Horse listener, not horse whisperer with Nicci Mackay

Horse whisperer — or horse listener? Nicci Mackay on what horses are really telling usCan horses actually understand us? Nicci Mackay has spent her life arguing the question is backwards. She doesn't "whisper" to horses, and she's quick to correct anyone who calls her a horse whisperer — she listens.Nicci has communicated with animals since childhood, and has built a remarkable career translating what agitated, shut-down and "broken" horses are trying to say. In this episode she challenges the conventional wisdom around equine communication, what horses pick up on, and why so many of us are shouting when we should be listening.We talk about:• Why "horse whisperer" is the wrong word — and what "horse listener" actually means• What horses are really responding to (hint: it isn't the words)• The danger of anthropomorphising our horses — and how to read them on their own terms• Nicci's years as a groom and jockey, and what working in secret taught her• The moments she's been able to reach horses everyone else had given up onAbout the guest: Nicci Mackay is the author of Spoken in Whispers — The Autobiography of a Horse Whisperer. She has worked with horses, domestic pets, farm animals and birds, travelling widely to translate on behalf of animals for their owners. Her book is a rare insight into the minds, emotions and behaviour of the animals she's spent her life alongside — thought-provoking, often funny, and always honest.📚 Grab the book in our bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781780572987