In the bleak midwinter, Barbara shows me a video by a new-on-the-scene horse whisperer, this one claiming to translate some very subtle equine body-language signals and suggest how humans can mimic them in order to communicate in “horse speak.” The video shows the trainer, Sharon Wilsie, working with three horses of different temperaments, with whom she “converses” via stance, breaths, and other small movements. It’s pretty compelling. And she's slated to speak at a Saratoga bookstore, so we show up to ask her some questions and buy her books.
It’s fine that “horse speak” is all about asking and discussing in negotiating rank and leadership; thing is, I inquire, what happens if the upshot of the palaver is that the horse is in fact more dominant than the human? Doesn’t really happen, she replies, because the very act of posing more questions and starting more conversations is an assertion and signal of herd leadership. OK, not only am I the only one in our sessions dispensing treats, but I’m also doing far more asking and sending and beckoning of Gus than he is of me, so that should keep him following my lead.
Later I ask Wilsie if she has experience with donkeys, and she answers, “Yes! I love donkeys and mules, and horse-speak is just the same with them, except that you need to do it as if you’re swimming underwater while on Valium.” Huh. I’m happy to hear that it works well with long-ears, but surprised that they need it slowed down. Most everything Gus does is faster, not slower, than with horses. But I’ll try some horse-speak at various paces and see how it goes. In any case, it’s always a good idea to move slowly when training any large, ponderous animal — even one whose little hooves twinkle along at such a merry clip.
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