As WITH dogs, horses need to be taught who is in control. They also need to be taught the right responses to a rider's instructions. But at times they don't respond and that's when Rev Malan du Toit, a man of the cloth and a horse whisperer from the Joos­tenbergvlakte near Cape Town, is called in to sort out the problem. An equine behaviourist, Malan works mainly in. the horse racing industry where he pre­trains young horses and re-trains older horses with a wide variety of negative personality peculiarities and problems.

Malan specialises in problems peculiar to the horse-racing industry - difficulties in boxing for trucking, saddling up and load­ing into starting gates as well as character traits like kicking that cause jockeys and trainers to waste time and lose races. He also works with horses from other sectors in the equine recreation industry and horses that have been severely mistreated and no longer trust humans.

Malan started riding 10 years ago - exer­cising his then pregnant wife's horse. Prior to this Malan had not been on a horse and didn't particularly fancy the idea. But he had bought his wife a bay Thoroughbred filly Sister Beware, from the line of Sailor Beware, and so felt responsible for the horse. He soon acquired a horse of his own - Zarp, a strong, grey, crossbred gelding ­with the intention of participating in endurance riding. Zarp was headstrong, and severely stubborn at times and with­drawn at other times.

Malan began reading books on animal psychology and horse behaviour, such as The Man who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts and Lyons on Horses by John Lyons, and talking to local and international horse trainers. This began to give him an insight into a horse's psyche, in particular that horses obey herd rules. "It is only by under­standing these rules that we can 'control' these magnificent animals," Malan says.

Malan's first contact with a horse is in their home yard or paddock, where he gets to know the horse. Then, with gentle re­direction and goal-specific training, he will change the horse's problem trait. He then re-affirms the horse's race-track training by attending track sessions to ensure the horse responds to his training. His presence at the track also reassures the horse ..

Traits are divided into those a horse was born with or learned very early in its life (a learned behaviour); those that developed because of a traumatic experience; and those attributable to just plain naughtiness or attention seeking.

Time, patience, care and attention to de­tail are key to understanding horses. Horses need to trust and accept humans as their superiors. "That's part of the process," says Malan. "Then you have to change the bad habit so that the horse works with the rider and not against him or her."

It is also important to know that a horse has a very short memory for certain things. If a horse has done something unaccept­able - such as shying while being boxed, kicking out or biting another horse - it must be disciplined within three seconds, otherwise the horse will have forgotten what it has done and why it is being repri­manded. - Steve McVeigh. :-: