© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 DOI: 10.1163/156853008X291417 Society and Animals 16 (2008) 107-126 www.brill.nl/soan Talking about Horses: Control and Freedom in the World of “Natural Horsemanship” Lynda Birke Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Anthrozoology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, UK CH1 4BJ E-mail: l.birke@chester.ac.uk Sent 2 July 2007, Accepted 16 October 2007 Abstract his paper explores how horses are represented in the discourses of “natural horsemanship” (NH), an approach to training and handling horses that advocates see as better (kinder, more gentle) than traditional methods. In speaking about their horses, NH enthusiasts move between two registers: On one hand, they use a quasi-scientific narrative, relying on terms and ideas drawn from ethology, to explain the instinctive behavior of horses. Within this mode of narra- tive, the horse is “other” and must be understood through the human learning to communicate and through appropriate training. On the other hand, NH enthusiasts—like many horse owners—seek to emphasize partnership. In this type of discourse, people portray their horses as almost human. he tensions between these two ways of talking about horses reflect contradic- tory ideas about control versus freedom in relating to horses, especially as related to emotions expressed by caregivers (owners) about their relationships with horses. Keywords natural horsemanship, discourse, instinctive behavior, partnership, control, freedom Introduction “I wouldn’t mind feeling it again, the first time I fell in love.” No doubt many agree, but Pierson (2002, p. 11) refers not to a person but to her childhood passion for a horse. Being in love is a powerful metaphor to describe relation- ships with horses. Even in the hard-bitten world of racing, the word “love” appears: Cassidy (2005) notes how bloodstock breeders justify their choices at thoroughbred auctions, sometimes admitting they had to “fall in love” to know that horse had an extra something. Outside of the world of elite racehorses, many owners of quite ordinary—and far less glamorous—horses also speak about being in love with their horses. But, for them, this is not a