What Is A Horse Whisperer?
My son and I went out to a horse show the other day, and it was his first time.
He heard someone close by remark about one of the horse whisperers they had at the show, and they instantly caught my son’s attention.
‘Horse whisperer?’ he thought, assuming there was someone here who could talk to horses.
But he wasn’t far off!
I decided to do some research into horse whisperers and try to find out everything I could about them.
So, what is a horse whisperer?
A horse whisperer is essentially someone who has a very intuitive connection with horses, and can be trusted in the careful training of horses, even those traumatized in the past by whatever means. Horse whisperers are very intimate horse trainers.
Horse whispering has become a really important job in the industry of horse shows, whether that’s show jumping or ordinary races.
Training prize horses can be a highly coveted job, and those who do it well are usually masters of that specific trade.
Let’s look at how the practice works.
What does a horse whisperer do?
Horse whisperers can do a variety of things based on the kinds of horses they’re working with.
First of all, literal ‘whispering’ has very little to do with it.
The communication is primarily non-verbal, and the trainers have simply learned how best to communicate with a horse this way.
Behavioral patterns are learned from careful observation of both wild and domestic horses.
From this, the best ways to train, communicate and imitate horses are learned.
This enables horse whisperers to develop fantastic bonds with horses, and can either be used to train or to rehabilitate horses.
Trust is the most important thing.
Show jumping, for example, can be a difficult thing to initially teach horses to do.
Horse whisperers can help with this, by putting the horse at ease and developing a bond with it.
Equally, many horses can become deeply traumatized by events and injuries to the extent that they’re unable to socialize with people anymore.
Horse whisperers are the best people to rehabilitate them in this case.
Again, it’s about building trust.
Horses are always inherently cautious, so it makes it extremely difficult to approach them especially if they are actively afraid of humans.
Horse whisperers are just very sensitive and emotionally in touch people with extensive training and knowledge of the habits of horses, then.
But the practice has become highly obfuscated in terms.
Is there such a person as a horse whisperer?
The idea of a horse whisperer as someone who can literally talk or whisper to horses is, unsurprisingly, a total myth.
Humans cannot “speak” to horses, except insofar as they can understand basic commands.
Horse whisperers will do a lot of talking, as this is a good way to build trust with a horse and let it get to know you.
Vocalizations are really important—just listen to a horse neigh!
However, there simply is no actual whispering in the horse’s ear.
You simply talk to it as you would ordinarily, except perhaps softer depending on the specific horse itself.
That said, there are many horse whisperers around the world who’ve gained a reputation as the best horse or animal whisperers around.
Who is the best horse whisperer?
In Argentina, a man named Martin Tatta has become known as the world’s best horse whisperer.
Pictures in the newspapers show how his favorite, most closely bonded horse will happily roll around on her back while he lies on her stomach.
She will also let him do handstands on her, lie on her back and allow him to sit on her, and all sorts of other tricks.
While a lot of this is tricks that are mostly for the benefit of an audience, it does show how deeply bonded Martin is to his horses.
Furthermore, he has of course had to spend years cultivating this ability.
He’s been doing this for many years with many animals, many individual horses.
It’s hard to say who the ‘best’ horse whisperer in the world really is, since the term can mean a variety of things; but Martin is certainly a competitor.
Where does the term horse whisperer come from?
The term originated in Europe in the 19th Century.
One particular Irish horseman made a name for himself by rehabilitating abused and intractable horses.
He was very successful, and could be considered the first horse whisperer.
In actual fact, though, the term was really popularized by the 1998 film directed by Robert Redford, in which he plays a horse whisperer who helps an injured teenager and her horse back to health after an accident.
The film was hugely popular at the time and definitely led to the popularity of the term in many ways.
So, doubtless, the practice has become a bit mythologized over the years.
Popularized by the film of the same name, the term ‘horse whisperer’ has taken on a more legendary status in the modern world, as we imagine all sorts of animal wizards and training masters who are able to perform inhuman feats of interspecies communication.
In actual fact, horse whisperers are just individuals with highly sensitive knowledge of a horse’s needs and how to train them, and form a connection with them.