Why am I addicted to teaching Horse Speak?
Horse Speak came about largely in part to my work with rescues. The picture above was taken during a workshop at Dorset Equine Rescue in Dorset VT. This young filly was a recent arrival, and did not have a trustworthy attitude toward human beings. She could be flighty and reclusive on one hand, and feisty and temperamental on the other (as many yearling horses are.)
Horses have a protocol of cycles of communication starting with greeting, and moving through negotiating personal space, hierarchy and leadership roles. Horses only land on the square of emotional relaxation when the first two categories are satisfied.
In order to get horses to become compliant, horse trainers have relied for years on various methods of moving horses around in prescribed ways to convince them that the trainer ultimately has the upper hand, and if the horse backs down and complies, then the trainer can move onto other areas of the horse's education.
These methods vary from putting the horse into a small enclosed space such as a round pen and running them around inside it with either ropes, whips or even a combination of the two; to using a lead rope and maybe even a whip or stick of some sort to correct any actions the trainer does not want. Some trainers rely heavily on lunging techniques in which the horse makes circles around the trainer until they show the level of compliance the person is looking for; other methods simply use the whip to strike towards the horse to teach them to stay obedient, or even the rope shaken at the horse to seek the same thing.
The goal in these methods is to take away the horse's ability to refuse, and ultimately once the horse has succumbed to the trainer's wishes, usually that person also offers a level of affection, and rest.
In strict positive reinforcement methods such as clicker training, the horse is taught to cultivate a sense of pleasure in "problem solving" and receives a treat only when the correct "answer" is achieved. This method can have great results, but takes time to master the feel, timing and exact delivery that creates a thoughtful and engaged horse; not a muggy and demanding one. In the case of rescue horses who may have been starved or abused, this can be a tricky method to use.
In both cases, the results of the training are seeking to win a horse's trust, respect and compliance. The use of physical contact such as TTouch, Masterson Method or Reiki are ways to try to alleviate a horse's embodiment of trauma both emotional and physical and hopefully gain ground in that horse's rehabilitation.
On this level, Horse Speak was developed for just such situations, but it does not need ropes, whips or treats, nor do you even necessarily need to touch the horse; your presence is enough.
While all these methods and tactics certainly carry their own weight and usefulness, once you know Horse Speak, the manner in which you present yourself to the horse will be able to accomplish most of the hard initial work, building trust, respect and rapport within the very first encounter - and you can do this from the other side of the fence, or with the horse loose in their natural environment.
I am addicted to teaching Horse Speak because the results are powerful, and tend to stick even after only one session. Horses who realize people are attempting to speak their language often respond with a surprising amount of both interest and tenderness. Best of all, these same horses begin to cross the bridge of understanding even with humans who have never even heard of Horse Speak. I have frequently received feedback that not only did the horse I worked with have enormous breakthroughs, but they responded positively to the regular staff, who had no incline of this work.
Bottom line; talking to Horses in their language; even if it is just an honest attempt can make all the difference.
