"Don't Walk Behind a
Horse; it'll kick you"
That's not
how that works!
You're about as likely to get kicked by someone in
the grocery line. (And when did that ever happen?)
Horses do not randomly kick. And they don't kick just
because you walked behind them. Horses kick when they
feel the need to protect themselves and they can't run.
Horses are mostly like big rabbits.
They are pretty easy going but startle
quickly.
| Before
chatting about normal horses, let me concede, yes, some horses are vicious, evil, broken-down
creatures, but if your riding instructor is offering this
horse for you to take a lesson on, you've got a bigger
problem. It takes a lot to create a truly damaged
horse and it takes a lot to bring them back.
These aren't the horses that belong in a riding
program. (And for heaven's sake, do not buy
one unless you know what you're doing!) For
normal horses: |
The spook/startle component
is key. Horses that are just standing
around are, well, just standing around. Horses that
are alarmed are getting ready to run. If they can't
run, they'll fight back. There's ways to tell the
difference between a horse that's just standing around and
one that is alarmed. Which is why you pay
attention to your horse.
|
standing around |
alarmed |
| eyes |
sleepy / attentive but soft / bright |
hard, watchful |
| ears |
floppy / perky |
stiff/not moving, pinned |
| muscle tone |
soft |
hard |
| movement |
languid, playful |
agitated, 'dancing around' / frozen |
In a nut shell, the one that's just standing around
is either totally ignoring you or engaging with you in some
fashion. The one that's alarmed has most likely left,
or, if it's still there, is eyeing you over to
assess your threat to them.
I have been told that horses have the
quickest startle reflexes in the animal
kingdom. I don't know if this is true because I
haven't researched it but the person who told me is
educated in these things and doesn't have much reason to
lie about it. I do know horses can very quickly go
from just standing around to alarmed. So, again, this
is why you pay attention.
There are some things that
will startle a horse that wouldn't startle a person. Knowing
what can startle a horse let's you know what not to
do, which can help you prevent startling your horse.
So here's a few things about what might startle a horse.
Horses have a strong sense of 'what's right.'
or 'what fits.' Strange
is not a good idea around a horse.
For a horse, they are evaluating both
physically and mentally. If you are
moving in an odd manner, lots of random, jerky movements,
and that's the first time this horse has seen this, the
horse could go into an alert state. Extra pieces of
equipment can concern them. So -- walkers,
wheelchairs, crutches. Horses that work in
rehab have been through an education to get them used to
these items.
Popping up in
their field of vision from no-where is a bad idea.
Horses can see a lot but not everything, and it changes
based upon whether their head is up or down. When the
head is up, they see more, and they also see a lot when
their head is down where they'd eat grass. There
are two blind spots, one in front and one in back.
When their head is level with their body, their body is in
the way of seeing behind them. A much smaller blind
spot is in front of their face. But it's still large
enough to hide a small kid who runs up to the nose of a
horse. (btw, there's a ton of really good pics out
there! so I won't bother with one here.)
Which is part of the strange thing. If the
horse knows where you are, they will know you were on one
side and will appear on the other side. Or they will
know you were on one side and the person who's now grooming
their butt is still you. Or they will know you were
next to them moving up to their head and that's still
you. Horse's keep track of a
lot of things, especially where you
are.
Things they can't follow they are suspicious
of. If a little kid gets put down in the blind spot
and suddenly pops out of no-where, that's alarming to the
horse. Or, if the horse is sleeping in the field and
you wake it up, that could end badly. They are big
creatures and it takes a lot of force to move them.
And yes, well -- random leaves flitting across.
Cats, dogs, and chickens doing randomly stupid stuff can be
a problem, too. Horses see
movement first and react. Then, from a safe distance,
they may evaluate. Or they may simply eat
grass. Kicking, a from of attacking back, only
happens when they can't run.
Basically, if a horse can't immediately peg something
as safe, they become alarmed.
One of
the most hilarious things that happened to me was
while I was riding back to the barn. Another
horse had laid down in a pile of caliche and rolled,
and was pretty much now the same color, head to toe,
as the caliche. As she started to get up, it
was like the caliche had suddenly come to
life! Somehow formed into a mud horse that was
rising from the dirt. My dear mount grew ever
so slow and tall and the wind went out of him.
Very statuesque. It was like the rules of the
universe had suddenly changed for him.
Thankfully, he hesitated
before freaking and the horse getting up shook and
some dirt flew off and that registered as
normal. No crises. (yay!) (he was
a very fast horse! wowser could he
spin.)
|
In some ways, the physical things make more
sense. Horses are paying
attention to the mental things, too, though, and
sometimes people aren't paying attention to that at all.
If you come up to a horse while you are in an
agitated state, this can agitate the horse. It's not
the flinging open the stall door so much as the attitude
with which it is flung. It's not the throwing the
brush on the ground so much as the attitude with which it
was thrown. It's not that they see facial expressions
of anger so much as they feel waves of anger, and
they don't know what any of that is about other than it's
not right, and not right means it's a threat.
If you are standing there thinking, 'This horse is going
to kick me' 'This horse is going to bite me'
'This horse is going to run amok and kill me,' the
horse is going to be standing there thinking, 'maybe this
person has a problem!' And then the horse is going to
be alarmed.
So as much as possible, cultivated that 'zen state of
mind' is a really spiffy thing.
Finally, horses can be triggered by flashbacks to a
past you know nothing about, and when this happens, this is
another indication the horse may belong in the 'special'
category. It depends upon the severity
involved.
For instance, the same horse I mentioned before tried
to bolt through a wall one morning when I wore a dark
jacket and ball cap into the barn. SO NOTE TO SELF:
no dark jackets and ball caps. which can be a
problem, because lots of people have dark jackets and ball
caps. In this case, I think the rule also included
"not on women with long dark pony
tails!" He was not an inherently
violent horse wanting to attack, so it's not like he would
run up to someone and kick them. His deal was to
leave. But if he were cornered, the next option would
be defense.
In general, simply pay attention to the horse you're
with. That horse is paying attention to you. Be
in relationship. Be in a kind relationship. You
are the leader.
L
|