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rather than punitive methods. This concept can be traced back as far as the third or fourth century BCE, when the Greek philosopher Xenophon of Athens wrote a treatise called On Horsemanship. In his writing, Xenophon advanced the theory that gentle methods were more effective than trying to break a horse’s spirit by domination. The origin of the term ‘horse whisperer’ can be traced to a man named Daniel Sullivan, who was born in County Cork, Ireland in last half of the 1700s. Working mostly in England, Daniel became well known for being able to work with troublesome horses that didn’t respond to traditional training methods. He often stood very close to the horse so he appeared to be whispering to them, earning the name Daniel ‘Horse-Whisperer’ Sullivan. There is some speculation that he was biting the horse’s ear, in the manner of a mare disciplining her foal.
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Very few details about his life are recorded, and he did not discuss
Cruiser and John Solomon Rarey What do you do when a horse simply won’t cooperate? Back in the 1800s, they called in John Solomon Rarey, who even managed to calm the intractable and dangerous stallion Cruiser, writes N. G. QUINLAN.
his training methods with anyone. One of his contemporaries – a man named Townwright, who was himself witness to Sullivan’s skills – wrote of him: “How his art was acquired, or in what it consisted, is likely to remain for ever unknown, as he has lately left the world without divulging it.” A man about whom much more is known is John Solomon Rarey. Born in 1827 in Groveport, Ohio, Rarey tamed his first horse at the tender age of twelve. Soon local folk were bringing him their unruly equines and his fame spread. By the time Rarey
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ince the publication of Nicholas Evans’ 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer (and later the film of the
same name starring Robert Redford), the term has been loosely, and sometimes
rather than traditional methods.
was 25 years old, he had written his first book, The Modern Art of Taming
Modern-day horse trainers such as
Horses, and had became known for his
Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli and
ability to rehabilitate horses considered
Monty Roberts all emphasise natural
untamable, vicious or traumatised.
horsemanship techniques, through
inaccurately used to describe horse
Rarey went to Texas in 1855 and began
which a horse is trained by positive
working with wild horses from the Great
trainers who uses natural horsemanship
reinforcement of desired behaviour,
Plains. However money was scarce and
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