A bit woo, but horse whisperer experiences please

[MyBeloved]

Hi everyone

So, am considering getting a horse whisperer in for my cob. She used to be a gypsy pony and is the sweetest natured and gorgeous creature ever. But, I'd love to know what she thinks and feels.

In all honesty, it sounds ridiculous, so am hoping you could talk me through your experiences - good or bad.

Thanks 😊

I remember someone I knew paying someone £40 to hear a load of *** about how her horse hated it when she got on from the ground cos she always kicked her arse or some other nonsense.

Owner was convinced the con artist purportedly listening to her horse was the absolute dog’s $¥$. We all thought she was barking. Mind you she was also terrified of her poor pony and lunged it for hours before ever getting on it.

Wouldn’t waste the money.

There might be great genuine ones but having known of one saying the horse didn’t want to die (despite the fact it’s pedal bone had dropped through the sole) please be careful.

Honestly I think it’s all a crock off shit. The “good” ones are just people with a very good eye for lameness

Interesting replies! Thank you for your honesty. I do think it is far too woo really, but some people absolutely swear by them!

Yeah the ones I know that have 'spotted' something that has actually helped the owner are what I would call just very good horse-people that can pick up on very subtle signs of distress/pain/anxiety better than the owner - plus suggesting things like looking into ulcers or back pain may well 'hit' in a good number of cases even as a pure lucky guess, a lot of horses esp sports horse and TB types suffer with these at a low level, rather than any woo powers. The ones that claim to be able to 'read' just from a photo or that give the horse a 'life story' are pure 'cold reading'/bollocks IMO - not based on any scientific evidence but even if they could talk to us I'm not sure at all that horses have coherent 'memories' in the same way people have, for sure they have strong self-protective associations with things which have frightened or hurt them and they can sometimes recognize other horses they've known after a period of separation (although this is a bit hit and miss IME, at my yard we had an emotional 'reunion' of a 4 year old filly and her mother who hadn't been together since the filly was weaned, the filly seemed interested, went to touch noses and her mother pinned ears straight back and bit her daughter with lots of accompanying squealing ), so a bit of a let down!). But otherwise I don't think they brood on their past or even think back to happier times like a person would, I think they are more a 'live in the present' kind of animal...

So if it comforts you I doubt she remembers her time as a gypsy pony very much if at all and she is clearly happy with you now so I probably wouldn't bother (or go in with a very skeptical head on if you do)...

I believe there really are people who can communicate with animals - have witnessed it first hand with both horses and dogs. The whisperer was in contact with the animal at the time. In both cases, information was obtained that made the animals life better and in one case saved the dog from being put to sleep for being aggressive. (she was in pain)

I also believe there are lots around who either think they can do it or pretend they can do it to extort money from people - the previously mentioned 'send me a photo' people are like this (in my opinion)

I agree with @blobby10 there are some people that can offer insights but I would go on recommendation, it is important to stay open minded but not too impressionable. I have over the years had free reiki for a horse who really sought it out and a communication session from someone who was recommended and I did find what they said offered a new perspective. What is the harm if you are curious and have a recommendation but horses do think very differently to us and both times I was struck by the difference in what I was expecting and what was said in a good way