Empowered Horses: Learning Their Way Through Independence, Self-Confidence, and Creative Play

With illuminating text, this study explains why it is necessary for riders to carefully build a relationship that eliminates the traditional rider-as-oppressor dynamic and instead empowers the horse to behave as an individual. To begin achieving this relationship, riders learn to transform a horse’s work space into “free space” by giving their horse choices; by understanding how horses live and prefer to spend their time; by observing, sensing, and reflecting with the horse; and by using visual language to win the horse’s friendship. The result is a surprising dialogue with the horse that yields an indomitable partnership—unparalleled improvement in the horse’s attitude, health, balance, and movement, as well as mutual enjoyment of what was once the often dull, frustrating grind of daily training lessons.

Imke Spilker is the founder of the Communicative Horses Project. She is the author of Communicative Horses.

Imke Spilker is a professional linguist who studied language sciences at the University of Heidelberg. Always in search of the truth of the horse behind the great words of human beings, she immersed herself in the works of the old Masters of equitation.  Fifteen years ago, Spilker found four-legged teachers who answered these questions --  under saddle and in the pasture.  With these horses she founded the "Communicative Horses Project " (www.kommunikativepferde.de).  In this project horses have the say.  The horses learn to "whisper" to human beings, while humans learn how to listen to their horses and come into a true conversation with them.  The book, "Empowering Horses to Learn Their Way," evolved from the work of “Communicative Horses." Spilker lives in Stegen, Germany.