Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Communicator’s Ability To “Talk” To Horses Still Draws Skeptism

Many people remember the television show, “Mr. Ed,” about a horse that could talk.

Some horse owners do contend their horses “talk,” too, although not in public language to be understood, other than by the personal handler.

When the horse performs any maneuver requested by the handler that is communication to one and response back to the other.

However, in reality, no one has ever heard a horse really speak exact feelings about any subject.

Consequently, there are plenty of skeptics of anybody who claims horses can talk to them in any form of imagination.

This becomes even a deeper controversy when the conversation comes about just by looking at a picture, getting a written brief or hearing verbal description.

So, when Lydia Hiby appeared at the recent EquiFest of Kansas in Wichita, there was lots of interest in her presentations.

Hiby of Escondido, California, is a purported “animal communicator,” who claims to “talk” to horses.

“I first ask the horse what they need to talk about. Then I ask the owner if there is anything they’d like to know from the horse,” Hiby explained. “This process continues by the horse sending me pictures, emotions and physical sensations.”

All of this is supposedly done telepathically. She conducts consultations with horses and their owners in person, by mail and over the phone

Her clients are said to number more than 60,000 from every state and several European countries.

Many of these began as skeptics. “I like skeptics,” Hiby stated. “Once I’ve proven myself to a skeptic, that skeptic becomes my best publicity.”

Conversations With Animals is a book Hiby co-authored detailing her experiences.

Hiby began her demonstration with a discussion of general common sense horsemanship communication. She emphasized the benefits of positive over negative reinforcement, and the importance of praising animals.

The speaker shared things that she has learned from her years of experience communicating with horses.

These ranged from horses seeing all tack and equipment as decoration, to all horses’ love of bright colors like red, green, purple and turquoise, to the difference between old soul and young soul horses.

Hiby begins each reading with a body scan. This consists of asking the horse how each body part is feeling. Pain and chronic issues are identified in this manner and can be relayed to a veterinarian, farrier or trainer.

“I feel the answers to the questions in my body and then make them into a dialog to give the handler answers that are needed,” Hiby contended.

However, it is not possible to tell a horse how to correct an ailment.

“All animals have free will, and we can’t change our animals’ basic or inherited behavior,” Hiby related. “Still, based on my many years of veterinary technician training and a varied background of professional animal experience along with years of communicating with animals and clients, I can give a variety of solutions.

“My suggestions are conventional and holistic to solve problems,” Hiby continued. “I encourage clients’ feedback and will continue to help if it is a long-standing problem.

“My practice has been based mostly on years of referrals from clients and veterinarians,” Hiby added.

Horsemen often come to Hiby only as a last resort to solving a problem.

“I am able to get the information directly from the horse’s true perspective,” Hiby indicated. “Many times a behavior problem has other things attributing to it like diet, environment or an ailment. By sorting through this, I help owners help their horse.”

Sometimes owners will even call Hiby to find out what else they can do to make their pet even happier, she claimed.

All of this discussion raised more than a few eyebrows from horsemen, but the question of how Hiby could talk to owners about their horse over the phone was the climax of skeptism.

“When you call me, I speak to you about your horse on the phone, but I am talking to your horse telepathically,” Hiby countered. “Your horse’s name is their own personal radio frequency that I dial in like a radio wave.

“I truly understand people being skeptical about this process,” Hiby admitted. “All I can say to answer them is that I do half of my business over the phone with people literally all over the world.”

The fee for a reading with Hiby is $40 for one horse for a 15 minute session. “That’s all the time needed,” she affirmed.

Obviously highly educated about horses, Hiby has a strong knowledge of horse anatomy, and always has an answer ready for expectant horse owners.

Is Hiby truly a psychic receiving messages from these horses, or is she merely an incredibly observant and fast-thinking horsewoman?

Whether she is truly telepathically communicating with these horses has yet to be proven, and will have to remain up for discussion.

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