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Whispering to the horses. For the column “From cartoons to action figures, a world on horseback”, we would like to remind you of a film very dear to horsewomen and horsemen: “The horse whisperer”.
For the column “From cartoons to action figures, a world on horseback” we have chosen a film by Robert Redford in his fifth year as director for all horse lovers… and cinema lovers: “The horse whisperer”.
We recommend those who have not yet seen it to treat themselves to three hours immersed in this film, starring Pilgrim, the splendid thoroughbred, a true metaphor and symbol of life.
Starring alongside him are Robert Redford himself , Sam Neill, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Cooper. An exceptional cast, then, for this 1998 film.
Nicholas Evans‘ novel, published a year earlier, which inspired the film, is faithfully told by two first-rate screenwriters, Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese, who only indulge in a few liberties at the end, perhaps even improving it.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of seeing this film, we will summarise the storyline, which will give you an insight into those who prefer whispering to horses rather than shouting commands.
The film begins in a beautiful and rich countryside near New York where Pilgrim, the beloved horse of the young Grace MacLean (played by the then 14-year-old Scarlett Johansson), has an accident. He was seriously wounded and, along with him, his horsewoman who was riding him.
Grace, who survived, loses a leg and the drama deepens, also because her dear friend loses her life in the accident. From that moment on, Pilgrim’s existence will never be the same again. The American dream of the successful family is shattered and the family disintegrates: Grace and her mother Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas), will be left alone…with Pilgrim.
The backdrop of the countryside outside the city in New York is no longer so comforting. There is a need for space, air, nature, perhaps for the wild and instinctive. And so the turning point: at the behest of Annie Maclean, Grace’s mother, the family, from which her husband has meanwhile moved away, will move to a farm in Montana.
It is here, amidst the majestic scenery, with its “Marlboro Country” flavour, that the women and the horse meet Tom Booker (played by Robert Redford).
Convinced that her daughter’s ‘recovery’ is closely linked to her relationship with her beloved horse, Annie refuses Pilgrim’s slaughter and begins a partnership that will prove to be salvation in Tom, “the horse man”.
At this point, the film turns into a kind of modern western in search of the now extreme possibility of finding a (difficult) compromise between family/life and happiness.
The slow, cadenced rhythm brings us back to the time of life and, above all, of healing the body and
soul. A rhythm that marks time differently in the city rather than in the prairies of “Big Sky Country”. In the three-hour film, the director tries to explain this dimension.
It is, perhaps, a questionable film due to some choices that may appear too “sentimental”. For us horse-loving spectators, this will be an opportunity to better understand the thousand-year association between horses, horsewomen and horsemen… and something more.
How long does it take to heal the wounds on a horse’s body and soul? And to heal a person? How long does it take to soothe those pains that do not go away?
Caring is a vocation, it is a gift: for wounds of the body and for deeper wounds, it takes time, a long time which requires patience.
Slow, gentle gestures that whisper comfort, understanding and that have to be done with nurture, care and love.
“A million years before man, they grazed on the vast, lonely prairies, living on voices that only they could hear. They knew man as the prey knows the hunter, because before using horses for work, man killed them for meat. The alliance with man would always be fragile because the fear he had instilled in their hearts was too deep to remove.” This is how Annie Maclean introduces her project for the recovery of her daughter and her horse. Which one?
Annie continues by telling a story about the distant past. Among the men who harnessed horses for the first time, there were some who had a feeling, an intuition: in the strong, coercive moment of capture, they felt they could “see into the soul of these creatures and soothe the wounds they found there. Secrets were whispered softly into troubled ears.”
Annie was talking about those men who were known as “whisperers”.
The alliance with man could not ever be anything but fragile, because the fear he had instilled in the horses remained like a mark, an indelible imprint.
Hence the decision to hire Tom, who had a way with horses… and people. A “whisperer”, in fact.
Having read the novel, the film’s two screenwriters, Eric Roth and Richard La Gravenese, drew inspiration from a real character in portraying the features of the man who whispered in Pilgrim’s ear. It was Buck Brannaman.
But who was Buck Brannaman? And how did he become a ‘whisperer’? After a childhood of abuse, Buck Brannaman was able to turn his pain into a valuable asset: to understand the inner world of the horses he had lived with since childhood.
From his close observation of the wild American mustang herds, he learned all he needed to know about opposing the rigid and violent traditional taming practised there and introduced a completely different method based on mutual understanding and empathy.
According to Brannaman, like any relationship, the one with the horse reflects unresolved personal conflicts. “The way a horse responds to you tells a lot about your relationship with him. It also reveals a bit about how you approach relationships with other human beings. If the horse accepts you into its world, you are likely to be a rather pleasant human being to be with. If it can’t stand you, there are probably some things you need to shape in your life that go beyond your relationship with the animal”.
It is clear that his reflection goes far beyond the man-horse relationship into that of life and personal relationships.
From this point of view, the relationship with the horse becomes a lesson in learning how to overcome the obstacles and traumas that life sometimes has in store for us. It ‘forces’ us into a relationship with the present by preventing us from dwelling on the painful past.
It was because of this in-depth experience that Brannaman agreed to assist Robert Redford, in the difficult role of ‘whisperer’, as a consultant on the set of the film.
But who are the “whisperers”?. What do they whisper and for what purpose?
So-called ‘horse whisperers’ are essential, and not only to help both male and female riders overcome their own traumas or to establish a new positive approach with the horse.
Their method is mainly based on ethological taming and a gentle method based on positive reinforcement to rehabilitate horses that have suffered from trauma.
It is not always easy to achieve success even by using this method, and often the trauma is only partially overcome. When this happens, mostly, according to Brannaman, “ it is the humans who are responsible for their failure to help a horse learn what it should not do before it becomes too dangerous”. From this standpoint, there is an important message that naturally goes beyond the equine world.
Like Brannaman, Monty Roberts, nicknamed ‘the man who listens to horses’, he learned the non-verbal language of horses by observing them in the wild. Anyone who knows about horse-breeding will be familiar with the method known around the world as the “join up” method. This new approach adopted by Roberts completely overturned the programmes used in the equestrian world, and was so revolutionary that it even intrigued the Queen of England who was very impressed during the practical presentation of the method.
In fact, ethological horse taming, or gentle taming, is a practice that is rooted in the past. As early as 350 BC. Xenophon, in his Treatise on Horsemanship, recommends “pain-free” training, on the assumption that a happy horse will also be more efficient.
“Gentle training” means respecting natural communication with the horses. In practice, gentle taming is based on the assumption that a horse that is treated gently and whose nature is understood will be more willing to establish a cooperative relationship with its rider.
This method, therefore, is based on the importance of understanding and sharing the horse’s communicative code. Between the two, it is the man who has to adapt to the horse, learning its language.
The gestures and words normally used by humans when issuing commands are signals that the horse often does not understand or misunderstands.
It is an animal that is very attached to its instincts and, in the wild, belongs to a herd where each horse has a different way of communicating, depending on its role in the group and the hierarchy. The movement of the trainer’s body and voice become, therefore, fundamental ingredients in creating the empathy necessary and building a beneficial and lasting relationship with the horse.
Whispering to horses means saying softly and quietly that we understand them, that we are with them and that together we will do something. It doesn’t matter how big or small. What matters is that we do it together with mutual respect. Which, after all, is kind of the secret of any successful cohabitation.
So, “The Horse Whisperer” is a film about horses and people, about all of us who have to deal with life. Perhaps a little long-winded, sometimes melodramatic, certainly painful, as life can be.
It is a film that teaches us that love and gentleness are the only truly effective ingredients to overcome pain. It teaches us the “trick” of how to enter the wounded heart of those who suffer even when everything seems useless. He teaches us to speak softly, to “enter” on tiptoe, not to demand, but to ask with gentleness and patience.
As the breathtaking images run across the screen, we learn that pain takes its time, that needed to heal wounds. It is a time that passes slowly by, a time that must be felt and accepted with understanding and respect… always, whether it is in relation to an animal or a person.
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