Reading The Horse

Horses notice what you notice and the more you notice the more interesting they find you.
~Rick Noffsinger~

Getting and holding a horse's attention for even a few minutes can be challenging and yet not much is really getting through or going on during a massage, at the end of a rope or under saddle unless both you and the horse are working on the same thing. There's an old saying that, "To be interesting you must only be interested" and just like humans, one sure way to keep your horse engaged is to make sure they know how closely you're paying attention to them. In Reading The Horse classes you'll refine your abiltiy to notice very subtle changes and use the information to draw and keep a horse's full attention. This is neither a horse training nor an animal communication class. The goal of this work is to fine tune your horse reading skills so that everything you do helps a horse stay focused on the treatment.

Often when people first hear of and begin to study reading a horse many imagine they’ll be learning to interpret certain movements to mean specific things. Ears back mean the horse is angry. A swishing tail shows frustration. Wide eyes mean the horse is afraid. Yawning, stretching and chewing mean the horse is relaxing. And while each of these things can be true its way too oversimplified. Here’s a photo of a mare with her ears back. Is this horse mad? Worried? In pain?
(Look at the photo below for the answer)

The bottom line is that just like humans sometimes a smile is not a smile; it all depends upon context, the moment and intention and there’s no simple chart to read or dictionary to decipher. So, what you'll practice here doesn't have much to do with learning what any given move or sound means to a horse. In the end, intimate interaction with a horse whether it’s massage, training or riding begins with noticing and then evolves through exploring common understanding. In this class you'll practice noticing everything a horse does and letting them know that you are trying to understand them and help them to understand you. Regardless of whether you're approaching to halter them, asking them to lead up freely, lunge or move in the roundpen the important thing is not whether they do it, the important thing is to notice and respond to the quality of whatever they do. Working this way you'll become expert at earning a horse's trust and willingness - the first step towards the horse allowing you to help them. Your clients will be pleased by how much you notice about their horses and wonder a little at how easy it is for you to sense and respond to what their horse wants and needs.