Irish Horse Whispering in Co. Cork May 26, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
A lovely story from New Market in Co Cork in the wild west of Ireland and another episode from the series on horse charming. Not least interesting is the fact that this seems to be the origin of the modern phrase ‘horse whispering’.
Among the curiosities of this district [New Market, 1810] may be properly included a very extraordinary power displayed by one of its natives, in controlling and subduing the refractory disposition of horses. What I am about to relate will appear almost incredible, and is certainly very hard to be accounted for; but there is not the least doubt of its truth. Many of the most respectable inhabitants have been witnesses of his performances, some of which came within my own knowledge. He was an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class, of the name of James Sullivan but better known by the appelation of the whisperer, his occupation horse breaking.
Now the first mystery is that history knows a certain Daniel Sullivan, who has that highest accolade: his own wikipedia page. Are James and Daniel the same individual? It seems so, though the claim that Daniel worked in England is contradicted in what follows.
The nick-name [ ‘whisperer’ Sullivan] acquired from a vulgar notion of his being able to communicate to the animal what he wished, by means of a whisper, and the singularity of his method seemed, in some degree to justify the attribute. In his own neighbourhood, the notoriety of the fact made it appear less remarkable, but I doubt if any instance of similar subjugating talent is to be found on record. As far as the sphere of his control extended, the boast of veni, vidi, vinci was more justlty claimed by James Sullivan than by Csesar, or Bonaparte himself. How his art was acquired, or in what it consisted, is likely to remain for ever unknown, as he has lately left the world without divulging it. His son, who follows the same. trade, possesses but a small portion of the art having either never learned the true secret, or being incapable of putting it in practice.
Now we get to some details.
The wonder of his skill consisted in the celerity of the operation which was performed in privacy, and without any apparent means of coercion. Every description of horse, or even mule, whether previously broke or unhandledy whatever their peculiar vices or ill habits might have been, submitted without shew of resistance to the magical influence of his art, and in the short space of half an hour became gentle and tractable. The effect, though instantaneously produced, waa generally durable. Though more submissive to him than to others, they seemed to have acquired a docility unknown before. When sent for to tame a vicious beast, for which he was paid more or less, according to distance, generally two or three guineas, he directed the stable, in which he and the object of the experiment were placed, to be shut, with orders not to open the door until a a signal given. After a tête-a-tête of about half an hour, during which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made, and, upon opening the dctor, the horse appeared lying down, and the man by his side, playing familiarly with him, like a child with a puppy dog. From that time he was found perfectly willing to submit to any discipline, however repugnant to his nature before.
The author, Townwright was a witness of sorts:
I once saw his skill tried on a horse, which could never before be brought to stand for a smith to shoe him. The day after Sullivan’s half-hour lecture, I went, not without some incredulity, to the smith’s shop, with many other curious spectators, where we were eye-witnesses of the complete success of his art. This too had been a troop horse, and it was supposed, not without reason, that, after regimental discipline had failed, no other would be found availing.
Townwright has some interesting thoughts: note too Sullivan’s instinct for showmanship in shutting the stable door.
I observed that the animal appeared terrified, whenever Sullivan either spoke or looked at him; how that extraordinary ascendancy could have been obtained, it is difficult to conjecture. In common cases this mysterious preparation was unnecessary. He seemed to possess an instinctive power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of a natural intrepidity, in which, I believe, a great part of his art consisted, though the circumstance of the tête-a-tête shows that upon particular occasions something more must have been added to it. A faculty, like this, would in other hands have made a fortune, and I understand that great offers have been made to him for the exercise of his art abroad. But hunting was his passion. He lived at home, in the stile most agreeable to his disposition, and nothing could induce him to quit Duhallow and the fox-hounds.
Anything else on James or Daniel Sullivan: drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
30 May 2016, Chris from Haunted Ohio Books, A later horse whisperer from Ohio. For some reason I always assumed that Rarey was the fellow the “raree show” was named after! I have read that one “whisperer” technique involved pinching the horse’s lip–apparently this is still done and is called the twitch.
30 May, 2016, Bruce T: I come from long lines of teamsters, horse traders and breakers on both sides of my family. I’ve got an insight on where the term “horse whispering” originates. What looks like the breaker whispering in the horses ear, is actually the breaker biting the horse’s ear. It’s how the mother doles out discipline to the colt and was used by many an old fashioned breaker to establish dominance with a horse. I saw my Grandfather do it dozens of times with the quarter horses we raised to prepare them for not only the saddle and sale, but yearly for the plow. Biting allows you to both gain the animal’s trust and puts you in control in quick order. Then it’s out to the barnyard to break them. We normally owned 15 -20 horses at any one time. Nothing like pulling yourself out of knee deep mud and horse manure on a damp cold morning trying to get them used to a rider again. Horses rank on my list where Vikings do in yours. Except you never had to clean up after them.
