I came across Gertrud Pysall's book by chance in 2014. I found it very exciting and technically well written, but I read it with great scepticism. It was a completely new approach for me. And I was very sceptical about horse whispering, as I had never experienced any of the self-proclaimed horse whisperers using a method that was really suitable for horses. As I am a curious and eager-to-learn person, I had to see for myself whether horse language really works as described in the book. So I attended the introductory course in Spenge. And a new world opened up to me. I didn't experience any esoteric rubbish, but scientifically based communication with horses. I had been searching for the right path with my "difficult" horse for a long time and finally I was allowed to take it. My horse thanks me every day. Motiva is not a method - it is quite simply horse language. There is a lot to learn and reading the book is certainly not enough. But Motiva is definitely addictive! Many thanks to Gertrud and Franziska for sharing their knowledge with us!

Anyone who gets their hands on this book is a lucky person! Isn't that what many horse people have always been looking for? Reading it is important to get to grips with Getrud Pysall's thoughts and to go over the books with yourself and also to familiarise yourself with the vocabulary in theory. Afterwards you want to experience it in real life.... and it works! Anyone who sees just one video will realise how fine communication really is and that horses have something to say! A horizon opener for all those who want to experience a different dimension of togetherness with their horses.

When I saw Gertrud and Franziska on TV for the first time, I just thought to myself: What the hell are they doing? I have to admit I wasn't 100% convinced from the start. BUT if you get into it and try to understand it, it's just great. I can only recommend this book (and the other one)! Anyone who spends their everyday life with horses should read it. Horses could be spared so much suffering if people would finally start to listen to their horses. So many misunderstandings could be eliminated and there would be more sparkling horse eyes again. PS: Now that I know that horses try to 'talk' to us, I totally realise it too. The book really opens your eyes.

5 more than deserved stars out of 5. After 10 years of accumulating horse books that promised trust, respect and communication with their titles, I had actually given up. I got the impression that a truly genuine and deep relationship with horses seemed to be reserved for a select few horse people, and I was obviously not one of them. No matter how fervently I yearned for it, I kept despairing of trying to find the balance between my love for my horses and the respect to recognise me as high ranking so that they could follow me in safety. It seemed incompatible until I came across Gertrud Pysall's books! As unbelievable as it may sound, Mrs Pysall is the only author (that I know of) who, after 20 years of intensive observation and research work with our domesticated horses, describes a way that enables every horse person to communicate with horses without stress. This is where dialogue takes place; talking and listening, sending and receiving. Anyone who has immersed themselves in dialogue with their horse even once will know for the rest of their life that they will never want to interact with them in any other way! Then it is suddenly possible to love, trust, respect and feel comfortable with each other... I can't thank Mrs Pysall enough for sharing her knowledge through her books with everyone who is even remotely ready for it!

I have read both books by Gertrud Pysall and have already attended an introductory course and 2 basic courses. I am enthusiastic about her work with horses. Here the horse is really allowed to communicate and is not "told not to talk". Clear explanations of the herd rituals and how they can be used for communication. The horses react fantastically when they realise that the human suddenly understands them. After that, every training session can be added on and you have a motivated and happy horse that also trusts you. However, books are no substitute for courses. It takes a lot of intuition to learn Motiva. That's why I recommend these fantastic courses to everyone. Best wishes from Switzerland

People who have been working with horses for a long time will certainly be able to confirm some of this and know it themselves from their own experiences. The book describes quite precisely how it can be to use horse language and not to respond or interact with the horses' requests with human gestures. I like to feel that the horses actually understand the majority of us as humans and don't take offence if we can't quite speak their language. I also like the fact that Mrs Pysall repeatedly points out that being with and understanding horses and animals is a lifelong process and developmental path. There will always be further insights...

This book has opened our eyes. We suddenly understood many things better and were able to interpret our horse's language. This has also enabled us to change our behaviour, which has greatly improved communication with our horse. Thanks to Getrud Pysall for this great book!

If you are open to it and allow yourself to be, Gertrud Pysall's books change your thoughts and increase your respect for horses, because everything she writes is understandable and comprehensible. But the Motiva courses change our own lives and also those of the four-legged friends entrusted to us. This responsibility lies entirely with us. Watching a horse respond to you during a Motiva dialogue, even if you don't (yet) speak its language perfectly, is an experience that literally gets under your skin. The fact is, and I have experienced this myself: Reading the books is a very good start, but you can only really learn Motiva under the professional guidance of Gertrud and Franziska. In my opinion, anyone who thinks otherwise has not understood anything. The accusation that Gertrud Pysall is using her books to advertise the Motiva courses is pretty far-fetched in my opinion. If I want to learn Chinese, a Chinese dictionary is not enough. I need the active support of a teacher who speaks the language, otherwise I will never be able to speak in a way that I can be understood. Why should it be any different for the horse language? Chinese is difficult for us Europeans to learn. It is the same with the language of horses, whose non-verbal vocabulary requires a precision that can only be learnt with a lot of practice and professional guidance. That's why I take lessons at the farm in Spenge from Gertrud and Franziska, who have been studying this fascinating subject for decades and know how to listen to horses and - just as importantly - how to respond to them. My professional search for stables has allowed me to get to know many riding stables and I have met many horse professionals who treat their horses with love and respect. But I have never met anyone who has ever given these noble creatures a say. Every species needs social interaction with other members of the same species on a daily basis. We humans are used to having a dialogue in our shared conversations: One talks, the other talks back. And, as the name suggests, it always takes two to dialogue. We must finally start to communicate with our horses at eye level and not only listen to them, but also give them an answer that they understand. Thanks to Gertrud Pysall's books, we finally have the opportunity to do this. I am definitely very grateful for the great work that Gertrud and Franziska are doing. And I'm pretty sure the horses feel the same way.

WHAT HORSES WANT and the intelligent, sensitive, species-specific and loving handling and communication with the horse described in it is unique and has been researched and founded for decades by a fascinating and unique person called Gertrud Pysall! This phenomenal concept " MOTIVA TRAINING " of horse communication (foreign language), which is presented in this book with over 130 horse vocabulary words, is something you simply must have read and done yourself with your horse! Thanks to Gertrud Pysall that something like this exists!!!

Anyone expecting to learn horse language with this book will be disappointed. Some things are described, but it is pointed out that it can be harmful and dangerous to experiment yourself. The book therefore only makes sense if you are planning to book a course. As the book is only a kind of introduction, I would have liked it to be more compact and not 260 pages long.

In my search for a guide to non-violent and effective communication with my pony, I was lucky enough to discover Mrs Pysall's books. I found exactly what I was looking for in her works. I took part in an introductory course for Motiva so that I could better apply what I had read. And the enthusiasm continues. Mrs Pysall and her daughter literally know what they are talking about. They are happy to pass on their knowledge. What they have learnt is immediately applicable and effective. And even if it became clear that communicating with horses requires just as much practical practice as learning a foreign language, it is still great fun, as the horses/ponies are grateful for even small phrases and the relationship with the animal is deepened. How nice it would be if all horse lovers had this wealth of knowledge at their disposal! Many thanks to the author for her pioneering work!

With her book "What Horses Want", Gertrud Pysall has written a language guide for the equine world. She describes her pioneering work in researching horse language in an impressive way. It is about the gestures and sounds with which domesticated horses communicate with each other, for example to clarify their rank in the group, to communicate goodwill or displeasure to each other, etc. It is essential for life as a herd member to communicate in this way. I have been involved with horses since I was a child and yet many of Gertrud Pysall's explanations and comments were real eye-openers for me in two ways! If a person understands this language, they are actually able to communicate with the horse. So I started to look closely and observe my horse closely. When does it snort? In which situation does it yawn or shake its head? How does it interact with its grazing partner? I also began to be more aware of my own actions. Because where we humans think we are just going from A to B, we are making a statement in the language of horses. And these are often very misleading for our horses, because every movement counts! But anyone who thinks they can learn to speak a language with a dictionary alone is mistaken. The book was very helpful to me in taking my first steps into the world of horse language. But it also has its limitations. Despite the many photos, the subtleties remained hidden from me. Because photos cannot replace a video or live experience. This left me with unanswered questions when dealing with my horse that I couldn't clarify with the book alone. So where is the best place to go to learn a foreign language? Exactly! To the respective country to talk to native speakers. A course with Gertrud Pysall offers this experience, because the horses we usually have to deal with fall silent over the years of "not being heard". Even my horse, who only came to me at the age of twelve, is no longer a real native speaker due to conditioning and drill by humans. During the Motiva weekend course that I was now able to attend, I was completely won over. Motiva is communication in action. Between the ponies of the Pysalls and also with us humans. These horses actually "talked" to me. It was a fascinating experience to be shown by them that real communication between horses and humans is possible. Far away from conditioning or learnt tricks and lessons. Because Motiva has nothing to do with that. Motiva is about training people to be more sensitive and attentive. It is about really engaging with the horse and approaching it as a visitor in its world and equipped with the greater cognitive abilities to learn its language instead of conditioning it. If you want to have a real encounter with (your) horse and want to connect with it, I think you cannot avoid Motiva. This book is an eye-opener and an introduction to a fascinating world that I wouldn't want to miss. An absolute recommendation!!!

Should be required reading for every horse person!

At last!!! Mrs Pysall shows true love for the horse. Every horse owner should learn Motivia. Only in this way can we do justice to the horses for their patience, the suffering that many horses have to endure and still want to do everything right for humans. Gertrud Pysall demonstrates - in a well-founded and sensitive way - what goes on in horses, how they live and communicate in their world. In order to do justice to the horses, we have to stop thinking out of our human constructs and transfer this to the horses. Thank you Mrs Pysall, that is love for creation. May more and more people become aware of your teaching of horse communication and live with their horses.

Once you become aware of Motiva, it is difficult to get away from it. It causes a change in thinking, but also demands a great deal of initiative and a desire to learn from people. Motiva really is like learning a foreign language, where you not only learn the horse's body language, but also respond to it appropriately. The chapters of this book build on each other logically, telling of the basics, numerous case studies and detailed observations of individual vocabulary and ending with so-called dialogues, partly in pictures and writing or explanatory texts. Situations are really explained step by step, which is very helpful when implementing them yourself. This book doesn't feel like a dry textbook at all, no, the author describes and explains things in a wonderfully appreciative, open and interesting way. It's really fun to read, it opens your eyes and motivates you immensely. I myself am still at the very beginning of my Motiva lessons, but I am already absolutely delighted with it.

Gertrud Pysall's books are a revelation for anyone who loves their horse and really wants to do them justice. I get on well with my horse, but I always had the feeling that something was missing in our relationship. There was such a distance between us. Thanks to the horse language that Mrs Pysall has kindly made available to us, you can reach a completely different level of communication with your horse. I really want to learn this language so that my horse feels understood by me and our work becomes more of a joint endeavour. I will definitely take the necessary courses with the Pysall family.

Great book and an interesting new perspective!

Should be standard reading for every horse lover / owner! I now see my horse with different eyes .... And I can already see improvements in communication 👍