What if your horse isn’t being difficult…What if they’re trying to speak? Giving Horses a Voice is a podcast for horse owners, trainers, therapists, and seekers who suspect there’s more happening beneath behavior — and want to understand it clearly, practically, and without mysticism or gimmicks. Hosted by Sharon Wilsie, author of the Horse Speak book series and founder of the READI® framework (Regulated Equine Atonement for Dynamic Interaction), this podcast explores the missing link between traditional training and true relational communication. Sharon shares: • How horses actually communicate through micro-gestures • What regulation really means (and how to recognize it) • Why “feel” isn’t magic — it’s observable • How maternal care messages shape equine safety • What happens when humans learn to slow down enough to see This isn’t about whispering. It’s not about dominance. It’s not about anthropomorphism. It’s about learning to observe what has always been there. With over a decade of field research, international clinics, neurobiological study including HRV research, and thousands of horses observed, Sharon brings both grounded science and lived experience to conversations that feel intimate, honest, and practical. Each episode invites you to: • Question what you’ve been taught • Trust what you’ve sensed • And reclaim your own lived experience with your horse You don’t need to believe anything. Just be willing to look. Because when we give horses a voice, we often find our own.
Curated by: Sharon Wilsie (16 videos)
What if your horse’s tail is saying much more than “there’s a fly”? In this episode of Giving Horses a Voice, Sharon Wilsie explores one of the most overlooked forms of equine communication—the tail. While horses certainly use their tails to swat insects, they also use them to express emotion, communicate comfort or discomfort, and reveal important information about how they are experiencing the world around them. You’ll learn why a tail swish should never be interpreted by itself, but instead read as part of a complete “sentence” that includes the horse’s posture, hind legs, hips, and the surrounding environment. Sharon explains how observing these subtle combinations can help us better understand a horse’s emotional state and respond in ways that build trust instead of resistance. The episode also introduces Horse Speak’s Functional Interaction Points—commonly called “Buttons”—and explains how these communication sites develop from the mare and foal relationship and continue to play an important role throughout a horse’s life. Most importantly, Sharon demonstrates how small changes in our own behavior can help a horse move from defensiveness to curiosity, from tension to relaxation, and from simply enduring an experience to confidently participating in it. Whether you’re working through saddling, bathing, veterinary care, groundwork, or everyday handling, this episode offers practical insights you can begin using immediately. In this episode you’ll discover: * Why horses use their tails for communication—not just fly control. * How to recognize the difference between relaxed, defensive, fearful, and stressed tail movements. * Why context is essential when interpreting equine body language. * What hind leg posture reveals about a horse’s emotional state. * How Functional Interaction Points (“Buttons”) help horses communicate. * A simple Horse Speak technique for helping a defensive horse feel safer. * Why building capacity creates lasting confidence, while coercion only creates compliance. Horse Speak is about learning to see the horse’s perspective. When we begin listening to what horses are already communicating, we create safer interactions, stronger partnerships, and a deeper relationship built on understanding rather than force.