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Horse INKlings
Volume 2 Issue 3
Wednesday March 21, 2001
Welcome to the third
issue of Horse INKlings for 2001. Its aim is to provide
interesting, entertaining and useful information about the horses with whom we
share our lives. Please let me know what you think.
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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
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"The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of
appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men."
-- Emile Zola
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FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
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Horses are social animals. As herd members, they interact with other horses
continually and use a system of communication to let herd-mates know what they
want and don't want. (Animal behaviourists disagree about how much animal
communication is under conscious control and how much is automatic reaction to a
stimulus, but that argument needn't concern us here.)
Calls, body positions, movements, and odours are all methods of communication.
We can't sense the odour or chemical messages, but we can see and hear the
others. Sit on the fence some sunny afternoon and be a silent spectator. See
what signals you can recognize. The ability to understand horse body language
makes our association with horses more rewarding and safer.
The most obvious signal is overall body outline. It's easy to tell the
difference between the high, rounded outline of an excited horse and the flat
outline of a relaxed one.
Ears are good indicators. They point in the direction of the horse's attention.
Both ears pricked forward may look pretty, but when you're riding, you want at
least one ear on you. Ears pinned back indicate anger or fear. (Fear and anger
are closely related in people too.) Ears moving back and forth often indicate
uncertainty. Some beginners misinterpret any backward pointing of the ears as
anger, but it's the horse with ears flat back who's liable to kick.
The tail is also very expressive. 'High-tailing' is a well-known sign of
excitement, but did you realize horses flatten their tails between their legs
like dogs when frightened? A horse who scoots away from something with his tail
tucked under is truly scared. Tail lashing is a sign of irritation and
annoyance. A kinked tail is a sign of submissive fear and often precedes a buck.
More subtle for us are facial signals. In her book "The Horse's Mind",
Lucy Rees has a diagram of mouth and nose signals. A long nose and tight mouth
show anxiety and fear. Horses will also show 'worry wrinkles' above the eyes.
Watch a horse being taught something new. At first, his mouth will be tight.
Then in the moment he understands, you'll often see the mouth relax and chew.
A wrinkled nose indicates annoyance and disgust. A horse threatening to bite has
an open mouth and perhaps bared teeth. (Not the same as 'mouthing' in foals
which is a submissive gesture.) A long nose with a slightly open mouth shows the
horse wants to mutual groom, a gesture you may have seen while currying your
horse. It becomes the characteristic long nose, drawn-back lower lip and
extended neck when you find 'the spot'.
What I have mentioned here just skims the surface of horse communication.
Thoughtful observation of horses combined with reading books
and articles in such magazines
as EQUUS and Practical Horseman will teach you lots.
Learning to understand what our horses are telling us -- and responding
appropriately -- makes a huge difference in our relationship with them.
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GROANER TIME
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Q) What animal has more hands than feet?
A) A horse, of course.
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HORSE TRIVIA
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Show-jumping first appeared in the Olympic Games in 1900 but didn't become a
permanent feature until 1912. Unlike modern competitions, show-jumping in the
1912 Olympics followed a very complicated scoring system with faults depending
on a variety of factors including where the horse hit the fence. (They really
did need a judge for every jump.) Interestingly, if a rider fell off his horse
he incurred more faults than if he took his horse down too.
SOURCE: Encyclopedia of
the Horseedited by Elwyn Hartley Edwards
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THIS MONTH'S FEATURED BOOK
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I've owned a copy of The
Illustrated Veterinary Encyclopedia for Horsemen for many years. For
weeks before I bought it, I kept returning to the tack store to look through it
again. The book was expensive and I was a tightwad. Eventually I gave in, put my
money down and brought the book home. I have never regretted that purchase. It's
now dog-eared with use and has sticky notes all over it from where I've marked
pages to show to students.
If you want to learn about the physical side of horses, you can't beat this
book. Unlike other veterinary encyclopedias, it's organized according to the
body parts of the horse. So, for example, the chapter on the foot starts with
the anatomy and physiology of the foot, then moves to good and bad foot
conformation, and then to diseases and injuries of the foot.
I think of the Veterinary Encyclopedia as a 'what-is' rather than
a 'how-to' book. Generously illustrated with explicit drawings and photographs,
it's a reference you'll consult to learn more about a condition your
veterinarian has diagnosed in your horse. (You'll also wince at pictures of
horses with diseases you'll hopefully never see!!) When you notice your horse's
feet are not all the same size and wonder if you should worry, when you want to
know what those bumps are, or when you want to learn more about conformation --
you'll be glad you own this book.
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NEW on www.acreageequines.com
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Are you a puzzle fan? Visit the Horse
Puzzles section. You'll find
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