In studying the art of horse whispering, take a special note to the movements of a horse’s ears, leg action, hooves, head position, body posture, eyes, eyelids, mouth, tongue, neck posture, nose, tail and leg position. Look at the speed of his movements and the body placement. Also study nose snorts, hoof beats, and mouth noises. All of these combined compose the equine language.
Examples of the Horse's Language
- When a horse places his forehead onto your torso, it means “I love you friend.”
- When teaching a horse to bow, avoid bending your body over as a way to explain the trick. In the horse’s language, lowering your head sometimes means that you are submissive.
- When a horse stops while you are leading it, it is trying to stop you from walking on to display dominance. This is an infamous horse prank that horses do. The next time the animal stops, do not turn around (unless it can’t be helped) and continue to walk a few steps, maintaining the direction that you were leading the horse in. Immediately after that, march in place heading in the same direction. 99% of horses will start walking again in a few moments and you are onward again. What has happened is that you did not allow him to stop you or change your direction. In a herd, the head horse indicates when the herd stops and which direction they go.
- A horse putting his/her nose into your space is asking who is dominant.
- If you square the front of your torso toward a horse and walk toward him, you are telling the horse to “back up.”
- When a horse moves his body into yours in an attempt to push you over, he is displaying dominance.
- A certain tail movement of a horse is called tail swishing. When the horse excessively swishes his tail, it indicates that the horse is annoyed.
- A double, gentle rise of the muzzle of a horse while it is looking at you indicates gratitude.
- When a horse half squints his eyes, followed by closing the eyes and opening, it indicates love and friendship.
- The sounds a horse makes with his hooves can mean various things. Horses use the sounds of their hoof beats to communicate.
- Horses also communicate while grazing.
- Some horses interpret human laughter.
- A medium, gentle, yet deliberate poke of a horse’s nose on your hand indicates that the horse is saying “hello.”
- A horse is very aware of what your eyes are looking at
How to be a Horse Whisperer
A great way to learn horse whispering is to spend a lot of time handling different horses at a stable. Either working or volunteering at a local horse facility will offer many horse whispering experiences. There are many books on the market, written by top horse trainers, containing explanations of how to naturally work with a horse using his language. Another way to aid your learning would be to take lessons with a Natural Horsemanship trainer or Horse Whisperer.
Aileen Berwick - Horses are sensitive and often mishandled creatures. Aileen Berwick is devoted to ending horse cruelty. She has had a deep interest and ...
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