Doctor Dolittle (?)talked to the animals. I have always held "full conversations" with my pets (dogs, cats & horses) since I was a child.  Most of my family think I am nuts- the ones who never developed the "animal communication" spirit.  They are always amazed when I know what each animal is asking or saying.  All I can say it's a good thing they can't talk human language because they would have a lot to gossip about! The horses know all my secrets.  I will have had Scotch one year the end of this July.  At first when I talked to him as I groomed him, he would give me funny looks. Now, by his responses, he knows what I am saying.  But talking to your horse is nothing.  Try singing- especially when you can't sing on key or even know all the words to the refrain! Yet, that tune keeps running through your brain.

First, just let me say that hubby, son and daughters have a musical talent.  My hubby and son play the guitar and sing for relaxation and enjoyment.  One daughter plays the violin and the other sings very well.  When I join in, everyone stops and looks at me or just covers their ears.  They can't believe that I sang in the Choir in high school.  Well, it was a small school and they needed warm bodies.  I knew something was wrong when the voice instructor didn't have time to fit me in with the private lessons anymore.  My mare is use to my "music" when we ride.  She's had years of desensitization trail riding and NOTHING spooks her anymore.  But Scotch, well, we need to work in that area.  When Tony was leading him with me aboard, and we fell into a relaxed walking rythm, I started humming a song. The head came up, his ears were moving in all directions so fast and he kept turning his head, searching where the noise was coming from.  When I felt him tense a little, I knew it was time to stop.  Hubby gave him a pat and told Scotch he would get use to it in time.  Last Christmas I ask for and got a small belt cassette tape player so I could tape the songs and "ride to music".  Still working on the songs to tape that match Scotch's rythm.

The other evening I was riding in the pasture and we fell into a very relaxed but fast paced walking rythm.  His head was down and his rythm was so smooth that my mind started to wander and I started to sing.  He slammed on the brakes and side stepped.  I realized he had stopped right next to a big stemmy bush in the pasture, his neck up against it and almost a look of terror in his eye.  Now, we haven't worked on backing yet but since they use this bush to scratch their itches, I didn't think it would be a problem.  Wrong. I asked him to walk out and the bush scraped against his rump as he moved out, Scotch tensed and took off.  This time I stayed balanced and rode it out. Since we have been working on "Whoa", it only took six strides and three Whoa's to stop.  What a nice smooth stop- rump underneath. OK! So Mary Poppins I am not and I really can't blame it on the bush.  It's just going to take a little more time.

8.) Honey, Holly & BeBe Talk
CeAnn Shipley

Communication between human and horse is a wonderful, complex activity. Two species, each of which relies on a very different communication system, trying to get the other to understand what they are saying is often rife with opportunities for misunderstanding. At other times, we are so in synchronization with each other it is as if there is no language barrier at all. And still more amazing is that there need not be direct contact between horse and human for communication to take place.

Several years ago on my way to work, I kept having this feeling that something was wrong with one of the mares, Honey. It was a feeling that kept nagging at me for most of the hour plus trip. Once in my office, I called home to find out if something was wrong. As my husband, Del, must still have been finishing shores, I left a message for him to make sure Honey was okay. It wasn't long after I made the call that the persistent unease quickly vanished with a feeling of 'at last'. With the challenges of another busy workday, I quickly forgot about the unease I had felt.

Now Honey is a very sweet, but independent, range bred mare. She enjoys People, but doesn't like being 'fussed' over. While Del was doing the morning chores, she displayed some very untypical Honey-like behavior. Every opportunity she got, she would come up to Del and stand with her head close to him. Del didn't think much of it at first, just gave her a scratch on the neck and went about finishing what he was doing.

After experiencing this behavior a few times, he decided that Honey was trying to tell him something and started to check her over. Whenever he stepped away from her head, she would back up and drop her head a little bit. Honey was getting agitated with the situation, so when he put his hand on her crest to sooth her, she dropped her head some more and turned it so that his hand fell on the cut. Once he knew what she was trying to tell him, she heaved a sigh of relief.

I'm still not sure if she was turning up the volume to try to get Del to understand her need or if she was looking to get the message to me so that I could do something about it. Either way, she was finally able to get her message across. Several staples later, the vet closed the skin on Honey's poll beside her right ear and she was on her way to being as good as new.

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Talking to the horses like each is another person is the norm on our farm. One of the things I enjoy doing is going out in the herd to just hang out and commune with the horses. While I'm not perceptive enough to get clear pictures of what they are saying during our 'conversations', I do get a general feeling about what they are telling me they need or would like.
One day a couple of years ago my communing took on a different form. I was quite upset by the loss of our foundation broodmare the day before and thought that a walk through the pastures talking to the remaining horses would help ease the rawest edges of my loss.
The boys, being boys, didn't want to get into the emotional issues and the youngsters, being young, just didn't understand why I was so sad. The other broodmares were a different story. When I walked in to the field amongst them, Holly, the herd mare and her assistant, BeBe came up to me. This is not unusual for BeBe, but Holly has been through enough difficult situations prior to her coming to us, that she often stays in her own emotionally protective shell and waits until she knows your intentions before one is allowed to approach her.
Flanked on both sides by a mare, I wondered to a grassy spot on the hillside to sit, reflect and absorb the positive energy from my two understanding guardians. Those two mares stood over me with a nose on each of my shoulders the entire time I sat on that hillside. They seemed to be telling me that they were there to share in my pain, to offer their emotional support and to help me regain my peace of mind. Their quiet camaraderie and gentle support during a trying time is something I'll never forget.

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