Animals do not speak, but pets and people havefound ways to communicate with each other.Think about how a dog behaves when his ownercomes into the house. The dog is happy. He expresseshis happiness by wagging his tail. He barks. He jumps upto greet his owner. The dog’s owner also expresses herhappiness to see the dog. She pets him. She speaks kindwords to him. She gives him a treat.One of the most important relationships that peopledevelop with animals is the relationship between a horseand his rider. That is because a horse is a very powerfulanimal. If a rider does not understand what the horse maydo, the rider could be in danger of getting seriously hurt.There is a group of horse trainers who have specialskills for communicating with horses. Some peoplecall these special horse trainers horse whisperers. Theyhelp riders and horses to develop trust and respect foreach otherMany people believe that Alexander the Great wasthe first horse whisperer. A legend tells that when he wasa young boy his father, King Philip II of Macedonia, wastrying to ride a new horse. The horse was not tamed—itwas still wild. The horse was aggressive. The horse kicked.The horse pulled back and whinnied. The king could notmount the horse. He wanted the horse to be taken away.Alexander, his young son, asked if he could try toride the horse. His father let him try. Alexander walkedtoward the horse very slowly. The horse lowered hishead. Alexander spoke to him very softly.Alexander detected that the horse was afraid ofsomething. He looked around. He saw the horse’s shadowon the ground. He realized that the horse was afraid ofits shadow. He gently turned the horse’s head away fromthe sun. He stood next to the horse. He walked alongsidethe animal. He started to run slowly. When he thoughtthe horse was ready, Alexander mounted him.The horse was calm. Alexander rode the horse. Thehorse obeyed Alexander. They both seemed to knowwhat the other wanted. They trusted each other.Like all horse trainers, horse whisperers have ways ofgetting a horse to calm down. Horses react not only tothe whispering or talking of the trainers. Horses reactto the trainer’s touch. They also react to the trainer’stechniques, or tricks. For example, if trainers are workingwith a wild horse, they may place something that hasa really strong smell near the horse. The horse willrefuse to move. That is one of the tricks used to get wildhorses to calm down. Some trainers use food or treats tomotivate horses to do what people want them to do.Today’s horse whisperers are expert horse trainers.They understand the behavior of horses. They know thathorses have personality, sometimes called their spirit.They understand how to get horses to obey their riders.Horse trainers also teach people who ride horses. Theyteach the riders the correct signals to give the horse. Theyteach them how to care for the animal. They teach themhow to groom horses. Horse trainers teach people torecognize certain horse movements. They train them toknow what the horse wants. Most of all, they teach therider to love and respect the horse.There are many horse trainers in the world today.Sandie Chambers is a famous horse trainer in England.Her training methods have become well known andadopted by other horse trainers.Sandie’s methods are gentle. Her method begins withthe horse lying on the ground. The trainer gets down onthe ground and spends time with the horse. The horseslowly gets used to the trainer’s presence. This techniqueteaches the horse that the trainer is his leader. Sandiesays that a horse needs a leader. When horses run wild ina herd, there is always a leader.There is another very well known horse trainingprogram in Alentejo, Portugal. This is a story of one manwho learned about horses at Alentejo.Juan is 61 years old. He has never ridden a horse. Histrainer blindfolds him so he cannot see the horses. Withhis eyes covered, Juan could focus on what he is feeling.He stands quietly among a group of horses. He waits.The horses are eating grass. After a long while, Amor,a seven-year-old horse, moves toward Juan. The horsestands still next to him. Juan can sense that the horse isclose to him. Juan waits. The horse waits. Juan gentlyputs out his hand. Amor comes closer and smells Juan’shand. Juan senses that the horse trusts him. Juan moves
his hand slowly and gently touches the horse. His hand
moves down the horse’s face. He pets Amor softly. Amor
puts his snout in Juan’s hand. They trust each other.
Once the horse and rider trust each other, they
become partners. The rider begins to understand what
the horse likes and what the horse does not like. He
learns how to groom the animal. He learns how to feed
his horse. He learns to keep the stable clean and warm.
He knows when the horse is not feeling well.
The horse also learns about the rider. The horse learns
to respond to the rider’s signals. For example, if the rider
presses his right foot into the horse’s body, the horse knows
he has to move to the right. If the rider presses his left
foot, the horse will move to the left. If he presses both
feet into the horse’s body, the horse knows to go straight
ahead. This is how horses and their riders communicate
Trainers teach riders that horses need to be well
groomed. Even though there are people who work as
grooms in stables or horse farms, many riders enjoy
grooming their own horses. Grooming shows the horse
how much the rider loves him. Grooming the horse helps
to strengthen his trust in the rider.
A horse has a mane—long, thick hair on his neck.
The mane needs to be combed and cleaned. A horse
has hooves, or feet. To protect the hooves, horses wear
horseshoes. Horseshoes are metal pieces put on the
bottom of each hoof. Hooves need to be cleaned.
Horses have beautiful coats of hair. They need to be
brushed and shined.
Horses have always been a very important part of
human life. They were used by ancient armies to take
soldiers into battle. They were used to help farmers do
farm work. They were an early means of transportation.
They still play an important role in the life of ranchers.
They help humans move herds of cattle from place to place.
Some horses are trained to be fast runners. They are
called racehorses. Some horses are trained to be show
horses. They are trained to perform dance exercises,
called dressage. This is considered a sport and is popular
in many countries.
Thanks to special horse trainers, people have
learned how to communicate with horses. The horse
trainers continue to teach us that horses will return the
communication and trust we share with them.
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