Horse Speak®

“I am so grateful to have found you and Horse Speak. In the past, I so often stopped myself from interacting with horses because I just couldn’t bear the traditional methods of working with or riding shut down horses. And now that’s all changed. I didn’t know what I was looking for until I attended my first Horse Speak with you in 2019. Of course, I wish I had discovered you sooner.” Horse Speak Clinic Participant

“Your clinic changed my entire approach (literally and figuratively.) It’s given me more confidence, which is calming for everyone involved.” Jane -Horse Speak Clinic Participant

Horse Speak Helps To Create Safer, More Trusting, Enjoyable Partnerships with Every Horse You Meet!

Horses are constantly communicating with each other and with us. Join Senior Horse Speak Clinician Heidi Potter as she introduces you to Horse Speak, the art and science of horses’ authentic language system. Observe discussions between horses and learn the Precise Equine Body Language Skills needed to join in their conversations. 

Learn to listen with your eyes as Heidi narrates conversations between horses and demonstrates mimicry of a few basic gestures, postures, and signals to enter the conversation. Discover the simplicity of answering their most pressing questions, often regarding safety, protection, and clarity, helping them see you as the trusted leader they seek. 

Restart-Reconnect-Rejoice!!  This logical and gentle approach to understanding horses has been proven to establish mutual respect, deepen trust, help horses overcome trauma, modify undesirable behaviors, and foster deeper rapport. A few basic “vocabulary words”, a willingness to listen, and an open heart and mind are all you need to enter the conversation. 

Facility horses are generally provided for these non-riding clinics, which include workshops in theory, interactive exercises with humans, herd observation, interpretation, and communication with horses at liberty and in-hand.

Horse Speak will take your understanding and horsemanship skills to the next level. Everyone, from experienced horse enthusiasts to those with no prior riding or hands-on experience, is invited to learn. Whether you show horses, own horses, treat horses medically, volunteer at rescues, or are involved in the equine therapy world, learning Horse Speak will inspire you, teaching you how to offer enrichment and mental, physical, and emotional support to every horse you meet.

Heidi has been studying with Horse Speak founder Sharon Wilsie since 2016, becoming the first Horse Speak Senior Instructor in 2019. She has collaborated with Sharon and Horse Speak Co-founder Laura Wilsie on developing webinars, creating online courses, co-teaching online and in-person clinics, and contributing to the creation of the Horse Speak Certification Program. For Heidi, Horse Speak was the missing link in her over 50 years of working with horses. It has bridged the gap between human and horse language, bringing new insights, deepening rapport, and providing her with a learnable, teachable format for students of any age and ability. It has led to calmer, safer, more enjoyable relationships in every situation and with every horse.

A sampling of Heidi’s inspirational experiences. https://heidipotter.com//blog/

Horse Speak® vs Training: What’s the Difference?

Like Heidi, many horse people have spent a lifetime (or a long time) developing skills and learning specific methods for working with horses. We strive to continue learning so that we can draw on the skills needed in any situation, especially one where the horse asks us, “What else you got?” This is where Horse Speak comes in. 

Horse Speak is Communication, not a Training System.

Training refers to the process of teaching specific cues to elicit a particular response or behavior. This language system does not need to replace your current training protocol. It simply offers you a way to join the conversation in their language. 

The initial “conversations” begin outside a barrier, making this approach to horsemanship safer, calmer, and clearer than any traditional training methods. Horse lovers from 5 to 95 can learn Horse Speak and begin having conversations with any horse right away. Becoming fluent in this language, like any other language, takes repetition and time. Horse’s language involves observation and application, along with self-awareness of your body language, energy, and emotions. This leads to a deeper level of understanding and an ability to instill trust, rapport, enrichment, and confidence, bringing your horsemanship to the next level.

Warning: Learning Horse Speak is likely to create a significant paradigm shift, one that will affect you and any horse you meet, for the better. It will cause you to “see” horses through a new lens. Once they know you know how to communicate, they will have A LOT to say! In the many years of practice, Heidi says that she has yet to encounter any student who hasn’t experienced amazing results from learning and applying Horse Speak. People around the world have had great success working with horses of every age and breed, from wild and young to rescued, green, aged, and highly trained.

2026 & 2027 Clinics & Retreats

Jan 10-17, 2026 Horse Speak All-Inclusive Retreat-Costa Rica

May 5-7, 2026 Deepening The Bond-Ipswich, MA

May 15-17, 2026 Deepening The Bond-Freeville, NY

June 26-28, 2026 Embodied Communication-Clinton Corners, NY

July 12-17, 2026 Centered Riding/Horse Speak Retreat-Dubois, WY

Oct 2-4, 2026 Cultivating Deeper Connections Women’s Retreat-Guilford, VT

Nov 5-8, 2026 Deepening The Bond Retreat-Clinton Corners, NY

Jan 16-23, 2027 Horse Speak All-Inclusive Retreat-Costa Rica