Practical Horse Whispering E-Book

Perry Wood

• Herausgeber: Kenilworth Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 32

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2003

Beschreibung

This volume provides easy-to-use horse whispering techniques and principles that can help readers develop better bonds with horses

Das E-Book wird angeboten von und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:

Leseprobe

PRACTICAL HORSE WHISPERING

by

Perry Wood

Illustrations by Carole Vincer

CONTENTS

PRACTICAL HORSE WHISPERING

Title Page

What is horse whispering?

Equipment for horse whispering

Round pens and the alternatives

Understanding the horse’s language

Human body postures for horse whispering

Hand, voice and breathing signals

Getting horses to follow you – method 1

Getting horses to follow you – method 2

Leadership, body space and boundaries

Taming the wild side

Running with horses

The magic touch – stroking the horse all over

Flexing for calm

Putting horse whispering to use

The hidden secrets of horse whispering

Copyright

WHAT IS HORSE WHISPERING?

Throughout history there have been people famed for their exceptional abilities with horses. The tale of how the young Alexander the Great tamed the reputedly wild horse Bucephalus, by understanding that the horse was afraid of its own shadow, is an early example. In more recent centuries, people with incredible horsemanship skills have been referred to as ‘horse whisperers’. In the nineteenth century, an American farmer called Rarey thrilled audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with his horse-taming skills; in the twentieth century, people like Tom Dorrance and Monty Roberts raised much interest in how we interact with our horses.

Horse whispering is often thought of as working magic or spells with horses, but horse whispering is a broad term that describes subtle ways of influencing and communicating with horses. The word ‘whispering’ is used because the signals between the horse and human can be so subtle and quiet as to be like a whisper, so it appears that the human has whispered something and the horse, having understood, changes its behaviour.

By ‘talking’ the horse’s own language and understanding the horse’s nature, we can learn to develop ways to interact more effectively with these wonderful creatures and achieve fantastic results for ourselves and our horses. The methods and results of horse whispering sometimes appear so amazing that it is easy to see why people in the past thought horse whisperers were more like magicians, rather than fine horsemen.

Of course, some horse whisperers work with wild or very difficult problem horses, but it is important to realise that they have been practising the art of horse whispering for many years. Difficult or real ‘problem horses’ are best left to professional experts to sort out.

In this book we will be looking at various horse-whispering techniques and principles that can help you to develop better bonds with horses, hopefully with some ‘magical’ results. As a bonus, you may find some difficulties with horses gradually disappear on their own as you become more practised and skilful at horse whispering.

EQUIPMENT FOR HORSE WHISPERING

The most important piece of equipment you need for horse whispering is your BODY; that is why it is good to look after it by taking care of safety issues and wearing the right clothing. You need to know what you are saying to the horse with your body, and to make sure you’re not saying anything you don’t want to be saying.

HALTERThe halter should be strong and yet soft. It is important to have a good halter that fits the horse comfortably, leaving a bit of slack for him, but also so that he notices any increases in pressure and responds accordingly.

It is not normally necessary, indeed it may be detrimental, to use gadgets or ‘pressure halters’ that tighten on the horse’s face or head. Some experts use this type of equipment with success, but they require a lot of experience and there is a chance of hurting the horse.

BRUSHING BOOTSIf the horse is shod and you are going to work with him in a round pen or something similar, it is good practice to use brushing boots to protect him from damaging himself.

HEADGEAR