As a young man, Charles Wilhelm found his life long passion—working and training horses—in Southern California. There he began gaining experience and practical horse knowledge while showing in various disciplines including Stock Horse, Jumping, Western Pleasure, and Trail classes.
Charles later saw a real need for working with “problem horses;” horses that the trainer who specialized in show horses or the experienced owner did not want to deal with or did not know how to train. It was those horses and his own horse, Tennison Bey, coupled with the horse industry’s growth, that helped Charles create his successful training method.
About 20 years ago, Charles bought Tennison Bey, a young Arabian gelding that was bred to be a halter horse, for trail riding. Charles soon found that Tennison tested his training skills and even caused him to question his abilities. If he could not train his own horse, what was he doing training others?



Not one to give up, Charles began learning from Tennison and the other problem horses. He found that, to be successful, he had to approach training in a different way, using the nature of the horse to deal with the emotion and fear these horses needed to get through in order to be safe and responsive. Using the horse’s natural instincts, along with classical and traditional methods, Charles developed his unique and very successful training system.
During the same time period, the horse industry was growing at a phenomenal rate into a multi-million dollar industry. More and more people were buying horses and all the things that came with them—feed, tack and other accessories. (That is why Charles developed his own line of tack and educational material.) In addition, many of the new owners were novices and there were only a small number of trainers available to help them.

Training People Too
Charles’ experience allowed him to train the horses, but he realized that the owners needed training as much as the horses. The new owners were primarily women new to horses, coming back into the horse world and finally able to realize their life-long dream of horse ownership. (About 85 percent of his clients now are women.)
Many of those women were now able to afford their dream horse: a spirited Arabian or Thoroughbred. However, once they got the horse and started riding it, they realized they could not handle it because it was out of control. Now they were afraid of it and in over their heads.
This new breed of owners also found they were not having fun anymore and started riding less and less. They needed help and wanted the best for their horse, but they wanted to be part of the horse’s training, rather than turn it over to someone else. Equally important, these owners wanted to know what to do if the problems arose again. “These clients have purchased their dream horse but, after getting it, realized it is a bigger deal than they first thought and need help,” says Charles.
Recognizing that horse owners wanted help with their horses, Charles developed his Ultimate Foundation Training program. Today Charles is known for training people as successfully as he trains horses. He is able to share his knowledge in a way people can understand and then take that knowledge home to work with their own horse.

Teaching from the Inside Out
Charles’ program recognizes the natural instincts of the horse. It teaches owners that horses are prey animals with deeply embedded fear and/or flight instincts and that they are also social animals who recognize and respond well to herd dynamics. Once the owner understands this, she can use this natural behavior to train the horse.
“To successfully train a horse you need to teach it from the inside out,” says Charles. “To train a horse from the inside out, you need to learn and understand the nature of a horse first and why it reacts a certain way in different situations.”
Charles first teaches the horse basic ground manners using his training methods. The manners learned on the ground directly relate to the horse’s response to riding aids. “It is our job to train our horses to have good manners in the easiest and kindest ways possible since the horse doesn’t realize it is doing anything wrong,” Charles explains. “We need to train our horse not to step on us or strike out or, when we ride, not to buck or bolt—all behaviors that are not safe.”
Charles reschools the horse and then gives the owner instructions on how to teach her horse to respond to requests, called “cues.” Charles says, “This training is the way to bring down the horse’s emotional level and capture its mind to achieve the physical performance we are looking for.”
Charles has noticed that once a horse owner is comfortable using better equipment for the exercises, the horse and owner become more confident and less fearful. Charles feels he is successful when the owner begins to learn and understand the lesson and works well with the horse.
Internationally known as one of America’s most respected horse trainers, Charles is the author of two books - Building Your Dream Horse and Starting Baby Jaz - and has created an ongoing series of educational DVDs.
At his training facility in the East Bay Area’s Castro Valley, he has 30 to 35 horses in training on a regular basis. There he offers extensive hands-on learning programs for every level of horsemanship, from novice through trainer. His focus is performance training, including Western Pleasure, English Pleasure and Ranch Versatility. Charles also offers colt starting and work with problem horses, but only on a limited basis. In addition, Charles Wilhelm Training offers apprenticeships and horsemanship programs on a year-round basis. There are also one- to three-day clinics scheduled several times a year.
To learn more about any of Charles Wilhelm’s programs, please visit Charles online at
www.charleswilhelm.com.