The term, "horse whisperer" originated in the early nineteenth century and first being referred this way was an Irish horseman named Daniel Sullivan. Eventually making a name for himself in England for his ability to rehabilitate intractably vicious horses, spectators noticed he would square up and face the troubled horse seeming to whisper the horse into a calm submission. The public began to call him a horse whisperer.

The early horse whisperers were sought out by great numbers of people needing advice and help with their equine counterparts. That need is still in high demand today. Here in the United States the practice of horse whispering developed in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain areas. The better known horseman of that time were two brothers known as Tom and Bill Dorrance. These two practitioners of horse whispering would prove to have a profound influence upon today's horse world and the practice that has become better known as Natural Horsemanship.

One such individual profoundly influenced by the Dorrance brothers is Ray Hunt. Ray has been a pivotal character in the landscape of Natural Horsemanship. His unwavering pursuit to grasp the concepts, philosophies and spirit of the Dorrance brother's approach to the horse did not go unanswered. Hunt has perhaps been the most instrumental horseman in propelling natural horsemanship into the consciousness of horse enthusiasts around the world. Ray Hunt died in March of 2009 at the age of 79. The world lost a great horseman. The horse lost a good friend.

Like the Dorrance brothers, Ray Hunt left this world a legacy as well, his gift of sharing what he knew about the horse and showing them, "the way". One of Ray's beneficiaries is one of Florida's best kept secrets in the horse world, Ronnie J Ford. He is a horseman well defined by his experience and knowledge and most assuredly touched by the time he spent with Ray. In the spirit of Ray Hunt's legacy, Ronnie Ford is first and foremost an advocate for the horse and will be quick to tell you, "I'm just trying to improve the lives of horses, one owner at a time".

Ronnie recalls an incident which took place in Wauchula, Florida where Ray was holding a clinic. "Ray was mounted, watching all of us in the arena. There were probably twenty-five to thirty horses and riders. Now, you have to understand, I teach all my horses that what ever may be going on "out there" ain't none of their business. My horses are taught to pay attention to me and they won't get into trouble. So, I was riding my stud horse, Jo around the arena. Everything was going along just fine until this guy on a red gelding came by me and Jo. Well, this gelding just decided to reach out and tag Jo. Well, Jo didn't have too much of a response and we just continued on. Jo never missed a step and he never paid any mind to the riders and horses we were passing or the ones passing us. We were riding around the arena and Ray just happened to be watching about the time that red gelding approached us. All of the sudden, Jo decided to take issue with that gelding! It happened so fast and because Jo didn't have much of a response when the gelding tagged him back there, I figured that was the end of it. Evidently, Jo kept an eye on that gelding and an opportunity to teach him he wasn't going to get away with that, so Jo got after him. I collected Jo and simmered him down but Ray came riding up about that time and asked me for Jo's reins. I gave over the reins to Ray and Ray went to gettin' after him pretty good and he was crawlin' my a** along with it! Ray rode my butt the rest of the day. He never let up. Well, at the end of the day when we were sittin' around discussing things, Ray started in on me again, right in front of everybody! Ray wasn't gonna let it go and that was pretty certain. Well, the next mornin' I loaded up Jo and a mare that was in full season. When we got to the arena, I unloaded Jo, saddled him up and unloaded the mare. I put the mare on a lead rope, mounted Jo and trotted over to Ray. He looked up at me and I asked him, "Ray, did you see what happened before Jo went after that gelding?" Ray said, "No, guess I didn't". So, I explained how that gelding went after Jo and what he saw was a very delayed response on Jo's part. I said, "This mare here? She's in full season and this stud horse knows she ain't none of his business. I probably deserved everything you gave me yesterday, but this stud horse didn't"! As Ronnie retells this encounter his blue eyes are lit with a smile that told of his fondness for Ray Hunt and the old man's passion and wisdom.

"Ray Hunt is the best horseman this world has ever seen. I learned a lot from that old man. He even taught me something one day he never knew he did. Ray had a sayin' he liked to use a lot: 'You go through the mind to get the feet to move." Ray was inside a horse trailer with the horse trying to get him to unload. The horse was so scared and had so much fear of that trailer, Ray was having a very difficult time getting him in there. As I watched Ray with this horse, a revelation tapped into my senses and I realized a profound truth: Sometimes a horses mind is so cluttered with fear that you just can't go through the mind. That day Ray taught me a valuable piece of information that he never knew he did. I learned that sometimes you have to bypass the chaos and get straight to the point to get the success you want."

Ronnie is referred to by many as a horse whisperer. He is noted for his ability to work magic with horses. When faced with praise by spectators he falls humble and says there's nothing special about what he does, praising instead, the horse for it's magnificence, it's intelligence, grace and spirit. He says, "You just have to understand that a horse does what makes sense to him. If a horse exhibits bad behavior, it's because some human taught him how to do it. If he can learn that, then I can teach him to do something different and replace the wrong behavior or response with a desired one."

There are those who say, "Ronnie is spooky, the things he can do with horses, I have seen the man stand in the round pen and literally cause a horse to suddenly stop with only his eyes!" If asked, "Do you really whisper to horses?", Ronnie would tell you he rarely talks to the horses at all. The only thing you're likely to hear him say to the horse is something along the lines of, "Good for you"! But he will tell you that he understands that it is his obligation to the horse to know what he wants the horse to do and how to ask it. The horse has it's own language, once you understand something about that, then you'll be on your way to a better line of communication."

So, in conclusion yes, there are horse whisperers in existence today. In spite of the horse whisperer's longevity in our history and the supposed secrets revealed, one thing remains clear: what ever it is they are saying, it is exclusively for the benefit of the horse and if we are to capture any understanding at all for ourselves, we will have to listen closely to something above a whisper.

About Beverley J. Ford