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I met Steve Harris in 1991 when he was doing a Touch of Love
horse training demonstration with his PortaFlex Safety Round
Pen.
Steve has made a lot of
modifications and improvements over the years and his product
just keeps getting better and better.
My personal pen is 6'5" high, 90'
in diameter and has been in place for ten years and still holds
the rankest of the rank. I always try to have a second 50' pen
to use for clinics and training on site at a client's property
but that doesn't always happen since when I set one up they
usually end up buying it from me.
I've yet to have one get out or
injured in a PortaFlex.
In fact, there is no way for a
horse to be injured in the PortaFlex, everything gives with the
pressure and there is nothing solid to cause injury.
I've actually been bucked off into
the side walls and it felt kinda neat to just bounce off the
wall instead of hitting a solid pipe rail fence.
I've watched as a mustang ran full
blast into the PortaFlex gate and it held them, provided the
safety latch is in place.
I've seen a number of horses
attempt to go over the top without success or injury.
I have watched as a
woman was bucked off her mare in her pipe round pen and
shattered her helmet to pieces.
I've known people who have had
their horses injured in their round pens or at a trainers from
portable or solid pipe round pens.
I've heard the stories of broken
legs from kicking pipe panels to shattering their faces from
running head on into a pipe panel.
I've seen horses get hung up in the
rails trying to jump over pipe corrals and whatched board pens
shatter from a horse's kick.
The PortaFlex just stands there
like the flexible barrier it is.
Being portable, I've
been able to move my PortaFlex around from one spot to another
on my property but even more important is the ability to take a
PortaFlex to my horse training customers and use it right there
on their property.
I usually refuse to work their
horses in their solid pipe or portable round pens.
I once saw a friend working his
mare in his portable panels when she jumped into a panel
knocking it over on top of a 20 yr. old girl breaking her collar
bone.
This would not have happened in a
PortaFlex so for safety purposes, I generally refuse to work a
horse in anything but a PortaFlex.
It
doesn't take long to put up and take down, especially with two
people working together.
I've sold about ten PortaFlex Round
Pens and one of the last ones I sold was because I loaned it to
a friend who was competing in the Western States Mustang
Challenge and I wanted him to have the advantage of the
PortaFlex.
It was the fact that we set it up
in less than 40 minutes that convinced him that I wasn't going
home with that PortaFlex.
As easy as it is to set up and
move, it has been right there in that exact spot for almost a
year now. I sold it with the condition of keeping a banner with
my name and number on it and have sold another one from the
banner.
I've sold about six of them to
people who I set up a PortaFlex on their property to work with
their horses and had them buy it instead of having me take it
down and go home with it.
The others I've sold have been to
people who have brought their horses to my barn to be worked
with and walked away wanting their own PortaFlex.
I'd love to do more
clinics than I do but certainly have enjoyed the dozen or so
times I've been invited to do a training clinic out of town with
the PortaFlex.
I can set it up just about anywhere
and have often used a corral fence to tie the ropes to on one or
two sides.
The hardest part of setting up the
PortaFlex is driving the stakes into the ground and pulling them
out.
But like the old saying goes, just
use a bigger hammer and it'll be easier.
I'll never forget March of 2003
when Steve Harris invited me to Sells, Arizona to help him
gather and train wild horses on the TohonoOdom Indian
Reservation.
We set up a PortaFlex to catch
horses in and load them into the trailer. Then we set up two
pens inside the rodeo arena to work the horses in.
We had a blast on that trip.
Every once in awhile
someone complains about the cost of the PortaFlex.
I tell them that the PortaFlex has
saved me thousands of dollars in vet and medical bills or a law
suit from an injured horse or client.
I have a number of portable pipe
panels on my property that I've used for permanent corrals but
they haven't held up like my PortaFlex has.
One thing I know for sure is that I
probably use my PortaFlex a lot more than most people who have a
round pen and have had it longer than most and it still stands
tall and untattered.
You can even use your
PortaFlex as an extra corral or for overnight camping since it
is so portable.
I can haul a 50'-60' PortaFlex in
the back of my pickup and have often put it in the saddle
compartment of my slant load trailer. When I bought a camper top
for my pickup I had a lumber rack included on top of it where I
haul my PortaFlex so the back of my pickup is available for my
bedroll and camping equipment. A 30' or 40' pen is plenty big
enough to take on camping trips and I usually only set up a 40'
for clinics.
If anyone has questions
concerning the use of a PortaFlex I certainly welcome the
inquires.
I can testify to their safety,
portability, ease of use, and the pride of ownership.
Jolly Roger Holman
www.RideForTheCross.com
355 Hollyhock Lane
Templeton, California 93465
805-712-0671
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