Horse Whisperer - Definition

A Horse whisperer is a horse trainer who adopts a sympathetic view of the motives, needs, and desires of the horse, based on modern equine psychology.

Xenophon is often considered to be the original "horse whisperer". Today, numerous trainers and clinicians call themselves horse whisperers, often building on the work of Powell, as well as that of John Solomon Rarey in the 1850s, Tom Dorrance, and still later Ray Hunt.

Dorrance's classic True Unity and Hunt's work Think Harmony With Horses are some of the original works of the 20th century advocating true understanding of the horse. Some well known trainers using and advocating similar methods today include:

• Buck Brannamen
• John Lyons
• Pat Parelli
• Mark Rashid

See:

• The Original Horse Whisperer - about John S. Rarey, a forerunner of Monty Roberts.
• The Horse Whisperer -- novel and movie.
• Monty Roberts: A Real Horse Whisperer - documentary film on Monty Roberts
• The Man Who Listens to Horses - autobiography of Monty Roberts

See also:

• List of equine topics
• Domestication of the horse
• Practical equine psychology
• Present-day proponents of establishing cooperative relationships between humans and horses