Thursday, June 26, 2008

Basic Horse Knowlege

The size and strength, of horses can be misunderstood by many people who know nothing about them. Unless you are around horses on a regular basis, you will not know how they act or the safety issues involved with being close to a horse. What are the important things to look for in communicating with your horse?

Since horses cannot learn how to understand human behavior, we as owners must learn the their world instead. Horses are herd animals, so their instinct is to run from danger to their herd for protection. A horse can learn however to ignore their instincts to follow directions with a good trainer. Trust is the key. Spend time with your horse and always react appropriately to their behavior.

Movements, body position and calls are all forms of communication with horse. Observe your horse for the way they communicate with each other and to humans. The ears of a horse always point in the direction that he is paying attention to. If you are riding him, you want one ear point at you. If his ears are pinned back it means he is afraid or angry. Ears that move front and back continuously indicates uncertainty.

A horses tail is also a way to understand what your horse is thinking. A high tail means excitement in a horse while a tail that is flattened and between their legs means fear. A tail that is swishing about is a sign of irritation and annoyance.

A wrinkled nose can mean annoyance. When a horse bares his teeth with an open mouth, it means he's about to bite. A long nose and tight mouth show anxiety and fear as when they are being taught something. After the stress is over, his mouth softens and he'll began to chew. A long nose with a slightly open mouth shows that the horse wants to be groomed and also to groom in return too.

We often don't want to understand other forms of communication, but if we are to have a horse or any animal , then we need to at least try to learn ways to improve how we interact with each other. Trust and positive interaction is the key.

posted by Posh Pampered Pets @ 4:59 PM