Communicating with Horses

Let's observe Klaus' basic approach in more detail using his horse Cresco as an example. Cresco is a three year old untrained hybrid mare which Klaus saved from brutal conditions a few days before. The horse was able to recover well in his peaceful herd in his absence. She still behaves shyly and rejects contact with anyone. So, Klaus used a lead horse to get her away from the herd and into the riding area. He is using a seminar and an opportunity to reach out to his horse more intensively for the first time. At the very beginning, something surprising happens. Klaus throws the rope to see the how the horse will react. It doesn't respond at all. At first, surprised by this lack of reaction, Klaus decides to proceed differently than planned. Acting as if he was totally disinterested, he gives the horse the opportunity to follow him. From now on, his body consistently signals the greatest possible normality, absolute calmness and naturalness. Klaus now approaches the horse resolutely in the following way. He stretches out his right hand so that the horse reacts by drawing back. Now there is already a clear gesture of complete acceptance of the man. Klaus calmly follows the horse until it finally remains standing of its own accord. Cresco turn to him while he seemingly unmoved by all this, begins to touch the horse all over his whole body. Only a few seconds have gone by, but almost everything as Klaus would say has already happened. I am the way I am and the horse is also the way it is and we very quickly find this togetherness. In order to let horse's feel completely free to move, Klaus often begins by taking off their halter. It is already clear that the horse responds to every step the man takes. Klaus overcomes the horse's shyness almost completely very early in their meeting by touching the sensitive parts of its underbelly, calmly and obviously enjoying it, the horse stays with him. Now something extremely important happens. Klaus always waits for a natural opportunity to carry out the intentions he had from the beginning, namely, to create a distance between himself and the horse. Wallowing offers it good opportunity. Cresco wants to turn back to the man again, but he creates a clearly defined space around himself. This is a very decisive moment. Everything done must signal total relaxation and calm with no hint of aggressiveness, otherwise the horse will easily panic and either flee or fight, a lot would be ruined. Like a higher ranking horse, the person takes exactly the same position the horse had before. Klaus always gives the horse the opportunity to leave by turning to its group. Here we can clearly see how one should always take one's clue from the horse's reactions, but without ever becoming inconsistent even for a moment. Cresco suddenly turns to Klaus who can only do one thing, draw back, but without letting a horse come to him. He now waits for the right moment to approach the horse. These beginnings develop naturally into the starting point for lounging. Now Klaus steps towards the horse's head so that it turns to him and he can approach the standing horse like a sovereign leader of the herd. What I definitely want to convey to the horse in these first moments in clear body language is that I do not demand anything from him. He can stand still while I touch him or lift his hoof, but he doesn't have to. He stays with me because there is no reason to run away. Finally, Cresco also follows the man in a large area as if she had already belonged to him a long time. There is no trace of shyness anymore after about twenty minutes. Playfulness, fun and trust can be seen in Cresco's body language. The horse has found his equal. It is the most normal thing in the world for Cresco to follow this person who she now fully trusts to the riding area. It is also worth watching the end of the sequence because the trust in this peaceful person, once one, remains unchanged when the saddle blanket is placed on the horse the first time. You can clearly see that Klaus does not appear to pay the slightest attention to this procedure, although he is at all times totally concentrated on the horse. He has the normality, the security communicated by his internal and external physical presence seem to carry over directly to the horse. The unseen finds a bridge. The young horse doesn't move a muscle and stands still next to her new friend, even when the saddle blanket is waved forcefully over her. You can clearly see just how calm and relaxed the person's body must be so that the horse doesn't have the least doubt about the harmlessness of the procedure. Without any fear and with only a touch of curiosity, Cresco looks at this unknown this on her back. The friendship has not been weakened. The horse seeks the man. Not every horse reacts like Cresco. On the contrary, every horse reacts differently. Klaus later tells course participants, but the procedure remains the same as does the result. Only the time is determined by the horse. Even when the saddle belt is buckled, the horse only kicks a little with its hind legs. It remains standing untied in one place. Klaus remain seated a long time and explains to his audience what had just happened. Some questions have been answered by the audience themselves, but many new ones now become important. Many of these can often only be grossed and answered after a long period of study. During the whole time, Cresco never leaves Klaus's side.