Learning the horse language

London: A German "horse whisperer" hopes to revolutionise the technique of taming horses by opening the world's first academy specialising in the art of equine communication.

Using methods learnt under American trainer Monty Roberts, Andrea Kutsch, 39, wants to bring to a wider audience the method of training horses using non-violent body language which plays on the horse's natural desire for companionship.

Roberts, 72, was the inspiration for the film The Horse Whisperer starring Robert Redford which dramatised his search for a humane method to calm troublesome horses.

While viewed with scepticism by much of the horse-racing world, Roberts's method has gained increasing acceptance among horse lovers.

The Queen was instantly won over after he demonstrated the method to her in 1989. Since then she has insisted that her horses, including the Household Cavalry, should be trained using the so-called Equus language, rather than the traditional "breaking-in" method which establishes the dominance of the human.

But the teaching of Equus is only now being formalised for the first time with last week's opening of the academy, a half hour's drive from Berlin.

The state-of-the-art academy, which includes a horse solarium, will give 40 students the chance to gain a three-year degree in the science of horse communication for a fee of £14,000 (Dh96,834) each.

"What Monty discovered through the natural process of being close to the horses has a scientific basis which we can create a deeper understanding of here, as well as ensuring that his work continues after he dies," said Kutsch, a former polo player.

"I hope that my graduates will open their own schools in turn, and spread this message around the globe."

She demonstrates the Equus method on Timido, a wayward six-year-old polo pony whose Argentine owners tried and failed to train him. They were about to send him to be put down four years ago when Kutsch saved him and won his trust.

According to the method, gestures take the place of whips, spurs and sugar cubes and include shoulder turns and opening and closing the hand. In all there are 177 "communication codes", the most basic of which, eye to eye, means: "go away".

Inside a wood-panelled round pen, Kutsch demonstrated the system of "join-up", when the horse decides that it wants to be with the human rather than flee from him.

First she sent Timido trotting away from her, by shaping her hand like a claw a sign of hostility.

Then she moved her gaze away because looking a horse in the eye is considered aggressive and positioned her shoulder at a non-threatening, 45-degree angle. Immediately, Timido, with one ear cocked towards her, looked in her direction and moved towards her. Any time she moved, he would follow, even nudging her under the chin. "He's asking me what he should do now," said Kutsch. "He's looking for guidance."

The students, chosen from 4,000 applications, are aged between 18 and 41 and include a teacher and a psychologist who wants to adapt the technique for children with learning difficulties.

The horses to be trained by the students will be provided mainly from the nearby stud of champion showjumper Paul Schockenmohle, who was converted to the Roberts method.