Speaking with Horses

This post is about horses, and how little we actually know about them.

I've been around a lot of horses at many stables and farms. I've seen horses of all shapes and sizes performing all kinds of tasks, from show jumping to gymkhana to pulling a plough. I've always wondered: how do you get a horse to accept the halter, then to accept a bridle and all the rest of his tack? Even "well-trained" horses are hard to stick a halter on when they're out roaming in their paddock, and even these "well-trained" horses do little things to annoy us, like nipping while we do up the girth or walking forward while we're mounting.

When a horse nips or spooks, what do we do? We slap them or yank on the lead line. When a horse really misbehaves - that is, puts us in danger - we beat them silly. I will never forget one riding instructor I had, who beat my favourite horse with a girth when the horse accidentally pushed me because another horse nipped at her. I vowed I would never do this.

As a child, I made it halfway through Monty Roberts' book The Man Who Listens to Horses. This man watched wild horses communicate with each other in a herd setting. What did he notice? They don't yell at each other or beat each other silly with leather implements. They use body language to establish who is boss, and their main form of discipline is by chasing a bad horse away from the herd, where he's vulnerable to predators, and keeping him there until he starts showing the signs of apology.

Here's a video of some pretty nice looking ponies and people who have no idea how to lead these spirited animals. Watch how they yank on the lead lines and stand facing the horse in a menacing way when the horse stops walking behind them. The trouble with the right turn is that the horse has to be slightly behind you and paying attention to where you are, not spooking when you walk into him. They're acting more like predators than like someone the horse should gladly walk behind!



In summary, maybe we should learn to communicate with horses a little better because right now, all they hear is "wah wah wah wah" and they get punished when they don't understand.