By NICOLE BAUTE
ELORA
He's a young, muscular horse with a chestnut-brown coat and black mane. ICan'tWorkLikeThis (yes, that's his name) stomps and squirms on track at the Grand River Raceway; his caretaker tries to hold him still.
Lauren Bode stands in front of him. She, too, squirms. Her feet kick up dust in the gravel. She thrusts her hip out to the side, and then back. She fidgets. She's trying to read what the horse is feeling before his big race.
She moves her body around to understand where he might have pain, tension . . . an itch?
He's itchy, she finally reports. And the small crowd that has gathered to watch her talk to the horses laughs.
ICan'tWorkLikeThis stops moving and lets Bode come closer and rub his nose. She doesn't say a word.
The horse has other things to say, she updates the crowd. He used to have a problem with his right hindquarter but is now feeling better now, and is ready to run.
Matthew Sugarman, who advises the company that owns ICan'tWorkLikeThis, said she's right -- the horse did have a problem with his right hind quarter. And Bode would have no way of knowing that.
He thinks her reading is fairly accurate, but said, "some of it was a little too general."
The Aurora woman spent her childhood talking with animals -- sloths, harpy eagles, anteaters, and of course, horses -- on a ranch on the border of Brazil and Guyana.
"I would speak with them, because my dad would say to me, tell me what this horse is saying," she said yesterday.
At the time, it didn't seem much more than "childish chatter," she said.
She grew up, and went off to work as an English teacher, and then in real estate. Later she ran her own zoo in Germany.
But after her own children were grown, Bode decided it was time to go back to the one thing she'd been doing her whole life: talking to animals.
Today, she is self-employed as an animal communicator. She does readings, in person or with a photo, over the phone, writes about her experiences, and runs workshops with her husband for people who want to learn how to talk to their animals.
Bode says she's telepathic, and can communicate, non-verbally, with both humans and animals -- she can read their thoughts and feelings. But she's less interested in humans. "They can speak for themselves," she said.
Just two weeks ago, she spoke with a St. John Ambulance therapy dog.
"I told (his owner) that the dog had said he had something very heavy inside his stomach that was stopping him from breathing," she said.
The dog's owner took him to the vet, who found and removed a large growth from his stomach.
Bode says she's always had her gift, even before she knew what it was.
"I just did it, from the time I was born," she said.
"So I didn't know anything different."
She realizes some people don't believe she can really talk with animals. But that's all right with her.
"There will be skeptics in all areas of life," she said. "You can't prevent that."
Besides, she added, skeptics usually give her the chance to prove she can actually do it, and she's always up for the challenge.
"Well, I think there are people who are gifted with these abilities," said Eugene Haus, leaning up against the raceway's wooden fence while Bode talked to the race horses yesterday.
"There's no doubt about that."
The Elora man owns a few recreational horses himself.
"I'd rather my horses didn't talk to me, though," he said with a laugh.
Bode's husband, John Bell, was also at the track.
"You imagine what my life is like. She can read me like a book," he said.
"Not only that, but our dogs and cats squeal on me."
nbaute@guelphmercury.com
EQUINE ESTIMATES
The Battle of Waterloo was held yesterday at the Grand River Raceway. Lauren Bode predicted the winners, based on a reading she completed after Grand River Raceway provided her with photos and bios of each horse in the race.
Bode's predictions
First -- Keystone Horatio
"He said he can run very fast; he runs differently every time and has longer strides than the other horses."
Second -- Samurai Seelster
"He likes to get away first; he said he had a bit of a breathing problem; I believe he gets very excited."
Third -- SomeBeach-Somewhere
"He has a problem with holding his head, but he can run very fast."
Fourth -- Sturges Hanover
"He will keep steady until the last (part of the race), then he wants to let go."
Honourable Mention -- "I rather like BelieveInBruiser as well; he keeps a steady stride."
Actual results
First -- SomeBeach- Somewhere
Second -- Fun Of The Game
Third -- BelieveInBruiser
Fourth -- Samurai Seelster
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