training is like a dance, a journey—not an accomplishment or something to check off your list as, “Done.”

 “This method is so fabulous because we teach that the horse or mule is a mirror of you,” he says. “It’s like going to the Dalai Lama for a few years—you get such insight about yourself, if you listen to the animal.”

Meredith discovered Richard’s training methods early in her career and put many of them to use in her own training program for mules and donkeys. Using behavior modification and positive reinforcement through a specific reward system, she found success where others had failed. The old stereotype of the stubborn mule crumbled as her animals became responsive, reliable and amazingly athletic.

Meredith has worked with mules and donkeys for more than 30 years, in an extraordinary variety of disciplines that includes dressage and combined training. Although she doesn’t work the clinic circuit like Richard does, she’s built a loyal following through her award-winning, correspondence, equine-training series Training Mules and Donkeys and her television program of the same name, which airs several times a week on RFD-TV.

Meredith recommends her 10-video program to horse owners as well. Over the years she’s bumped heads with a few “horse people,” as she’s lobbied on behalf of her mules, but she looks for compromise.

“I support a unified equine industry committed to teaching and promoting humane training techniques,” she says. “My long-standing relationship with Richard is a big part of that.”

On the second day of the clinic, Meredith and her good friend Joanne Lang, an animal massage therapist and rehabilitation expert, held a special session on athletic conditioning. Their subjects were two of Meredith’s molly mules. April was born at Lucky Three and has enjoyed the benefit of Meredith’s training and maintenance program her whole life. Her superior physical conditioning and steady temperament were evidence of her meticulous upbringing. Vicki was also born at the ranch but, at a young age, was sold. For several years she was left alone in a pasture, neglected to the point that her halter had actually begun to grow into her face. Meredith heard of her plight a little more than a year ago, purchased her and brought her home. After assessing the damage, she and Joanne put Vicki on a program of gentle exercise and therapeutic massage. Already she’s made extraordinary progress; the mule who, when she arrived, couldn’t even walk or trot correctly now moves through all three gaits in an improved and balanced frame—though it will still be some time before she is able carry a rider in the same fashion.

During their detailed lecture, Meredith and Joanne demonstrated the differences in flexibility and strength between the two animals and discussed proper techniques to improve Vicki’s condition. They had one primary message: It is critically important to condition an animal for a task, rather than during a task. Meredith explains it this way: “You wouldn’t ask a football player to condition his body by playing a game without preparatory exercises, yet that is what we expect from our equines. It’s better to take the time to go through the proper exercises that will prepare them for the classes you wish to perform.”

Later Meredith and Joanne took time to examine each student’s horse and assess its condition. CD Harbridge of Evergreen, Colo., was disappointed to hear that she should take her horse back to the round pen for some basic groundwork, but she took the message to heart. She raises Arabians and has been coming to Richard’s clinics for several years to work on some bad habits.

“I know I do things too quickly,” she says. “I bring different horses to these clinics because it’s a safe environment where I can absorb more—it’s not all a critique of you.

“I want a life-long relationship with my horse without fighting and struggling,” she says. She’s prepared to slow her pace of training to achieve that.

Whether you get your instruction at a clinic, from a private trainer or from a video, both Meredith and Richard stress the importance of working with your equine yourself to build that critical bond of trust and friendship.

“I know Richard will agree with me when I say that we’re really here to help people communicate,” Meredith says. “People call mules stubborn, but it’s so often the individual who says ‘This is the way I’ve always done it,’ or ‘I don’t want to wait that long or work that hard.’ These people sabotage their own success, and the animal pays the price.”

As Richard’s clinic progresses and the work becomes increasingly technical, he takes great pleasure in watching his students’ confidence grow.

“I encourage them to share their experiences with one another,” he says. “They learn from me, but also from each other, and that makes this process really powerful.”

Meredith has a similar dynamic in place. Each month thousands of people visit the Ask Meredith page of her web site. There they can browse an enormous archive of questions and answers on a variety of topics ranging from behavior to breeding or ask one of their own. Meredith typically responds within 48 hours.

“A lot of these people are out in the field dealing with a training issue and need help now,” she says. “While there are no quick fixes, I try to give them keys to building a foundation that will serve them long-term.”

When the clinic ends and Richard heads out to his next engagement, Meredith gets to work with her production team, which is on site filming the event. Their first project is a two-part show on therapeutic riding programs featuring Loveland’s own outstanding program, Hearts & Horses. The shows will air on RFD-TV this fall as part of the documentary mini-series Those Magnificent Mules. Later this year Lucky Three Productions will produce another two-part special, this one on athletic conditioning and rehabilitation, to be aired in January 2008, as part of Meredith’s training series Training Mules and Donkeys.

Putting this information on RFD-TV and the station’s high-definition counterpart RFD HD enables Meredith to spread the word about resistance-free training to a larger audience than ever before. Between Meredith’s enterprise and Richard’s clinics and training videos, these two have resistance-free training covered on all fronts.

“There’s no doubt that when done correctly and consistently, these techniques work,” says Meredith. “It’s rewarding to us to be able to help all these people and rewarding to our students, who are able to experience the absolute joy of a long-term friendship with their animals.”

For more information About Meredith Hodges and Training Mules and Donkeys, please visit www.luckythreeranch.com.

For more information about Richard Shrake and Resistance Free® Riding and Training, please visit www.richardshrake.com.

Meredith Hodges has used her resistance-free training program to prepare her animals for success in several disciplines including dressage and jumping. In her correspondence training series Training Mules and Donkeys, Meredith stresses the importance of bonding. Mules and donkeys have a strong instinct for self-preservation. To win their trust and cooperation, you must be the one to work most closely with your animal and demonstrate that you have his best interest at heart. Comprehensive athletic conditioning, beginning with basic groundwork, is essential for developing muscles over a proper frame. Proper diet and maintenance are equally critical in a well-rounded training program. Mules can do anything a good horse can do. With proper training, care and attention they can become champion performers and treasured companions. For more about Meredith Hodges and Training Mules and Donkeys, please visit www.luckythreeranch.com or call 800-816-7566.