The Horse Whisperer

Yes I have watched the film. I thought it was good, but talking to an actual 'Horse Whisperer" is even better! I put Horse Whisperer in quotations because he doesn't whisper to the horses, he just uses minimal body language to communicate with horses. I spend all day Friday with this man and learned information that many 'horse people' would love to know.

First I am going to list the questions I asked him and his responses:

1. How have horses affected you life?
-taught him patience
-said he got better working with people( he was previously a plant manager)

2. How many years have you been involved with horses?
-most of his life, but 20 years with his new perspective of natural horsemanship

3. What do you believe is the most effective way to communicate with horses?
-body language, does not use voice commands when working with horses, ( means someone else could control your horse when you are on it)

4.How have horses affected your communication with other people?
-he has learned not to be aggressive back when someone comes to him with a problem( when he used to be a plant manager)
-he has learned that people learn from release as well as horses
- he gave an example that when watching a fight, as soon as one person stops fighting back the other person will soon stop as well ( release of pressure)

5. What have you learned from communicating with horses that you believe that everyone should apply to their relationships with other people?
-respect
-less is better
-try too hard to make a first impression( too nice or too overbearing)
-be natural and honest

6. Do you believe there is any aspect of human communication that can be translated into communication with a horse?
- sign language, you have to pay attention, look and not speak

7. What are some of the most important things about horses to know in order to better communicate with them?
- remember that a horse is a wild animal, NOT a pet
- you have to always have the horses attention
- you need to learn the horses language
- remember that the horse is just as scared as you are
-horses are a flight animal
-you should never destroy a horses self preservation, this can be done by forcing it to submit when breaking it/starting

8.Do you believe that communication with a horse should stem from being the leader in the relationship or do you believe that horse and rider both play equally important roles in the relationship?
-they are a herd animal, they need a leader
-they will always look for a leader
-you have to show the horse that you are capable of being a leader
( The conversation then lead into that if you can be a leader to a horse then you can most definitely be a leader in society.)

9. Has communicating with horses allowed you to become a good judge of character in another person?
-Yes, if you can learn to pick out a troubled horse then you can learn to pick out a troubled person.
- Horses and humans can sometimes be alike in the fact that they are good at hiding what troubles them

10.If you have never worked with a horse before, what signs or signals from the horse do you concentrate on or look for to learn about their well being?
- pinning of ears
- tail, knot at the end
-he just looks at body language
-the trained eye can tell by the way the horse moves his feet, and how well he yields to pressure
-if the horse avoids you- there is a problem

11. Are there any signals that you look for when you first meet another person to learn about their well being?
-he says that is more complicated, and he just has to get to know a person
- sometimes you just can't describe it
-bullies are an example, the horse that is the bully is like the person that is the bully, they are that way because they have a problem
-he gave an example that the loudest person in the room is the most troubled, just the horse that causes the most trouble is the most bothered


12. Do you think there is a correlation between these? ( questions 10 &11)
-yes

13. What are some misconceptions that you find people have about communicating with horses?
- people think horses communicate like people do
-you can not treat a horse like a human

14. Do you think that the practices of western riding and dressage use different communication methods with horses?
- I omitted this question because it doesn't really apply to what I am researching. Also I omitted it because communication with horses can vary drastically between to western riders, just as it can with English or dressage riders.

15. Since every horse and every person is different what do you believe is the best method to approach communication?
- to attempt to talk the same language with the horse
- it has to come from within
- should always work from where the horse is coming from( using the fact that a horse is a flight animal etc.)

I spent hours just talking to this man. I learned that he used to train Arabians, who are hot blooded. I learned that hot blooded means that they are high spirited. Also when I arrived there I learned priceless information about which bits should and should not be used. He only recommended one type of bit, a broken snaffle. He said that bits can increasingly get worse and make the horses mouth tougher. The problem is the rider isn't using other forms of communication like the legs, they only use the hands. The broken snaffle is used when a horse is first introduced to riding and a good rider shouldn't have to use anything stronger. The broken snaffle is the easiest on the horses mouth, doesn't make his mouth tough. An analogy would be our hands getting calloused, there mouths can get like this and become resistant to bits.

He compared horses to kids. If you close one door you have to give them another. He hates it when mothers tell their children," just because I said so". It doesn't give them reason or justification. He relates this to a horse, if you tell them they can't go right you have to give them another option, like going left.

He also claims that a happy person can make a horse happy. They can feed off of your energy. He says that sometimes it is like a telepathic communication. He also said that it sometimes looks like a "horse whisperer' is whispering, but the body language is so subtle that it looks like he is.

I also learned that the canter is the easiest gate for the horse to buck. He already has one foot that is kicked out so all he has to do is kick the other one out. You shouldn't even think about getting on a horse if you think it will buck. He says that he has never been on a horse when it bucked. This is due to the fact that he won't get on a horse until he feels it is safe to do so.

He says that riding lessons ARE important. People think that if they get the basics that they can do the rest themselves and that is NOT the case. Some people need to have more of an open mind.

After we talked we went to the stables and we watched some people ride. He told me what they were doing right or mostly wrong and how to watch the horses. For instance one lady had her reins extremely tight and after watching the horse it was obvious that the horse was extremely unhappy. ( Side note: The horse whisperer says the thing about horses is that they are so forgiving, you can make mistakes one day and they will forgive you the next.) This lady had her reins too tight and instead of using her feet to signal to the horse she would pop him with her reins. Another girl was using 'neck reining'. He told me that the horse finally realizes that the rope on the side of their neck means to turn in the opposite direction it usually would. When neck reining you actually put pressure on both sides of the horses mouth, which is not necessary.

Later we followed a lady to another barn on the property. She got her horse out of the barn with only a lead rope. What I saw next was amazing. She lounged her horse and used body motions that were barely detectable to communicate with her horse. For instance she would slightly turn her head to the left and the horse would go to the right. She would then turn her head to the right and the horse would turn around and go left. If she stopped moving her feet the horse did as well. And she would wait for the horse to start licking and chewing its lips before she would move on. This meant that the horse was in a good place and could continue to learn and not be afraid. Something that he said and I think is very important is that you should never leave your horse in a bad place, because when you return it could be worse.

I learned how to safely tie a rope! Many methods show you how to tie a horse but when you pull to release the horse you may get pulled towards the barn or trailer that the horse is tied to. With the method that he showed me, when you pull to release the knot you can step towards the horse giving him a release.

I learned so much that I am still processing some of it, and I know other information will not make sense until I ride again. Hopefully, weather permitting, I will meet with the horse whisperer again tomorrow and he will show me some things with the horse that he has at his place.



Interesting Quotes:
"if you look into a horses eye you can see right into his heart"
"we didn't know the formula for success has been under our nose and we just can't see it"( the formula is the horse)
"horses never lie"
-he said one point in the conversation that in order to raise a child you should be able to start a colt ( have the patience and ability to communicate)
" don't be scared, but don't be foolish"( referring to working with horses)