The man who communicates with horses

Cooper has recently spent three days at Wilkinson's Farm Livery in East Marton where he has seen almost every horse or pony and their owner on the yard. The 30 or so horses range from veteran champion eventers to up and coming youngsters, and elderly cobs to riding horses and feisty ponies.

Their owners range widely too, from those eager to get on in the competition world, to happy hackers. Some have owned several horses and ponies and have had them right up until death. Issues, as a result, have ranged widely, from the owner concerned that their much loved elderly horse appears to be off-colour and listless, to the owner wanting reassurance that there is nothing they could be doing to make their horse's life that more fulfilling, or comfortable.

His methods may well appear out of the ordinary, and not all will be convinced that he is able to communicate with horses, but for a great many, his words and advice are both astonishing and illuminating, and he will always recommend veterinary advice, if he believes there is a medical problem.

Gail Cory found her reading for teenage daughter, Lauren and her pony, Peggy-Sue, full of surprises and at the end, deeply reassuring. "There were things he told me that he couldn't possibly have known, it taught me to stop worrying so much, and gave me peace," she said.

Cooper, who describes himself as a self-taught medium and also does healing and reiki, was able to tell Gail and Lauren what Peggy thought about them, and was able to explain some of her behaviour. He was also able to tell Gail about other horses and ponies she had had in her life, and even knew about her wish to have a dun-coloured horse as her next - advising her against getting one.

For Lauren, whose relationship with her pony has been one of great rewards, it was an experience never to be forgotten.

Cooper asked Lauren for a piece of her pony's tail before talking about their close bond. He also wanted to know why Lauren had got her.

"He couldn't quite figure out what she was saying when she said it was to 'save a life'. Only I knew that she saved my life , because if she wasn't mine I don't think I would be here as I was suffering from deep seated depression at the time, and only I knew that," said Lauren

"He then went on and told us about Peggy's past about her foals, and her trust issues with horses and people.

"He told me that she loves me and she'll never hurt me intentionally and will do her best to look after me. He also told me she will never jump a ditch with me on her in case I fall in it. I have balance issues and she's helped me through this."

Cooper also told Lauren that her mum needed to trust Peggy to look after her and that she loved what she was doing, which was playing in fields and having fun.

"He mentioned our past horses that are no longer with us, he said they were around us and they are happy."

Lauren said she was left wondering just how Cooper knew so much.

"He mentioned my filly foal Arttie, my first pony Benny, my mum's Maisy and Roara - I'd recommend him to anyone who's interested in not just the future but also the past and be prepared to be blown away."

Cooper, who also communicates with dogs and cats, and people, has stables near York, where he is currently rehabilitating 27 horses, including ex-racehorse, Howard. He has worked with the RSPCA in the past and rescues and re-homes horses and ponies.

He has been around animals and horses all his life and both his father and grandfather were horsemen and jockeys.

"I have communicated emotionally and physically with horses for as long as I can remember and have always been able to sense intuitively what horses need and what their problems are," he says.

"By using my intuition, or sixth sense, I am able to connect with horses and other animals on a mind to mind level.

"Because I do this with the sole intention of helping and healing the animal, openly accepting what the animal has to say without judgement, I find they are willing to both give and receive information from me."

Sometimes an animal will remain silent and not want to communicate with him. On these occasions, he says he lets them know they can come back to him at some other time.

"The way horses give information varies from horse to horse, and can differ if I communicate with the same horse on different occasions.

"Sometimes, I hear an internal voice which tells me what the problem is. Often, I will be shown a picture of what is going on, or they may choose to let me feel the same symptoms they are experiencing, and sometimes it can be a mixture of all of these."

Common problems are to do with feet, teeth, or diet. On one occasion, Cooper was confronted with a horse who was literally 'drunk' on the windfall apples in its field, while another was spaced out after being given too much calming additives.

Another happy customer was Debbie Holden, who has a pony, Paint, for her 11-year-old daughter, Mia.

Paint, a typical lively pony, communicated through Cooper that he was rather tired out when he went to competitions with Mia, and would feel better if they didn't lunge him in the school before taking him to the competitions.

And, without even seeing Paint, Cooper was able to tell Debbie that his feet were rather sore - and this, two weeks after they had made the decision to remove his shoes and let him go 'bare-foot'.

"He asked us if we had taken Paint's shoes off, because he was a bit foot sore, and suggested we put shoes back on his back feet in the summer, when the ground was harder.

"He also told us that Paint was hungry. We hadn't been feeding him anything but haylage and grass, so we've started him on some bran, and he's really a different pony."

Cooper will not be for everyone; there will be those who will struggle to believe that he 'communicates' with horses, but what he is is someone who clearly knows animals and people - and at the end of the day, if he gives comfort and reassurance, together with some very sound advice, where's the problem.