20 Questions with Dr Andrew McLean

PERFECT PARTNERS

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.

Since 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

inaccurately used to describe horse rather than traditional methods.

Modern-day horse trainers such as Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli and Monty Roberts all emphasise natural horsemanship techniques, through which a horse is trained by positive reinforcement of desired behaviour, 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.

Very few details about his life are recorded, and he did not discuss 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 was 25 years old, he had written his first book, The Modern Art of Taming Horses, and had became known for his ability to rehabilitate horses considered untamable, vicious or traumatised.

Rarey went to Texas in 1855 and began working with wild horses from the Great Plains. However money was scarce and

John Solomon Rarey and the supposedly incurable ‘Cruiser’ (a drawing by John Leech courtesy Welcome Images). BELOW: The cover from an early edition of The Art of Taming Horses. LEFT: Commemorating a famous son in Groveport Ohio, Rarey’s birthplace.

he was forced to return to Ohio where, in 1856, he gave public demonstrations in the capital city of Columbus. Audiences watched in amazement as he tamed two belligerent horses, one in 20 minutes, the other in 15.

Word of his method, which became known as the Rarey technique, spread far across the world and in 1857 Rarey travelled to England. Officers of the British army had heard of his name and skill, which in 1858, led to Queen Victoria requesting that he give a performance at Windsor Castle. The Queen had one particular horse that couldn’t be tamed. As the monarch watched, Rarey spoke calmly to the animal, laid it on the ground and then rested his own head on its hooves. Pleased with his efforts, the Queen gave him a handsome financial reward.

Soon another horse was brought to Rarey, a fierce beast named Cruiser. Said to be the most vicious beast in England, Cruiser was a magnificent stallion owned by the Earl of Dorchester. He stood 16hh and had already killed two grooms who were attempting to saddle him. Kept in a brick stable with a thick oak door and muzzled with eight pounds of iron, Cruiser was known to kick wildly to the point of exhaustion. Rarey was warned about the stallion’s evil temper, but nonetheless, opened the stable doors and stood before the dark bay.

The horse snapped twice, but Rarey kept his head and began speaking softly to him. After some time, Rarey was able to hobble one of the stallion’s legs and eventually lay him down on his side. Within three hours, he had saddled and mounted Cruiser and rode him from the stall. The Earl was so deeply impressed that he gave the horse to Rarey, who transported him back to America. The stallion outlived him by nine years, although his temper returned upon Rarey’s death.

Rarey was now a rich and famous man. He travelled all over the world, giving demonstrations of his technique. Once he even tamed a zebra, and after four hours was able to saddle and ride the undomesticated animal. He seemed to understand certain horse-taming techniques in a way that few others could. For so many rough and rowdy horses, most of whom were more frightened than belligerent, Rarey was the perfect partner indeed.

John Solomon Rarey passed away in 1866. His written works, including his classic The Modern Art of Taming Horses, are freely available on the internet. To this day, his descendants maintain a website dedicated to his life and work. The website can be found at: http://www.rarey.com/sites/jsrarey/.

20 QUESTIONS

20 Questions with Dr Andrew McLean

Dr Andrew McLean, PhD (Equine Cognition & Learning), BSc (Zoology), Dip Ed, is Co-Director of Equitation Science International, and conducts demonstrations around the world. He is Senior Vice President of the not-for-profit HELP, and his achievements in eventing and dressage are numerous.

Q: How old were you when

you started riding?

A: I don't recall. I think I started about the same time I started walking. I do remember my first pony was an opinionated Shetland named Cricket.

Q: Was your family horsey or were you

the odd one out?

A: My grandfather was a show jumper in Queensland. My parents had horses so riding was pretty natural for me. Growing up on King Island allowed us to spend any spare time galloping around on our ponies.

Q: Where did your jumping start? A: Dad was a show jumper and he would set up jumps and give us a hand to jump as high as we possibly could with 44 gallon drums and a few poles. That led into show jumping then eventing.

Q: When did you start to learn about

the finer points of riding?

A: When I was at university in Hobart. I

Andrew and Kush Prasad get acquainted in Nepal

kept my horse at a riding school run by George Sanna’s father. [George is an Olympian, World Cup show jump rider and coach].

Q: How did you balance riding

and university?

A: Quite a lot of people at uni rode. George Sanna was studying law there. We were both at Hobart Show one year which ran at the same time as the uni study break. I did mention that we should probably be at study break but that didn't stop us from competing. I never really did a lot of study back then. For me it was more about horses.

Q: What was your first degree? A: Zoology, then when I went back to teach at University I got my DipEd. The PhD in Equine Cognition and Learning came later.

Q: When you’re not riding,

how do you relax?

A: Usually with music, I do something with my brain if I can and some reading. I am learning Spanish at the moment.

Q: Which of the 3DEs you’ve

competed in had the toughest cross country?

A: Gawler was by far the toughest after the World Championships in 1986. Some of the Tasmanian courses were a bit crazy looking back on it though.

Q: How did you get your horses

fit during the days of the long format 3DE?

A: I met Lucinda Green and she put me onto the work of US equestrian coach Jack Le Goff and the importance of interval training. Racehorse trainer Luca Cumani was also very helpful when I spoke to him.

Q: Who was your best horse and what

did you like about him?

A: Woodmount Enterprise. He was just really tough. He was a fraction under 15.2hh, a real nugget of a horse. Quite a good racehorse and really good in the cross country but also a good show jumper up to B grade. He was an

Andrew and Thoroughbred Purdie.

RIGHT: Andrew and Mr Biggles tackling the gruelling 1996 Gawler 3DE course.

BELOW RIGHT: Andrew teaches humane elephant training techniques through the notfor-profit HELP program.

absolute machine, really fast.

Q: So you trained racehorses as well? A: I was breaking in Thoroughbreds and pre-training racehorses and I became interested in it from there. I loved working with Thoroughbred horses! I trained a horse bred for the Melbourne Cup that didn't win anything on the track but it became a very successful eventer, Woodmount Magic. He eventually sold to Tim Collins in England and was one of the first Australian produced stallions and competition horses to be sold for six figures.

Q: Is there anything different

you’ve been working on during the COVID dramas?

A: Just being home has meant I’ve had a lot more time to focus on studies. I’ve done a few scientific reviews and papers including a modification to the current Five Domain model of animal welfare.

Q: If you had to switch disciplines,

what would you choose?

A: Definitely show jumping. The only reason I stopped jumping was that I loved galloping when I was younger.

Q: Favourite breed of horse? A: I really got to love Thoroughbreds.

Q: If you had to stop riding completely,

what would you do?

A: I would probably be teaching at university, and would probably be involved in a sport too. I did a tetrathlon once and really enjoyed that.

Q: What can people learn from horses? A: The horse teaches you so much about yourself if you can be bothered to listen. They’re like a mirror.

Q: Which riders out there do you

see doing a good job of balancing high level competition and all round horsemanship?

A: Warwick [Andrew’s son] is doing a pretty good job. He’s getting better and better all the time. He trains a lot of horses for top people. At the elite level I'm pretty impressed with Ingrid Klimke. She can do anything. I was a huge fan of her father Reiner Klimke.

Q: What areas of research are you

looking into next?

A: I’d like to see much more research into high level dressage training. The trouble is that there are very few people who are great riders and good scientists, and very few people who are great scientists and good riders to help bridge that gap between the science and the practical application.

Q: Besides horses, what animals

have you trained?

A: Dogs, pigeons, ferrets and elephants.

Q: What made you start a charity

for elephants?

A: I was teaching a clinic in Denmark and someone approached me about training elephants in a more humane way in Nepal. Even though I had never worked with elephants I was keen to give it a go and it’s turned into HELP (Human Elephant Learning Project) which is now a tax deductible charity.