A Conversation Between Species

 



This beautiful horse arrived at the yard a few weeks ago and seemed pretty tense. He began weaving almost straight away, hence the guard that is now fixed to his door. Then he tried to roll a couple of times in full tack, as if trying to get something out of his body and make himself feel better. He has calmed down quite a bit since then, and I know that the staff are really great with the horses here, and that I don't know the half of what goes on. But this week, I took the chance to visit the yard one afternoon and found myself drawn to stand next to him, outside his stall. I looked at his mouth as his head kept up a constant series of small movements within the v-shaped space available. I greeted him with the Horse Speak three part greeting, but at the time, it was hard to know if he registered it. In retrospect, I believe he did. I then took up a position and began mirroring him, paying a lot of attention to his facial expressions. I was curious about the shape of his mouth, which suggested the idea that he had "just sucked a lemon." 





The top lip formed a kind of angular shape that extended beyond the bottom lip. 

I also noticed that the skin above his eyes was held in a kind of "tented" shape, which suggested that he was worrying about something. 

After about 40 seconds of mirroring his constant small movements, and following the direction of his ever shifting gaze, I saw that he brought his head lower and began yawning and licking in what seemed a slightly exaggerated way. Then he became still, and he stood with his head lowered a little, and his mind seemed to go inward, rather than looking around the yard. 

I was glad John had come with me to film it. I have a lot to learn, and I find it really useful to watch the video and study it more carefully. At the time, I didn't feel drawn to enter the stable, but watching the video I have the idea that he invited me in a few times after this moment of change. He brought his head and neck over to one side, exposing his right shoulder to me as if making room for me to enter. 




What is clear is that there was some kind of conversation going on for about ten minutes, and I have the impression that after about eight minutes he began to ask me a direct question. Probably he wanted to know what I proposed. Several times he makes a movement that lifts his nose upwards in short gestures in my direction – is he asking a question? I kept up my side of the conversation as best I could, mirroring him, or offering my hand for him to check in, or to sniff, or to touch, but I wasn't keen to let him lick me. When I asked him to move his head away by putting my hand gently towards his cheek (or just touching with the tips of my fingers), he responded in a civilised way. He was listening to the gestures of Horse Speak, and I believe that he clearly understood this one.




From time to time while we were together, he seemed to try to hold his nose above some imaginary point, which I interpreted as having to do with his perception of hierarchy between us. Only a few times did he stand calmly for more than a few seconds, holding his head level or slightly lower than his withers, and only once did he stand still to accept my slow stroke down the groove of his neck, and then only for a few seconds. Twice he stretched his neck fully, head slightly lowered and twisting his neck about 25 degrees so as to bring his left cheek uppermost. Otherwise his head or his face were almost constantly on the move.




I look forward to talking to my Horse Speak mentor about this video, and to returning for another  conversation with him soon.




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