Hi Terri: Wow! Those are excellent questions. I think that my suggestions would be along the same lines that you have already asked, however, here are a few to consider:

• Would you mind sharing a few things about your favorite rider
• How does he feel on your back
• Do you have suggestions to help him ride you better
• What do you feel is his most pressing issue that he wants to share with his people (I realize we are asking about the person but it does stir interest in that the horse feels he is more of an assistant than being for a passenger only)
• What’s your favorite time of day
• Do you listen to the birds
• Does the tractor bother you
• How do you feel about the folks who tend to you
• Does this responsibility meet your expectations of what you had thought your life would be
• Do you feel satisfied with your life/frustrated/stifled
• Do you spend your time in the now or do you ponder wishing you were ‘doing what you used to be doing’

I have learned that animals are like people…some prefer surface conversation while others want to get to a meatier discussion. Tailoring your questions to meet their needs and interests sometimes means being a little nosier/digging deeper to figure out what their style and interests are. It’s a little tricky, I know, but leaning on our own experience, talking with people, can give you confidence to ‘talk with animals’. 

So if you find your communication with animals a little lacking, expand your communication repertoire and ‘just talk’! You’ll be surprised how that closed dog, cat or horse will open up to your inquisitive invitation.

In last week’s Animal University’s Animal Communication Level I certificate class held in Lakewood, Colorado, we discussed the Art of Intention. and how it related to talking with our dogs, cats, horses and more. We used the following link to give us more clues as to just what is intention anyway: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intention

Once we determined a satisfactory explanation for each, our next question was: What Do I Need to Do to Make My Intention Work when communicating with an animal? The answer may surprise you…it relates to your desires in life. What is it that you wish for, desire, want? And what does this have to do with talking with your dog, anyway? in our class we discovered that the answers we receive from any communication – animal or human – are dependent upon how we pose the questions. If we decide to ask an important question meekly and weakly, the chances are heightened that what we get will be half or less of what we were seeking in the first place. If we posed that same question with authority and conviction using our intention, chances were improved that we’d receive an equal response. People recognize the difference and so do animals. Our animals know that if we pretend to be full of starch and not mean it, we may be discovered as really a limp noodle.

Here’s a tip that will help you visualize Intention and get it to work for you quicker and with more clarity to improve your animal communications. We have things to do and places to go…who has time to wait for a result? When we Ask we expect Now or at least, Sooner than Later.

1. Ask – with a focus on what it is you want to receive from an animal communication.
2. The next, take action. Use your mind to expect an answer.
3. Thankfulness is the most important next step. When you receive, and you will, say with clarity, I am Grateful, and mean it.

There is some kind of resonance that happens inside. It is the connection cord to our real higher selves or to our dogs, cats, horses and more who are waiting for us to look for their receptors. It is the plug in, the connection, that we yearn for and now we have more clues as to how to get it.