Inter-Species Communication: Equine Practitioners

A Practice-Led Study of Human-Horse Communication Key Words: agency, inter-species communication, authenticity, embodiment, nature/culture, mind-body, affect, phenomenology, materiality, socio-sensual, photography, horse, equine, Otherness The recent rise in natural horsemanship methods developed by such practitioners as Hempfling, Resnick, Kohanov and Rolfe, that seek to gain an empathy and connection with the horse rather than relying on harsh methods of control, have raised interesting questions regarding the possibilities of inter-species communication. In this paper I position the writings of these equine practitioners within the wider debates on nature that are re-invigorating the social sciences, humanities and the arts. The idea that nature can be conceived of as a vital and dynamic force in its own right challenges the nature-culture and mind-body binaries that have dominated Western thought and which have relegated animals to the position of Other. Positioning the horse as an active agent, capable of creativity and intentionality, forces us to reconsider our definition of agency; and to base it less on rational thought, language and free will and more on affect, embodiment and sociality. My investigative approach is practice-based and is informed by the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty, Michel Serres and Tim Ingold; using photography, video and text I elaborate and communicate my own experiments to connect with my PRE horse using the techniques developed by the leading equine practitioners, who borrow from diverse sources in Philosophy, Psychology and Theology. Hempfling's use of authenticity, Kohanov's use of Taoism, dissociation and incongruency, emotional intelligence and the socio-sensual, Resnick's distinction between leadership and dominance and Rolfe's use of intention and breathing techniques, attempt to generate a different kind of knowledge about the world, one that is dynamic and creative, and that begins from positioning us as humans immersed in the world and is rooted in phenomenological experience.