High & Wild Wilderness Horsemanship Adventure Series

Come get High & Wild with us on a High & Wild wilderness learning adventure! Can you imagine a luxurious lodge set 80 miles from the nearest road only accessible by air or horses? Join us as we fly in for three learning adventure vacations, seven days and six nights each, of Natural Horsemanship set in the rugged mountains of Northern British Columbia. These trips are an opportunity to put natural horsemanship principles to purpose in a magnificent wilderness setting with horses raised in the wild.

High & Wild originally started as a one week get away for my family and a few of my students and clinic hosts. Before the first trip could happen a second trip had to be planned to handle the amount of people interested. Students from all around the world have joined us for this remarkable experience and 2012 will mark our 10th season!

Week 1 - High & Wild Colt Starting, Young Horse Development & Problem Solving...July 29 - August 4, 2012

Week 2 - High & Wild Adventure...August 4 - 10, 2012

 

 

Going to High & Wild is hands down the highlight of our year. The experience of being in those mountains immersed in horsemanship and fresh air, woven into timeless valleys and trails, so removed from the outside world of cell phones, traffic and deadlines is restorative in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. It is a place where time stands still for a while and lets you catch your breath. Those that have been to High & Wild agree that words and pictures cannot ever describe the experience they have enjoyed, but we've all tried! We have a beautiful High & Wild DVD, a gallery of photos, excerts of magazine articles, student highlights and a map - the map of all maps!

Week 1 - High & Wild Colt Starting, Young Horse Development & Problem Solving...July 29 - August 4, 2012

The main focus of this particular week is to increase your skill level with horses, presenting opportunities to sharpen your skills with multiple horses, studying the behavior and psychology of one of the last free range horse herds in Canada. These horses live year round in the mountains and have developed undomesticated herd/individual behavior and survival strategies. They are in charge of their own health and welfare throughout the year and interacting with these horses in their purest form is eye opening. Experience an excellent example of putting principles to purpose, of how "Horsemanship is Natural". Experience how horses can go from pawing snow and fighting wolves in the winter to their legs becoming ours and our thoughts becoming theirs, all in ways that preserve their dignity and help us do and be so much more than we would be if not for them.

During this course, students will be presented with a chance to achieve a deeper understanding of horse behavior by playing with various horses, practicing techniques, exploring concepts and theories, and how they apply to different horsenalities leading to accelerated learning. Some of the areas and things we will cover are as follows: 

Reading the horse - Horse psychology, concepts and theories. Herd dynamics - The drive line. Working within the herd. Moving/Trailing. Herd management. Rounding up. Horses for transport. Packing. Tying the diamond. Methods of trailing multiple horses. Knots - Valuable, effective, and safe. Foot handling, trimming & maintenance. Young horse development. First haltering. Introducing the concept of following and offering a feel for the first time with untouched horses. Colt starting - Accept the human, accept the saddle, accept the rider, accept the bit. (Participation will vary in different degrees dependent upon each person's individual ability level and skill set)

The prerequisite for this course is that all applicants must have passed a minimum of Stage 5 or equivilent Parelli Level; Exceptions may be made in special circumstances.

Download the 2012 High & Wild Application, Dates & Fees Form

Week 2 - High & Wild Adventure...August 4-10, 2012

Join us at one of the main lodges to expand your horsemanship with horses other than your own, and then put that horsemanship practice to purpose with other like-minded folks out on the trails while we explore some of the most magestic and fascinating components of wilderness that exists.  Usually we return every night to one of the main lodges, where we can soak our pleasureably weary muscles in the hot tub, then step out to enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by one of the Big Nine Outfitters cooks...enjoy some wine on the deck, watch the elk, go for a walk along the river, read a book, or just enjoy visiting about the days experiences and what we all learned and saw.  Minimum Stage 1 or Parelli Level 1.

Download the 2012 High & Wild Application, Dates & Fees Form

Here is an article about High & Wild that was written up in the Horse Canada magazine, to read, click on the picture to the left.

 

 

High & Wild General Considerations

On each adventure the participants need to be aware that they will be given a position of responsibility. Everyone is accountable for themselves, their horse and the other participants. Each week is a genuine experience, and your judgment and evaluation of a situation can produce some interesting learning opportunities.The following are general considerations for anyone who comes to High & Wild:

• Great Attitude
• The ability to saddle their own horse with a western saddle
• Fit enough to hike some
• Be able to mount unassisted
• Overall willingness to help with any activities.

Students' Comments

That trip was certainly life changing for me. I enjoyed it so much that on the drive back home I got to thinking how nice it would be to take more time to do trips like that. So we sold out last March 1st 2004 and have retired to an area near a lake, where we live with our 6 horses. - Brightsand, Saskatchewan

A chance to see some of God’s handiwork up close. Atlanta, Georgia

While it was true enough we imparted some of our knowledge to them, overall the majority agreed the horses taught us more than we taught them. A tremendous respect was earned for these humble animals. - Switzerland

That I was able to come up here to this special place, and for such great leadership, support, advice and friendship. I have had unforgettable fun on this adventure and can’t wait till next year. I want to stay for months and months. - England

 

Hazel's Reflections of High and Wild 2005

Have you ever been somewhere on holiday for the first time and it’s been so great that you start to worry about going again because you can’t imagine it could be that good again? I made that mistake with the high and wild trip. I had such a special time last year that although I was really looking forward to going again this year I half imagined that unless it was exactly the same as the year before it couldn’t be as good. You can probably guess it wasn’t exactly the same but I can assure you it was every bit as exciting, educational and inspirational.  The high and wild trip is not a holiday as such. It has some of the essential components of
what we would expect from a holiday. It is certainly a serene break from the chaos and cares of usual life. The views and the scenery beat all normal holiday postcards. It boasts outstanding local attractions – elk moose, wild sheep - even the possibility of a bear or too. But nothing is signposted, not much is guaranteed and the clearest map you’ll get might look like this:

The peace of the mountains, the quality of company, the beautiful horses and the excellent food would be enough to persuade me to attend yearly on there own. But counted among the highlights for me are also being out at dawn watching the horses, the challenges, the unexpected and the absolute necessity to step out of ‘the box’, out of your comfort zone and come home in some small respect totally changed.  To fully explain one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt from my time in the mountains, I have to start at home with my own horse and horsemanship journey. I have
to remember the torture it has been to learn not to micro manage my horse, not to take away her basic responsibilities like looking where she is going and not walking into anything. From a ‘normal’ past the challenges on the road to natural start small and simple. 

As I walk out to the rough coral built beautifully from tree trunks high up in the Rockies, I have to adjust my eyes. I see a docile herd of horses. Most look like the gentle docile cobs we would expect to put our grandma’s on at home. But they have noticed me long before I am even close to the coral. These horses are fresh of the mountains where they have fended for themselves all winter- no feeds, no rugs, no one breaking the ice on the water, no one fending off the grizzlies and definitely no one to micromanage their every step. This is the real deal. 
Having acquainted myself with my horse ‘Cochise’, a beautiful Appaloosa brought in from town a few years previously. I spend the rest of the week realising just how capable our four footed friends can be. Cochise carries me over the ultimate in uneven ground, down steep slippery banks across deep fast flowing rivers, he steps carefully over fallen branches worthy of the cross country course back home. In exchange I walk the steepest parts and take as best care of him as I know how.  

These horses are by no means pampered but they are respected by everyone who rides them. Special care is taken to groom away anything that might be uncomfortable under their heavy western saddles. Saddles will be adjusted several times daily on the trail to avoid any saddle sores or discomfort and all steep part of the trail up or down are walked by horse and rider to avoid over tiring the horse or putting unnecessary strain on joints. The horses will work hard all summer and into the autumn and will then be turned out to the mountains again for the winter. 

When we, the parelliests, are not there the camps will be full of hunters, guides and wranglers enjoying a season away from the cities. We are extremely privileged to be able to spend the time we do in the mountains and it is due in part to the great generosity of Barry who owns the outfit and to the respect Glenn Stewart has earned from Barry in the years he worked for Barry pre- Parelli. 

This is an unimaginable trip to explain and it is hard to give it justice in words. There is something about the cabins built of logs, heated by little stoves stacked with wood, something about the big jugs of hot coffee and the smell of pancakes and syrup that makes you feel at home the moment you walk in. There is something so unique and refreshing about looking out of a cabin in the morning at a range of mountains, covered in trees, divided by rivers, topped by little clouds and knowing that somewhere probably not so far away, there is a big Grizzly bear going about his business. There is a strange reassurance and sense of achievement when you have successfully crossed a fast flowing river that has touched your horse’s belly. You know just how cold it would have been if you’d have fallen in because you forgot to keep your feet up out of the water as your attention was more focused on avoiding the rocks and following Glenn – our trusty guide and teacher. 

When we sit round the camp fire on the last night telling stories, we all fight to tell our highlights as so many are shared but there are plenty to go round. We wildly applaud and thank all the staff who have cooked our food, lit our fires flown our belongings round the mountains and shared some cowboy secrets. 
 

The History of High and Wild

This is an article that was published in Horses All Magazine about High and Wild written by Dixie Stewart

It all began with the slam of the kitchen door and my ever-imaginative original-thinker type husband uttering the words... “Hey!  I’ve got a great idea!”  (Typically my first warning of something highly unusual to come that will stretch me to exceed my mental emotional and physical limits)  “What do you think if we take a few people and go get High & Wild with them next summer?”  (Hmmm.  Well...A few questions immediately sprung to my pessimistic suspicious little mind, such WHO?  WHAT?  WHERE?  WHEN...didn’t he say next summer, at least I’ve got a year to talk him out of it...Above all, WHY??? 

Then he said “On a High & Wild Wilderness Safari that is!!” The idea for the High & Wild Wilderness Adventure came to Glenn one morning in early August 2002, over coffee in the comfort of our kitchen.  It was one of those early mornings that first reminds us summer is on the wane and fall is in the air...something with the way the heavy dew lay on the grass, dry whisperings of leaves and pervasive fog that lingers up over the Peace River Valley.  We looked at each other and one of said, “I sure do miss the mountains, don’t you?  I wish we had the time to go out there again and just ride around and see the scenery.”  Then we both started our day as usual for us, in preparation of Glenn teaching Parelli Natural Horsemanship to a group of people and their horses.  I didn’t think about missing the mountains any further until Glenn came back into the kitchen with his great idea.

You see this was a very nostalgic time of the year for Glenn and I, because of all the years we spent in the Rocky Mountains of Northern British Columbia.  We would start to hear the siren call of the mountains usually about the first week in July, and soon after funny little piles of mountain gear would begin accumulating in corners and along walls in the general vicinity of the door.   Boots got oiled, axes were sharpened and so on it went.  All in preparation for “August The First” ...because that was day Sheep season opened, the illusive and highly sought-after Stone Sheep that claims these mountains as their only home in the world. 

That was the excuse that Glenn and I exercised to harbor our addiction for the mountains, and the central reason why we both spent so many years up there.  Glenn guided for 16 years in the area that the High & Wild Wilderness Safaris took place, at first for his uncle Gary Powell who later died in a plane crash, and then for his cousin Barry Tompkins who is the present owner.   Barry is extremely progressive and dedicated to continual improvement in all areas of his business and lucky for us, is open to finding better ways of doing things with horses, and making it easy for his crew to do the same. And always present, humbly waiting in the background, the horses that made it all so successful...a special breed, born and bred of the mountains.

So it came to be that a select group assembled in Fort St. John, BC, the night before our big adventure. One by one they gathered for the orientation, looking an equal mixture of lost and excited.  In they straggled, some of all ages, sizes, shapes, and abilities, some from next door and some from other continents.  The minimum prerequisite for the trip was that all needed to be Level 1 graduates of the Parelli Natural Horsemanship, a program developed by Pat Parelli which develops a language of communication between horse and human.  Some were lawyers, some were bricklayers, secretaries, scientists, story tellers and singers...all handpicked, but different as could be, yet all with one passion in common...the love of horses.  This trip was an opportunity to put the Parelli Natural Horsemanship principles to purpose, in a magnificent setting, with other like minded individuals.  What a hoot it was to be!!

The next day we drove 3 1/2 hours to the north, to a dirt airstrip known as “Prophet River”.  Then an 80 mile flight of breathtaking scenery to the West...and as one person commented:  “We were skimming the mountain tops and came into a wide emerald green valley with a river snaking through the middle.  There below was a ranch, and I thought to myself how cool that looked way out here in the middle of nowhere.  Then all of the sudden the plane banked hard and I realized that was our destination!”

That was indeed our destination, known as “The Lodge”.  Complete with three bathrooms, bedrooms, dining and living room with a huge fireplace made out of slabbed river rock...and did I mention the hot tub...a huge cedar wood-heated affair filled with fresh spring water.  After the initial few minutes of rubbernecking, trying to believe this is all for real, you smell a mouth watering scent wafting from the kitchen...it can’t be...yup, it is, hot homemade bread straight from the oven.  For the next while this was to be our home, as Barry turned the whole place over Glenn, trusting him with his main lodge, herd of horses, all the tack and taskshed, and the responsibility that comes with it.  An honor indeed...all vowed to leave it as good as we found it, a hard act to follow. 

Then it was finally time to “Meet the Horses”.  One of the things that made it so interesting was that as Glenn put it “...these horses will not look like the horses you have at home, they could be too fat, too brown, too short, too tall, and don’t assume anything about them.” We generally all have tendencies to pick a certain type of horse... a particular energy level, or a specific look, and don’t get the chance to know a horse completely different than that which we would usually choose.   So this was a chance to break out of that mold, and deal with some new challenges that might be presented to us. 

Each horse was pre-matched to each person, with the horses name tied in its mane.  All were trustworthy to ride, but all had different quirks and horse-analities.  They were mixed in with some other horses, some of who had never been touched by a person before. The unsuspecting herd of about fifty or so were hanging out in the corral, in varying degrees of repose, basking in the afternoon sun.  Some were sprawled out sleeping, others were quietly chewing salt and overall the scene was one of relaxation.  The first order of the day was to be able to walk from one side of the corral to the other without disturbing their sleep.  NO DUST.  To be able to walk through, give them a rub, look at the tags and find which horse they belonged to, without bursting the bubble of the comfort zone. Without getting kicked or knocked out of the way by an in-house equine dispute.  Quietly put a halter on, and leave the corral. With SAVVY no less.  Pretend Pat Parelli is watching you.  Maybe even Tom Dorrance, you really never know. 

Then it was time to exchange knowledge sets with these horses.  All used the same methods...but with individual styles of introduction based on level of understanding.  All brought skills to the table, some were tentative, some inquisitive, and some made no assumptions and started at the beginning.  While it was true enough we imparted some of our knowledge to them, overall the majority agreed the horses taught us more than we taught them, and a tremendous respect was earned for these humble animals.  The ante of our expectation levels for our horses at home was also upped, as day after day these “mountain horses” demonstrated skills that surprised and amazed. 

To mention a few,such as:
Finding the Trail.  Even where there was no trail, a four year old ridden in the lead by Glenn demonstrated he could follow in minute down-to-the-tree detail the exact same path in the grass and rock as the day before using his sight and sense of smell.  Talk about look where you are going!

Jumping...incredibly smooth, and hardly an inch more than necessary, also borne of their wonderful economy of movement.   When faced with deadfall crisscrossing the trail in varying heights rarely a beat was missed in forward momentum, no matter the gait.

Surefootedness...volumes could be said about this, but suffice it to say they go pretty much anywhere (jumping up and down steep banks, into and across rivers and beaver ponds, thorough muskeg and swamps) anytime (no matter how wet, deep, or slippery) they just went. 

Willingness...no fuss, no fanfare, they just got the job done.  If you asked politely, they delivered, if you stayed out of their way and left them to their own devices they would find the very best method for the task at hand.  What a Partnership!!   Rarely was anything balked at, and if there was hesitation it was usually for a good reason that the horse recognized before the human.

So in the days that followed, we found the rhythm of the mountains, far from cell phones and email, and a less complicated life began to unfold.  A typical day went something like this.  Horsemanship in the morning, and some kind of exploring adventure to follow; where principles were put to purpose.  The adventures were optional; the horsemanship was not – for those who wanted to participate in the afternoon’s activities the preparation began in the corral.

And adventures they were.  I won’t say here what they were, because some things are better left to be experienced without the prejudice of preconceived notion but they all involved scenery that left you breathless, and other things such as: Abundance of wildlife, some fleeting glimpses and at other times lengthy opportunities to witness the nuances of herd interactions. 

Amazement that we are physically capable of so much more than what we usually ask of ourselves on a daily basis. A sense of wonderment - about how nature can be so forceful to be able to carve rock with water over time, yet so delicate as to preserve even the most tiny and fragile of orchids.  As one man phrased it so well  “A chance to see some of God’s handiwork up close.”

An appreciation for that which is not made by the hand of man, and for the simple life lessons that nature has to offer.  Cause...and effect.  So simple, but sometimes so easily lost in the complicated structure of our daily lives carried out in this age of technology that seduces us into thinking we are saving time. 

Joe E. Lewis said, “You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.”  So that is why next August when I hear the mountains calling I’ll go get High & Wild with Glenn...on a Wilderness Safaris, that is.  And maybe I’ll learn a thing or two about horses at the same time.  It just doesn’t get much better than that.
 
- Dixie Stewart