Patience

PATIENCE

A STORY OF LESSONS LEARNED BY WILD HORSES AND WILD MEN

By Tiffany Selchow

©Lauren Maehling

Somewhere things went wrong for every single locked up prisoner. The stories are endless and the crimes plentiful. A chance at happiness behind the walls of this forbidding structure in Florence, Arizona is slim. Randy Helm, manager of the Arizona Wild Horse Inmate Program, might offer that chance or at least a small glimmer of hope. A unique partnership is occurring between the Bureau of Land Management and the Arizona State Penitentiary System to utilize both the numerous wild horses and burros present on federal land and the labor of inmates. The idea is the inmates train the horses and burros making them more adoptable. While this is a mutually beneficial relationship, it seems the inmates are the ones who gain the most happiness from this program. But not the sort of happiness which comes from instant gratification. No. This is the type of joy which comes from long, hard, and oftentimes, hot days of fulfilling life lesson-teaching work.

©Lauren Maehling

Not every inmate is allowed into this program. Before these criminals can start working with the horses, they first interview with Helm. This process, much like a job interview, allows Helm to assess the likelihood of success for an inmate in the program. It also allows him the chance to cover the ground rules. Racism is a significant issue in most prisons, but those politics aren’t allowed in the horse arena. The focus is on working as a team, despite the race of the inmate. Once an inmate is accepted into the program, he is paired up with a convict who has been working in the program for some time and is ready to share his knowledge. Helm grew up on a ranch and then moved to a farm where his family raised and trained thoroughbred racehorses and grew row crops. After time spent in the military, he moved on to law enforcement. In this current role, he has melded two impactful areas of his life into what is a hugely successful program in which inmates are invited into an evident atmosphere of mutual respect: respect for the animals and inmates alike. Helm said, “I know these horses come and need to learn, but I’m going to give that horse the chance to prove itself and give it every opportunity to make the right choice. What I find is if you treat these guys with respect, similar to the horses, they will work hard and prove successful.”

©Lauren Maehling

Helm often holds clinics in one of the many inmate-built pipe round pens. During these clinics, the inmates gather around and learn how to work their three assigned horses. Each clinic covers a different step in the process ranging from a horse who has never been touched to one who has reached the final step in their saddle breaking - the first ride. Under Helm’s training program, throwing a leg over the horse should be the next natural progression. Step by step is how these horses are trained to succeed, a parallel which Helm is quick to point out works well in the lives of these inmates. Lots of time and energy are spent with all six feet on the ground. Horses are introduced to the tack and equipment needed for riding, work in the round pen and are introduced to versatility obstacles such as teeter-tottering bridges, plastic hanging curtains, gates, and other useful equipment. The inmate’s successfully trained horses have been adopted into all equestrian disciplines including trail riding, ranch work, border patrol duties, and one special grey gelding is headed to Arlington National Cemetery to perform in the poignant riderless horse ceremonies.

©Lauren Maehling

Drug-related crimes contribute to most of the inmate’s prosecution, but there are other stories. Stories of one wrong decision which led a person down a completely different path. One young man was on his way to a career in the United States Marine Corps. After serving his country in Iraq, this young man and his best friend went out to celebrate, something he wasn’t often keen to do in his pre-military life. He made a choice to get behind the wheel after having too much to drink and ended up in a canal. He survived. His best friend didn’t. And the trajectory of his life drastically changed. The emotional wounds this man must carry are massive and while these wounds may never heal completely, this program offers this prisoner a place to stay focused and work through destructive thoughts using the horses as a tool for recovery. Because horses listen. They listen in a different way than any human can. They listen to your body language, to your heart, to your soul.

©Lauren Maehling

Wild horses and burros and the land on which they graze is a topic of great contempt and debate in our country. Currently, there are roughly 100,000 wild horses on land which should only hold 28,000. The land can’t support the exponential growth of the population and, without common sense solutions, tragedy isn’t far off. With a program showing success like the Arizona Wild Horse Inmate Program, it might baffle a person as to why these programs don’t exist across the country. There isn’t official data on the program’s inmates’ recidivism, but Helm has seen extreme success with only a few inmates returning to prison after their release since the program’s inception in 2012.

Patience. A word you might not associate with prisoners locked up at the Arizona State Prison, but one which was used by numerous inmates when asked what they would take away from the Arizona Wild Horse Inmate Program. An inmate laughed and shared, “If I had this patience a long time ago, I wouldn’t be here now.” When asked how an inmate would use this lesson of patience learned from these wild horses, one inmate stated, “I’ll use it to get back in touch with my kids. They were 2 and 3 when I was locked up. They are now 13 and 15.” Patience is a hard skill to master, but with the help of these wild horses, these wild men are learning just how valuable that skill is.

Horses and burros, trained by the inmates and untrained, are available for adoption. Untrained horses are available for an adoption fee of $125 and fully saddle trained horses are $825. An adoption event is held most Fridays at the Florence State Prison from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. More specific details can be found at www.blm.gov

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tiffany Selchow, moonlighting as a freelance writer, works for the ranchers of Arizona by educating consumers on the many benefits of including beef in a healthy lifestyle with the Arizona Beef Council. Her horse crazy tendencies began by asking for one on her Christmas list as a young child and took her to Nelson Farms in Tucson, AZ where she rode and showed horses on a national level. That passion evolved and carried her into a life revolving around production agriculture. She lives and has taken up the role of ranch wife on the Quarter Circle U Ranch with her husband, the ranch manager, and their daughter Hayes.