The Real-Life HORSE WHISPERER

James Clarke is a farrier working in the Scottish Borders. With its traditional common ridings and other equestrian events, the Borders is definitely horse country. But James Clarke is more than just a man nailing shoes on horses’ hooves. He possesses a rare gift for communicating with the equine family.

I spent a day with this talented farrier, who talks to the animals just as surely as you and I talk to other humans. And although they don’t talk back, there is a definite channel of understanding and communication.

James, affectionately known as Jim-X, began his love affair with horses as a child. He can’t remember a time when there