Horse-Whispering

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)

A secret method by which certain persons are able to acquire power over refractory horses. As is well known to students of gypsy lore, that interesting people appear to be in possession of some secret by which they are enabled to render vicious horses entirely tame; and opinions are divided as to whether this secret consists in the application of a certain odour or balm to the horse's muzzle, or whispering into its ear a spell or incantation. It is said, indeed, that the gypsy horse-charmer applies aniseed to the nose of the animal. But besides being practised by gypsies, horse-whispering is in vogue amongst many other peoples. Camden in his Recital of Irish Superstitions says:-" It is by no means allowable to praise a horse or any other animal unless you say 'God save him.' If any mischance befalls a horse in three days after, they find out the person who commended him, that he may whisper the Lord's Prayer in his right ear." It was said by Con Sullivan, a famous Irish horse-whisperer of the eighteenth century, that it is out of the power of the professors of the art to explain the source of their influence, -the same thing being affirmed by those who practise it in South America , where a couple of men will tame half a dozen wild horses in three days. The same art is widely practised in Hungary and Bohemia, and it was from a Bohemian gypsy that a family in the county of Cork claimed to hold a secret by which the wildest or most vicious horse could be tamed. For generations this secret was regularly transmitted as a parting legacy at the time of death from the father to the eldest son. Throughout the North of Scotland there are disseminated members of a secret society for the breaking in of refractory horses, which is believed to be called the Horseman's Society, and which purports to be able to trace its origin away back into the dark ages Those only are admitted who gain their livelihood by the care and management of horses, and the more affluent and better educated are jealously excluded. Many farmers entertain a prejudice against the members of the society, but they are forced to admit that they are always very capable in the management of their teams, and can perform services which would otherwise require the calling in of a veterinary surgeon. They are usually skilled in the knowledge of herbs and simples, and a great deal of the marvellous is imputed to them. In fact it is stated that they hold their meetings at night and in the clear moonlight, going through various equestrian performances with horses borrowed for the occasion from their masters' stables. There is further said to be an inner circle in the society, where the black art and all the spells and charms of witchcraft are the objects of study, and the members of which can smite the horses and cattle with mysterious sickness, and even cast a glamour over human beings. Indeed a local writer goes so far as to say that the inner circle of the Horsemen employ hypnotic influence both on men and animals, as it is said certain North-American Indians, and some of the jungle tribes of Hindustan, do. The famous Con Sullivan has already been alluded to, and his achievements were really wonderful. On one occasion his services were requisitioned by Colonel Westenra afterwards Earl of Rosmore, who possessed a racehorse called "Rainbow," of the most savage description, which would attack any jockey courageous enough to mount him by seizing him by the leg with his teeth, and dragging him from the saddle. A friend of the Colonel's told him that he knew a person who could cure Rainbow, and a wager of £1,000 was laid on the matter. Con Sullivan, who was known throughout the countryside as The Whisperer was sent for, and after being shut up alone with the animal for a quarter of an hour, he gave the signal for the admission of those who had been waiting on the Howitt result. When they entered, they found the horse extended on his back, playing like a kitten with Sullivan, who was quietly sitting by him; but both horse and operator appeared exhausted, and the latter had to be revived with brandy. The horse was perfectly tame and gentle from that day. Another savage steed named "King Pippin " took an entire night to cure, but in the morning he was seen following Sullivan like a dog, lying down at the word of command, and permitting any person to put his hand into his mouth. Shortly afterwards he won a race at the Curragh. Sullivan is described by one who knew him well as an ignorant rustic of the lower class, but there can be no question as to his extraordinary powers. The statement of Sullivan is probably correct, that the successful whisperer is not acquainted with the secret of his own power. "The reason," says Rich, "is obvious. A force proceeding immediately from the will or the instinctive life would be impaired by reflection in the understanding and broken up or at least diminished by one half. The violent trembling of the animal under this operation is like the creaking and shivering of the tables before they begin to 'tip,' and indicates a moral or nervous force acting physically, by projection perhaps from the spirit of the operator. None of these cases are, after all, more wonderful than the movement of our own limbs and bodies by mental force, for how does it move them with such ease? And may not the same power that places its strong but invisible little fingers on every point of our muscular frames, stretch its myriad arms a little further into the sphere around us, and operate by the same laws, and with as much ease, on the stalwart frame of a horse, or even a clothes-horse?" 66 دو