When Horses Write a Book

Empowered Horses

Decades ago, driven and guided by my herd, the book Empowered Horses (Selbstbewusste Pferde, 2000) was published. It was a testament to true, unbiased horse communication, long before the industry became obsessed with dominance.

Today, it is strange to watch. The (German) book is still in print, and many people use it—but dominance-based thinking acts like a slow, insidious poison. It is highly contagious, and we rarely notice when we are infected, because we are masters at renaming our coercion. Yet, the vacant stare of the horse's eye tells a different story: the vital spark is gone. Even some "trauma-informed" practitioners claim chasing a horse is co-regulation.

Looking at Lilly & Leika, the truth finally hit me: I hadn't just been communicating all these decades. My horses had forced me to study trauma biology from the very beginning. Empowered Horses was never a training method. It was a textbook on neurobiological healing all along.

Spilker, Imke. Empowered Horses: Learning Their Way Through Independence, Self-Confidence, and Creative Play. Trafalgar Square Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-1570764134. (Currently out of print; available via used book networks).