Once upon a time…

“A million years before the birth of man, they grazed the vast empty plains of grass and crossed to other continents over bridges of rocks. They first knew man as the hunted knows the hunter, for long before man saw horses as a means to killing other beasts, man killed them for meat. The alliance with man would forever be fragile — for the fear he’d struck into their hearts was too deep to be dislodged. Since that Neolithic moment when a horse was first haltered, there were those among men who understood this. They could see into the creature’s soul and soothe the wounds they found there. For secrets uttered softly into troubled ears, these men were known as The Whisperers.”
The Horse Whisperer (1998), directed by R. Redford

The horse whisperer 1998, реж. Р. Редфорд

In the mid 1700s Ireland saw the birth of Daniel Sullivan. He became known for his work with systematically abused and traumatized horses which were declared aggressive and intractable. His success was astonishing, but he did not disclose his methods of training. The people who observed him could only see how (трябва да се добави) he quietly spoke to the horses. So they called him “the horse whisperer”. Sullivan never instructed disciples but his work did not pass into oblivion. Sullivan’s work inspired the American Willis J. Powell who bequeathed the world his book
(Tachyhippodamia – the new secret of taming horses) perhaps the first work related to what today is referred to as “natural horsemanship”. The book contains material about the third “horse whisperer” who lived during the mid 1800s – (John Solomon Rarey.). He dealt with the rehabilitation of severely abused horses which were declared hopeless. Rarey lived only 39 years but left a remarkable legacy to his contemporaries. He described his experiences in his books “The Art of Taming Wild Horses” and (The Complete Horse Tamer).

Today the most famous exponents of the “horse whispering” method are Pat Parelli, Monty Roberts, Alexander Nevzorov and others.

Natural Horsemanship – is a philosophy and a way of working with horses, which takes into account the horse’s instincts, behavior, herd mentality and individual qualities. It is communication between man and horse founded on the natural relationships existing between horses.