IS THE HORSE STUPID?

It is rare to walk into a stable seething with activity without hearing the phrase: “you stupid horse”. Is it horse that is stupid? And what does it mean, the horse is “stupid”? Is the horse stupid when he doesn’t comply with the rider expectations? Is it really always the horse’s fault?

There may be many reasons why the horse doesn’t comply with the rider’s expectations. It can be due to pains, ill-fitting tack, a nervous rider or simply the fact that the communication between horse and rider doesn’t function.

Pain
Often the horse bears a lot of pain without flinching and only shows with minor signs that he cannot do as the rider demands.

Many riders do not pay attention to these signs until the horse is in so much pain that he becomes overly reactive. The problem here is partly due to lack of communication between horse and rider and partly because many of us have been taught that horses should just have a sound beating when they do not obey.

You have to remember that the horse doesn’t stand in his stall and “think”: “today it is part-owner who’s riding me, so I will not do the leg yield to the left but only to the right” or “if I am “bridle-lame” she will not ride me today”.

If a horse is able to do an exercise for one side and not the other there is a reason. It may be pain in the back, in the mouth or in the limbs, or perhaps the rider sits unevenly, and thereby makes it more difficult to work in one direction than the other.

If a horse is “bridle-lame”, a number of riders consider this as being the horse’s “idea”. When the horse becomes “bridle-lame”, it means that he is lame when ridden, i.e. that there is something about the riding itself which bothers the horse. It may be the equipment, the weight or the rider.

Communication
The communication between horses mainly consists of body language. Horses have a number of different signals by which the “talk” to each other. In a large free herd of horses there is seldom any fighting, because every horse has his own place in the hierarchy, and there is only need for a minor signal in order to “give a message”.

Humans also use body language a lot, but often on the subconscious level. The horses interpret our body language, but when we do not use it deliberately with the horses, we give them a lot of signals we are unaware of. This can confuse them a great deal and create some unexpected reactions for which we scold them. The more confused a horse becomes, the more incorrect he behaves in our opinion and the more we scold him. The situation is the same if we are told to walk to the right and the person giving the message points to the left. Now what?

We are often not aware enough to interpret the small signals given by the horse, and therefore he often has to “shout” loudly (i.e.: bites, kicks or bucks you off ) in order to be heard. Contrary, many riders are of the opinion that because the horses are so much bigger than us, they need to have more messages given with more emphasis. That is not correct. Horses are very sensitive and perceive even the smallest touch, if they are used to receiving “small delicate” messages. If the horse on the contrary is used to big, aggressive arm swinging and shouting, he either becomes very nervous or “turns a deaf ear” to the rider and may not react at all.

Reaction Time
If the rider thinks that the horse must do one thing or the other and expects him to be a mind reader and react instantly, then the communication becomes garbled. It is important to remember that it takes a certain period of time from the moment the thought is born in your mind until it creates a reaction from the horse. First your think the thought, then it must be translated into a message to be perceived and reacted to by the horse. This takes time.

An example may be in dressage, where the horse is prepared for each individual exercise, so he can do it precisely at each letter. If the rider gets the idea of riding a circle at the letter A one meter before reaching it, it is impossible for the horse to turn and position himself correctly.

If it the rider is impatient and doesn’t give the horse time to respond to the individual signals, but repeats the signals quickly one after the other, then the horse becomes confused and insensitive to the aids.

The Herd Animal
The horses are herd animals which need a leader to trust. The rider should therefore be the horse’s leader. He can feel secure with a leader. It is important that the rider handles the horse firmly (it is unnecessary to use violence, the horse can easily be corrected by changing the tone of the voice and speaking a bit louder. Just remember that the horse’s hearing is better than ours, so do not shout).

It is also important that the rider is not nervous or afraid, because the horse detects that immediately. As it is the horse’s nature to respond to the leader of the herd, he also becomes frightened and reacts instinctively, which is often inconvenient. It is not abnormal to be afraid of horses. Children are often afraid of them, because the horses are so big and strong and can be intimidating and many adults may be afraid of them because they have responsibilities in their lives and consequently they don’t want to get injured.

If you are a little nervous of your horse, it is important to cope with the fear, so it doesn’t reflect upon the horse. Here a simple thing like breathing can help a lot. The breathing of a calm person, breathing deep and slowly will change to rapid, shallow breaths if the person becomes nervous or afraid. By concentrating on breathing deeply and calmly one can get hold on oneself and thereby signal to the horse to relax. By looking at the horse breathing, it can quickly be determined whether he is tense or afraid. For example, the horse may become afraid at the sheer sight of the saddle.

The next time your horse is “stupid”, please stop and consider if he is hurting, if he has understood your intention, if you gave him an explicit signal, if he has learned what you are asking for, if you are nervous or if you have been attentive enough to his responses.

You can read more about these topics in the book “Understand Your Icelandic Horse” written by the undersigned.

Take good care of your horse and he will take good care of you.

Sincerely,

Rikke Schultz
Equine Veterinarian