Giving Horses a Voice

What does it really mean when a horse paws with their front foot? In this episode, we step out of training systems and into something more fundamental—how horses communicate from an ecological, horse-to-horse perspective. The front foot gesture—often seen as pawing, reaching, or striking—is not “bad behavior.” It’s a message. At its core, this movement expresses one thing: “I want.” I want to go t...

In this episode of Giving Horses a Voice , Sharon Wilsie explores a simple but powerful idea: the lead rope is not just a tool for getting from point A to point B—it is a line of communication that can help your horse find balance, clarity, and confidence. Sharon explains how the way we hold ourselves, breathe, walk, and carry the rope directly affects the horse’s nervous system, posture, and abil...

In this episode of Giving Horses a Voice , Sharon Wilsie talks about one of spring’s biggest horse topics: grass. Spring brings more than greener fields. Horses are also experiencing changes in coat, hormones, light, visibility, footing, and metabolism—all of which can affect mood, movement, and behavior. Sharon explains why fresh grass can create such urgency in horses and why that response is of...

What if you’re not learning something new… but remembering something you’ve always known? In this episode of the Giving Horses a Voice - Horse Speak series, Sharon Wilsie explores the deeper truth behind horse–human communication—revealing that Horse Speak isn’t a special gift, but a natural language already built into both horses and people. Drawing from years of observation and research, Sharon...

In this episode, Sharon Wilsie answers a common question: Is Horse Speak® the same as animal communication or telepathy? The answer is no. Horse Speak® is not about psychic or telepathic connection—it is a system of observing and understanding the horse’s physical, nonverbal language, especially through micro-gestures in the face and body. Sharon shares how horses use their lips, nostrils, chin, a...

In Episode 6 of Giving Horses a Voice, Sharon Wilsie takes us into the early discovery phase of Horse Speak®—where observation became language. What began as simple curiosity evolved into a structured process of cataloging the horse’s communication system. Sharon shares how she began to recognize recurring patterns in breath, gestures, postures, and signals, and how these patterns weren’t random b...

Giving Horses a Voice with Sharon Wilsie – Episode 5 What is the difference between behavior and language? In this episode, Sharon Wilsie explores the difference between behavior and language in horses. While observing an elder rescue horse named Old Ed, Sharon began to notice recurring patterns of communication that conveyed messages of safety, calm, and relaxation within the herd. As a prey anim...

In this episode of Giving Horses a Voice, Sharon Wilsie explores how horses greet each other — and how we can learn to greet them in a way they understand. Horses gather information through bio-rhythms, posture, breath, and subtle gestures. As prey animals, they are constantly reading their environment and the signals of others for safety. When we approach from a regulated state that Horse Speak®...

In Episode 3 of Giving Horses a Voice , Sharon Wilsie explores what leadership truly is — and what it is not — in relationship to horses. For years, the industry has taught humans to use big energy to create compliance. But the horse moving others with force isn’t the leader — that horse is often dysregulated. Real leadership in a herd is quiet, bonded, and rooted in connection. In Horse Speak®, w...

The word "Zero" comes from work with the neurodivergent community. It describes an internal state of regulation and resiliency — the place inside us where we can pause, process, and choose our response. From Zero, we can truly hear horses. Horses are prey animals. Their instinct is to move away from perceived danger. What feels inconvenient to us is often intelligent survival. As a fellow social s...

In this first episode of Giving Horses a Voice , Sharon Wilsie shares the origin story behind her work with equine body language — and the turning point that changed everything. Sharon explains how years of working with neurodivergent students and rescue horses led her to notice something most people miss — the slow, precise micro-gestures horses use to communicate. Not behavior. Not obedience. No...