You can tell a lot about a man, by the way he touches his horse. For Harry Whitney, touch is just one of the ways he communicates with horses.
Born into a family of horsemen and ranchers, Harry has worked with horses all his life. He doesn't call himself a "horse trainer," he prefers to call himself an "equine communicator."
The Webster dictionary defines the word "communicate" to mean: "...to give or pass on to a person or thing part or share of something immaterial as knowledge, feelings, thoughts...make others understand one's ideas...to be in touch by words or signals."
Harry travels throughout the United States putting on clinics "From the Horse's Point of View." At his clinics he strives to teach riders to tune-in and listen to their horses, helping the rider become more sensitive to what the horse is communicating.
His desire is to "increase peoples's awareness and respect for the overall "Bigger Picture" of equine behaviors," the horse's flight instinct, pecking order, curiosity and herd instincts all play an intrinsic part in how horses think, respond, understand and learn.
Harry says, "the horse is always giving information, and if I can help people look at it from the horse's point of view, then maybe they can understand the information the horse is trying to give them."
Harry is quick to point out the subtle messages of a horse's body language. How a horse's head and neck carriage, suppleness and straightness of body, evenness and cadence of stride, facial expression, body tension, a flick of an ear, the swish of a tail, a blink of an eye, the slow exhale of breath or the licking of lips all communicate a message, if the rider is sensitive and aware.
Harry's message to the horse are communicated through what he calls "CPR", which is an acronym for CUE: A clear and consistent signal which lets the horse know something is expected. PRESSURE: Pressure is not punishment. Pressure starts at zero and builds. Do as little as it takes, but all it takes to achieve the desired response. RESPONSE=Release Reward: the slightest response in the right direction by the horse demands immediate release and reward from the rider.
At the moment of response, release and reward comes understanding. Ultimately, learning has taken place without force by allowing the horse to choose the response that released the pressure.
Harry's great sense of humor and relaxed approach with horses and riders are his trademark with clinic participants. His clinics are beneficial for all disciplines of riding and he sits a dressage saddle with ease and grace while asking for impulsion and colleciton as well as he sits a western saddle while asking for a spin or sliding stop.
A true horseman in the broadest sense of the word, Harry will be at Seven Oaks to give his "From the Horse's Point of View" clinic each spring and fall.
