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The Magic of Communicating with Horses Is No Illusion by Lori Hall-McNary Did you know horses try to communicate with us? Wish you could understand what they are saying? Trainers who can read the body language of a horse is said to have the magical ability of being able to talk to a horse. Many people call trainers who can understand horses, Horse Whispers. Horse Whisper is an ancient term that could be used to describe well-known horse communicators like Pat Parelli and John Lyons. Both men have worked with hundreds of horses and written training books. In magazine articles and their books, Parelli and Lyons explain their observations of horse community communication and how a human can translate “horse herd talk” into a responsive training language understood by both species. Horses use body language to reveal their
feelings. You can learn to be an apprentice horse whisper by closely observing
the small movements of a horse. Next time you walk up to a horse pay attention
not only to the large body movements such as the arching of their neck,
switching of their tail, or a stomping foot, look at their ears, nose, mouth and
eyes closely. You will be pleasantly surprised at the intelligent way the equine
is trying to communicate with us by his facial expressions. EARS Are the ears pointed forward? The horse is alert, interested in what’s going on or curious. Ask the owner if you can pet him or feed him a carrot. Are one ear cocked foreword and the other back? His attention is divided, has mixed feelings, or is thinking what are you doing on his turf? Are the ears flat against his head? The horse could be
angry and it would be best if you stayed on the other side of the fence, out of
striking range. NOSE Are the horse’s nostrils round and soft? He’s resting, feeling comfortable. Are the nostrils wide and round? Is he snorting? Do the nostrils quiver? The horse is excited or surprised or smells something in the air we don’t detect such as a storm, fire, or a dead animal. Is the horse’s nose wrinkled up, his nostrils oval? This horse is mad or irritated. If his ears are also laid flat back and his teeth are barred along with the wrinkled nose, get back in your car this horse is having a bad day. MOUTH Are the horse’s lips closed together, relaxed without the tightening of a jaw? He’s calm, content with his surroundings. Is the horse’s lower lip protruding? He may be thirsty or want to suck or chew on something. Is the horse’s upper lip protruding over his lower lip? He’s anticipating a task, this could be viewed as positive or negative depending on his other facial cues. Mouth opened with the corners of his mouth wrinkled—he looks like a snarling dog. He’s mad and displaying aggressive behavior. Stay out of kicking and biting range. EYES Does the horse’s eyes look like big almonds, soft, and gentle? The horse is relaxed, glad to be just standing around. Does the horse’s skin above the eye wrinkle up into a triangle? The horse is concerned about something or someone, or he might be becoming stubborn about his next task. Are the horse’s eyes wide and round? He could be spooked or very curious about something. Observe his overall body language. Like a magician who practices his tricks to perfection you too can learn the magic of communicating with horses by taking the time to listen with your eyes. |
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