More on Animal Communication

In my personal and professional involvement with horses, I can usually avoid "arguments" with equines, but differences of opinion with other horsey people can happen all too easily. However, the other day, I avoided people problems only to experience a curious "confrontation" with a horse.

A new client, whom I had only "met" on the phone the day before, asked me to visit her yard the next day with a view to recruiting my assistance. As she was busy preparing for a social event, she put me in the charge of her "friend".

I should explain that this yard, although small, had some "new technology" in the form of a an equine wash room complete with "driers". My own methods are "traditional" and I avoid excessive "washing" (and clipping) of horses.

Thus when the yard owners friend told me to "soak" her horses, I immediately felt uneasy. Therefore, with the first horse I kept the soaking to a minimum, and all was fine.

For some reason, however, I followed the friend's instruction with the second horse. When the procedure was complete, this horse suddenly broke away, lifted his head, and with the back of this smashed a light/drier above the doorway

The horse was huge - about 18.2 hh (take it from me this is big !) - and the smashing action, which caused no obvious distress or injury to him, had considerable dramatic effect. Obviously, something had annoyed him !

I have come across this kind of behaviour in horses, where there is "injury" to property but none to themselves or people, on a few occasions in the past. These seem to be "controlled", and sometimes "histrionic", outbursts of frustration.

They certainly tell us something !