Reading Your Horse

Brenda Coach Author

Sep 02, 2024 |

If you want to get the best, correct responses from your horse you must learn Herd Talk communication and I talk about it in this article.

Reading Your Horse

The reason it is so difficult to fairly compare the various natural horsemanship programs and make the best choice is because of the wide spectrum of interpretations that occur in each. Each individual who embarks on the journey to really be able to read their horse also adds their own variances. Also consider that each horse has its own nature and behaviour that it has acquired to cope with all of the human interactions it has experienced in its lifetime. It’s no wonder that so many people don’t really accept one particular program and feel that another is better while another is outright inhumane. Just think of what it takes for the horse perceive and process human body language. It is not their “herd talk” or language.

Therefore, a human must adapt and use Intention, Energy and Body Posture (collectively, their body language) in order to communicate in a more natural way. By natural, I mean that the human must use body language in a way that the horse can read and interpret. I’m talking about acquiring body posturing, control of energy and thoughts and then presenting yourself to appear as a more horizontal being. If you really watch herd interactions you will see all of that and it is what natural horsemen are emulating.

What does it take to be interpretive?

1. Interpret what the body language of your horse means. Closely observe your horse’s expressions. These can be so very subtle or extremely overt but within the herd those are actually the spectrum of phases.Phase one is subtle and phase 4 is the overt.

I’ve seen so many subtle variations of the ears back expression that it is now hard to explain clearly. It depends on the situation, the activity, the natuare of that particular horse. You simply cannot say that ears back means angry or threatening. The best thing you can do is watch the herd interacting. A hardness of the eye and an ear flick, followed by the swish of the tail and a bending of the hock from my gelding warns those mares not to come near his hay pile for example. A lift of the chin from the alpha mare sends the other two running without too much exertion on her part.

As you study the body language of your horse watch the eyes, the ears, the muzzle and all facial expressions as well as posturing and note how they are used in various combinations. You will begin to see patterns in different situations that will give you feedback. You could even journal those events to help in the early stages of your personal practice.

2. Send a consistent message with your body language that your horse can interpret you correctly. The horse needs to recognize that you gave a posture and expression with intention first, then your energy next before it feels the pressure from your stick or string. It is only fair if the horse sees it coming, pressure shouldn’t be a surprise. If the horse responds correctly when you give a directive, the only way it knows that it made a correct response is if it finds relief from the pressure. As you advance your skill in this way of “herd talk” communicating your horse will begin to read you more quickly at the more subtle phases. Eventually, some students have said, “I was just thinking it and the horse responded before I put the pressure on!” That is your Intention showing. The horse saw your most subtle body language that you were not even aware you had given.

The next is showing your Energy. At first, you will be making conscious movement in the horse’s direction but eventually, you will be raising your energy internally and the horse will feel it coming in its direction before you even move your body.

Consistently repeating the same body language (Intention + Energy) followed by appropriately applied pressure to get the expected results is what the horse needs to become proficient at reading you. The horse kind of gets it if several things fall into place within a second or three, give it time to process then repeat.

I’ve always said that our big brains compute so fast that our body mashes our communication all together and we give our horses cues they cannot sort out. If you are too fast they guess or depart. If you are too slow they look for something else of interest. Your practice will help you find the timing on that too.

As you hone your skill of “herd talk” when interacting with a horse it will eventually appears as if you are doing almost nothing and getting amazing responses. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “the man who is a horse whisperer is the man who hears the horse whisper”. Isn’t that the most amazing goal you could pursue?

Yes, natural horsemanship takes lots of practice. It requires a deep and lasting change within us and a shift in our psychology around horses, how we train, ride and daily handle them. I encourage you to look into the communication demonstrated by natural horsemanship supporters and even more importantly look into how your horse communicates within the herd. You will learn more than you ever thought was possible.