Understanding Body Language
written by Shaiya Sayani
6000 years ago, the first horse was domesticated. Approximately 950 years ago the first horse jousting tournament was recorded. 815 years ago Genghis Khan used horses to conquer 23 million square km. Today we collaborate with horses for a multitude of reasons. But what led us to become so connected to this animal?
Before understanding how horses help human psychology, first it is important to understand horse psychology. To understand horses, it is necessary to know horses are prey animals and flight animals. Before horses were domesticated, the mindset of “fear for your life” was what kept them alive in the wild. Even though horses have been domesticated for thousands of years, this instinctive behavior still exists, making handling horses a little more difficult than some may think. Another major quality of horses is that they are herd animals, like humans and many other animals. Their survival rate depends on the herd and magnifies the horses ability to communicate, understand and feel emotions of others. Lastly, a horse--above all else--wants safety. Horses want to feel taken care of, comfortable and relaxed; or in other words, they want a benevolent leader who can provide them with all those things. These factors all influence the trainability of horses, and ultimately the impact horses have had on human existence.
Working with horses can be difficult and frustrating, but understanding how a horse thinks and communicates can make it easier. Horse behaviour falls into two categories: instinctive and learned. The instinctive behaviour is developed at birth. This type of behaviour includes flight, combative, ingestive and investigative. The instinctive behaviour is what humans use to train horses to run on a track, jump over fences, and build connections with humans. It is also what made horses so symbolic in human society. Accepting these qualities in a horse is very important to building a relationship with horses. Horses are very accepting and loving creatures, but they can be silly and anxious. When horses become anxious they can have instinctive responses that can be dangerous for those handling the horse. Keep cautious when handling horses, but don’t be frightened by their large size, heavy feet, or sudden movement--they are kind animals with good intentions.
To best understand being around horses, it is very important to read how they communicate. Horses communicate with their entire body, from ears to hooves. If a horse is frightened, it may elevate his head, tense his ears, raise and stiffen his tail and hold his breath. This leads to a very crucial element of how horse behaviour is used for therapeutic purposes. Horses tend to mirror the emotions of animals (including humans) around them. Horses have even acquired many gestures to communicate with us, and because of their deep empathic abilities, this communication works great for helping people with anxiety, depression, etc.. When around horses, pay attention to the horse’s body language. A relaxed horse will lower its head, relax his ears, chew, lick his lips or give a great sigh. Another great tip for being around horses is to stand closer to their head, but not directly in front of them because they can’t necessarily see you unless you stand to the side of them. Lastly, don’t forget to find that sweet spot when petting a horse, they love good scratch behind their ear or on their neck.
Shaiya Sayani is from West Vancouver, BC and is currently 16 years old. She is passionate about horses and competes in competitive show jumping and hopes to achieve a lot in the sport. She began riding late at 12 years old, but has already progressed quite a bit in the sport. She is currently competing in the 1.30s with her horses Spencer and Wiona and trains in Langley with Thunderbird Show Park. Shaiya believes that a big part of the sport is being able to connect with the horses and has found the relation between horses and psychology very intriguing.
