Patrick
has been dealing with horses with varied behaviour problems for the last
15 years. He specialises in starting youngsters, loading , the
un-handled horse and all other equine behaviour problems.
(Photos of a young Welsh Section C accepting first saddle, bridle and rider in less than 30 minutes)
Patrick
found he understood the concepts used by Monty and wanted to pursue a
career in equine training without violence.
Patrick's daughter, Shauna, can be seen here starting a young pony. Shauna works closely with her father.
Patrick and his family have built a unique therapy centre, the first centre of its kind in the United Kingdom. The centre, scheduled to open in July 2010 on Hemfield Road, Ince, Wigan, will help young people from disadvantaged or troubled backgrounds. Susan believes that teaching young people these concepts will have a marked effect on their behaviour.
The centre is backed by the Government, in the form of funding from the Youth Opportunities Fund, which is part of a strategy called "Aiming High for Young People" devised by the Department of Children, Schools and Families.
Patrick has gained an extensive portfolio over the last 15 years and prides himself on his gentle approach and mannerism towards horses and owners. He is always willing to offer advice and help to those in need.
Letter to Kelly Marks regarding Patrick's work:
"Hi Kelly, We are probably two of your newest members, having just joined I.H. a week ago, who thanks to your RA Paddy Gracey*, have probably just experienced enough ‘light bulb’ moments to power Blackpool illuminations. After a couple of attempts at finding the right horses for us, we finally bought Cloud and Aero. They were ‘dopes on ropes’, to coin a phrase, when we rode them at the riding centre where we purchased them from. We have had Cloud for 6 weeks but had to send the mare – Sunset back as they did not get along, and we exchanged her for Aero who has been with us for Two weeks. Away from the riding centre, our ‘dopes on ropes’ began to show a bit more character and zest for life – Cloud regularly dragged me (Ann) skiing across the gravel and field and Aero barged Alison along after him. Both regularly either refused to go in the stable, or if they did, they waltzed right back out again. Neither of them had any manners or respect for our space. They also suffer from separation anxiety. We had been to one of Monty’s demos, watched the DVD’s and read his and your books; we had even managed join-up. (We made the pen out of Electric fencing equipment – (not connected obviously). We knew the answers lay with the I.H techniques and had bought Dually Halters but were afraid to use them, as we didn’t have the loads of experienced horses to practice on, and were anxious in case our lack of knowledge resulted in problems which could have turned serious – a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! We decided to choose an RA, and ask for help to teach us to use the Dually Halter and to long line. We simply picked a name from the RA list on the I.H. website picked up the phone and were absolutely blown away by the sheer enthusiasm and willingness to help that was delivered via the phone, and were totally inspired as this lilting Irish brogue assured us that we could learn the techniques we had seen and read about. He arrived Three days later…….WOW!! He was brimming with enthusiasm….it was more infectious than a flu virus! He was so inspirational and knowledgeable. He explained what he was going to do very clearly…………Fit the Dually, some ground manners with them, leading the horse correctly and respecting our space, Join up, follow up and then long lining, one horse in the morning and one in the P.M. He set to work and the problems were disappearing before our eyes, and the word’s ‘I can do it too, began to form part of our vocabulary as he worked with us too. The Dually became a fantastic tool that we could actually use instead of something scary that we hadn’t got the confidence/knowledge to use correctly. He also taught us to look at situations in a totally different light, work out why that behaviour might be happening and think of several (intelligent) ways we might try to get the desired outcome so that we always have a plan B, C, D etc. We were well and truly hooked, inspired and empowered. Even the horses were calmer and more settled after his visit. Cloud tends to have quite loose stools when stressed but the next morning his stable displayed nicely formed stools for the first time in Six weeks. We are still buzzing from the experience especially as today we proved that not only did Paddy work ‘magic’, but he also left some of it with us! So thank you Kelly for I,H and it’s RA’s, they really do change lives, for people and for the horses, so much so that I, (Ann) have enrolled on all the courses which could eventually lead to me being in a position like Paddy to help fellow equestrians and their Horses. We just wanted to let you know the fantastic work that is being done by your RA’s."