The Horse's Relationship with Humans.
"LIFE is privileged to have the benefit of Caroline Lane's support and advice. She is a highly experienced and qualified horsewoman who has visited LIFE so knows the situations we face with horses here first hand".
Understanding the horse is based upon our recognition of horses as prey animals. As such, the horse's subsequent thoughts and behaviours are derived from their perception of possible attack. Their constant vigilance is the foundation of their survival. Humans, on the other hand, are considered predators and so instinctively the horse is wary of us.
When a horse encounters a questionable situation, his intuition tells him to escape first and analyse second. In this way the horse is similar to other prey animals such as deer, rabbits, squirrels and mice, which flee from the unknown in order to survive.
Horses are also herd animals and as part of their prey mentality depend on the herd for safety, there’s safety in numbers. In the wild, equines such as mustangs or even zebra will form as large a herd as possible. All horses, no matter how high in the hierarchy, will gratefully accept the leadership of another individual, as long as the leader has demonstrated their commitment to controlling and protecting the herd.
As Julie Goodnight observes in her book Horse Psychology & the Language of Horses “ The pecking order in the herd is established when the dominant horse (alpha individual) controls the resources of the herd (food, water, shelter, other horses) and controls the space and actions of the other individuals. In working with horses, it is critical to understand how your own actions can influence your position in relationship to dominance and subordinance.”
The Brooke, an equine charity registered in the UK but working in developing countries all over the world, carried out a survey of the prevalence of welfare conditions, in conjunction with the University of Bristol Veterinary School, The prevalence of physical issues such as lameness, skin pathology and dehydration was recorded together with behavioural observations. Subsequently, apathetic and depressed animals were found to be suffering from dehydration, heat stress and chronic pain. The Brooke is using the results of the survey to direct the assessment of the risks contributing to poor welfare and to develop participatory interventions designed to improve animal welfare in poorer countries around the world.
Working horses such as those see by the Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe (LIFE) on a daily basis, often don’t see their owners as leaders bur rather someone to fear. Rather then learning and training, the horse is subjected to a harsh regime to ensure compliance. Horses start working very young, before they are physically developed and strong enough to object. They are tied to their mother’s side from foalhood and so can’t engage in their normal response to fear which is to flee, they have no choice they must comply.
Such horses are not part of a two animal herd ( horse and human ) as most more sensitively treated and trained trained horses are and so are fundamentally unhappy. In the wild or in a caring, humane relationship, the horse happily follows his leaders guidance but in a harsh master / workhorse relationship this two way respect is sadly lacking. This is one of the reasons the Lucy Irvine Foundation’s work in rough Roma areas is so valuable. Education about horse’s needs is a key part of LIFE’s Outreach work.
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