Are You Unintentionally Scaring Your Horse?
Time to learn a little animal psychology.
Does your horse seem to spook at everything? Horses do differ in terms of reactiveness. Some spook at everything, others seems to take things more in stride.
But recent research has found that humans frequently scare their horses without even realizing they're doing it. The thing to keep in mind is that horses are prey animals that live in herds. They are keenly attuned to the emotional states of other herd members, and react swiftly to any cue from a fellow horse that something might be dangerous.
So how does that apply to you?
Linda Keeling, PhD, and colleagues at the Swedish University of Agricultural asked 20 people with varying levels of horse experience to walk and ride 10 horses from Point A to Point B four times. The participants were told that an umbrella would open on the fourth pass.
Now the thing is, the umbrella never actually opened. Nonetheless, the heart rates of both horses and humans increased during the fourth pass, when the human expected the umbrella to open. Since the horses couldn't understand what the researchers said, the only way that could happen is if the human handler felt anxious in anticipation of the umbrella opening, and the horse picked up on it. Of course, the ironic thing is that the humans weren't afraid of the umbrella. They were afraid of the horse spooking when the umbrella opened. So this is a catch-22 situation: The horse is afraid because the human is afraid, and the human is afraid because she thinks the horse is going to feel afraid!
"In the wild, horses are adapted to respond to other animals in their group”, Keeling points out. “A startle reaction is more likely when the horse is very alert." So next time your horse seems spooky, check your own anxiety level. If you’re worried or nervous, take a deep breath and exhale slowly to slow down your heart rate and calm yourself. You and your horse will benefit from a little animal psychology!
(The study was published in the July 2009 issue of the Veterinary Journal.)
Copyright Denise Cummins, PhD March 2016
Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Google Search, Labeled for Reuse
Does your horse seem to spook at everything? Horses do differ in terms of reactiveness. Some spook at everything, others seems to take things more in stride.
But recent research has found that humans frequently scare their horses without even realizing they're doing it. The thing to keep in mind is that horses are prey animals that live in herds. They are keenly attuned to the emotional states of other herd members, and react swiftly to any cue from a fellow horse that something might be dangerous.
So how does that apply to you?
Linda Keeling, PhD, and colleagues at the Swedish University of Agricultural asked 20 people with varying levels of horse experience to walk and ride 10 horses from Point A to Point B four times. The participants were told that an umbrella would open on the fourth pass.
Now the thing is, the umbrella never actually opened. Nonetheless, the heart rates of both horses and humans increased during the fourth pass, when the human expected the umbrella to open. Since the horses couldn't understand what the researchers said, the only way that could happen is if the human handler felt anxious in anticipation of the umbrella opening, and the horse picked up on it. Of course, the ironic thing is that the humans weren't afraid of the umbrella. They were afraid of the horse spooking when the umbrella opened. So this is a catch-22 situation: The horse is afraid because the human is afraid, and the human is afraid because she thinks the horse is going to feel afraid!
"In the wild, horses are adapted to respond to other animals in their group”, Keeling points out. “A startle reaction is more likely when the horse is very alert." So next time your horse seems spooky, check your own anxiety level. If you’re worried or nervous, take a deep breath and exhale slowly to slow down your heart rate and calm yourself. You and your horse will benefit from a little animal psychology!
(The study was published in the July 2009 issue of the Veterinary Journal.)
Copyright Denise Cummins, PhD March 2016
Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Google Search, Labeled for Reuse
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