Throughout history, there have been very
special individuals who truly have had an
extraordinary ability to communicate with horses.

Because of the success of the book "The Horse
Whisperer," by Nicholas Evans, the term "horse
whisperer" recently has become somewhat synonymous
with horse trainers who use more gentleness
and sensitivity in their training methods
instead of more traditional "breaking" procedures.
Ten million copies of the book in three
dozen languages, and a film directed by Robert
Redford, an well-acknowledged horselover, has
made the term recognizable worldwide.

The term "whisperer" actually has been around
quite a while, and probably was coined in the
United Kingdom in the 1800's during the time
of Thomas Sullivan and John Rarey. The mystical
belief in men who supposedly could talk softly
in a horse's ear . . . conveying special
secrets and endearments understood only by
the horse and trainer . . . was undoubtedly
the basis for the term.

During the third century B.C., Alexander the
Great, who as a young man commanded vast
armies and conquered the Persian empire, was
one of those individuals first recognized as
a very special horseman. As a young boy, he
trained the great stallion, Buchephalus, when
his father's trainers had given up on the horse,
and, did so with a gentle hand.

Alexander, a pupil of Aristotle, the Greek
philosopher, had been educated on the basis
of human ideals and logic. The story of the
fiery Bucephalus, tamed by Alexander when all
others had failed, is important in that it
incorporates vision and tact in lieu of force.
The horse was afraid of his own shadow, yet
out of all the horsemen in the kingdom of
Macedonia, only this small boy was able to
understand.

John Rarey lived during the 19th century and
amazed Victorian England with his displays of
horsemanship. He did his "mysterious" training
within a closed barn, where no one could
observe his technques. A wild, unruly horse
would go in . . . and a docile, totally changed
animal would come out.

Rarey also traveled to Australia in the
1800's, where his methods of working with
horses may have influenced one of that country's
greatest horse training legends, Kell Jefferies.
Jefferies, who died in the late 1950's, was a
phenomenal trainer and horseman, asking and
receiving from his horses incredible, great
mutual trust. One amazing feat, described by
an eyewitness, was performed when Jefferies
was well into his 70's.

"A herd of wild brumbies had been brought
into a small town, and herded into a holding pen
which had no water facilities. The townspeople
were worried about the welfare of the animals,
which had no access to water. There was a small
river or creek about 100 yards or so away
from the corral, but there was no way to
transport water to the animals. Jefferies
told the townspeople that he would take care
of the horses.

Expecting him to mount up on his horse and
drive the wild ones to water, they were
astonished when he just slipped into the
corral on foot among the horses. He spent
quite a while, moving around and talking to
them. Finally, he opened the gate, and just
walked down to the river, with the horses
following. The most astonishing part of all
of this was, however, that after the horses
were finished drinking, they followed him
quietly back to the holding pen!"

The native American horse cultures of the
plains also used techniques which could be
described somewhat as forms of horse
"whispering," or even beyond, during training
sessions which included intensive talking
and touching of the animal.

Today's modern day "whisperers" include a
handful of men . . . and a woman . . . who
have developed their own techniques and
methods of training and working with horses.
Some accept the mantle of "whisperer," and some
reject it . . . but all share in their
extraordinary ability to understand and work
with these most noble of God's creatures.