"Calming Stableizer®" to be demonstrated January 25

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

The Stableizer is basically a rope that applies pressure to three points on a horse's head, thus calming the animal. Pressure can be increased by the handler (as shown above) when a horse is being trained, vaccinated, shod, etc. The Jan. 25 clinic will demonstrate these things. -Staff photo by Cope

January 23, 2003 -- The Stableizer®, a simple headstall device with proven calming affects, will be demonstrated in a clinic set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, in Greenville.

R.C. "Buck" Wheeler, a horseman with over 45 years experience, patented the device he created from the knowledge gained while growing up on an Indian Reservation and serving in the military.

The clinic, free and open to the public, is the first Continuing Education event sponsored by the Texas A&M-Commerce equine program.

"This clinic is being held to provide information; it's not an endorsement," said Dr. J.D. Norris, veterinarian, who is teaching equine science classes at the university.

Four horses will be used during the clinic to demonstrate the Stableizer's ability to calm. Two of the horses are unbroke; one has a dislike for being shod; and the other doesn't like to have its ears and head clipped or to be given injections.

The Stableizer has been recognized as a training aid to help horses through everything from the first saddling to winning the Kentucky Derby, according to Wheeler.

Norris explained the Stableizer works on three of the head's pressure points - two behind the ears and one under the lip at the base of the nose. "These are sedation points," the veterinarian noted.

The device is a small rope headstall that circles under the horse's upper lip and over the ears, so pressure points there are touched. The device has pulleys that are adjusted by the handler to increase pressure when needed.

Wheeler developed the Stableizer from the frustrations he felt as a youth while training broncs on his family's ranch, and later with high-strung runners at the racetrack.

Early in life, Wheeler heard stories about ancient Indian ways of dealing with horses. Then, while serving in the U.S. Army's Paratroopers, he learned acupressure points. Putting these ideas together, he developed the basic design for the device.

Patented in the late 1990s, Wheeler manufactures the Stableizer at his Minnesota ranch to control the quality of the deceptively simple-looking device. Today, the device is used in more than 80 countries, as well as all nine U.S. Army mounted units.

CW5 Charles Jack Sowles Jr., U.S. Army Caisson Platoon Leader (retired), travels with Wheeler to demonstrate the Stableizer. Sowles' platoon's primary mission was to provide mounted escorts for the nation's heroes during Full Honor Military Funerals in Arlington National Cemetery.

Numerous demonstrations have been conducted to demonstrate the Stableizer's effectiveness. It's a "humane twist on the old 'Indian war bridle' that takes the war out of working with uncooperative horses. The device's action requires only one handler, and utilizes acupressure points that release endorphins, a natural sedative, which produce a calming effect," cited an article in a horseman's magazine.

Following a trial at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Sheila McGuirk noted the Stableizer "was very effective in calming her (horse's) agitation and irritation with the prolonged restraint necessary for our examination. Within a few seconds of putting the Stableizer on him, he had his head down and was extremely compliant."

The device can be used on all kinds of equine - horses, zebras, mules, etc. Studies have also been conducted to try the Stableizer on llamas.

The Jan. 25 clinic will be at the Horseman's Club arena, located on the north side of I-30, on the east side of Greenville.