Interviewed by Whom?
By Robin Davis
I was a horse trainer who felt I had a pretty good communication with horses. I could sense certain things like when I needed to slow a movement down for them or when they were ready for the next step, or when things were ‘off’ in other ways. My clients would say that I must hear what the horse is saying. I figured it was just a keen recognition of their body language and an understanding of horses in general. I would never have called myself an animal communicator.
One day, I received a phone call from a woman who was interested in learning more about my training program for her horse. We talked for a short time on the phone, and as is always the case, I asked to meet the horse before either of us decided whether I was a good fit for her or not. This future client readily agreed. “I’d like to invite another woman who has been working with Shimmy to be here as well.”
“Perfect,” I replied. “I always like to meet the team who is involved with a horse that I will be working with.” This always allowed me to see more of the whole picture as I assessed the needs for both the horse and their human.
I arrived at the home and was greeted by the future client and then introduced to her friend, Sandy, an animal communicator. I had never met anyone who called themselves an animal communicator before, I was intrigued.
Sandy quickly took over. “Shimmy wants to see you,” she said.
So we walked around the house to the paddock area. We were greeted by a small, bay, Arabian mare. She had her head over the fence and was looking directly at us as we rounded the corner. She was definitely waiting for us. I was struck at just how friendly and cute this little mare was. Shimmy sniffed my hands right away.
Sandy told me that Shimmy asked if I have horses. “Yes, I do” I answered. Sandy asked me to picture my horses in my head. Shimmy continued to just gaze at me. I dutifully pictured each of my own horses in my head and then pictured them as a herd, the way they are normally kept.
Sandy said that she was explaining to Shimmy that I might be her teacher if Shimmy agrees. Now, this was something new, asking the horse if they agree to do training with me. The owner was standing nearby but was remaining silent. Normally it’s my job to get to know the owner and help them feel comfortable with me as I assess the horse and its needs. What a total turn around this was.
“Shimmy wants to know what you’ll do together.” I started to share verbally, some of the typical things I do with a new horse in training . Sandy asked me to picture a few of the things more clearly. At this point Shimmy was sniffing me all over.
“Where would I go?” Shimmy asked. Sandy asked me to picture our ranch.
“How long?” Well, the owner and I had not even begun to discuss these sorts of details so I didn’t know how to answer. Sandy asked me to be general in how long I would typically take a horse in for training. I answered 30 – 90 days depending on the horse and what the owner wants.
“You are a steady hand human.” Shimmy answered. I felt flattered to hear that kind of compliment from a horse. As a trainer, a steady hand is very important. “Thank you.” I replied. By now I was totally caught up in the moment and felt comfortable rather than weird in having a conversation with this horse.
“I’ll go.” Shimmy piped up.
WOW! Just like that. “I’ll go.” I’ve always been amazed at the courageous and generous heart of the horse in how much they do for us humans, but I was nearly bowled over by these two simple words given directly to me from the horse. Shimmy’s needs of knowing the horses I have, the things we would do and the place she would go were her core needs for feeling safe. Her assessment of me as a steady hand human allowed her to trust that I would not do wrong by her.
At this point the owner joined our little group more closely. She thanked Shimmy, Sandy and me. We then began talking details that really didn’t matter that much to her. All she really needed to know was that her horse would approve of me as a trainer. Once she did, the owner trusted that the other details would work out just as they were supposed to.
I reached up to pet Shimmy’s neck and thanked her again. I walked away from this interview a totally changed person. In my head I reviewed the conversation and was amazed at things that Sandy said out loud about me, my personal herd, our ranch and more. Things that I had not volunteered and that Sandy could not have possibly known otherwise.
I was hooked. There must be something to this animal communication, I felt it in my bones.
