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Training ~ Senses ("Printer Friendly" version of this page) |
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One thing about
horses, their senses of smell, sight, touch and hearing are much better than humans.
I doubt their taste sensations exceed that of humans. I've tried alfalfa and never
developed a taste for it But, any animal that can feel a fly land on their
rump through all that hide is really sensitive!
Horses have those
giant radar dome ears that can pick out noises way before we do. They are actually
nocturnal (night) animals with huge eyes relative to their body size. They have
exceptional peripheral vision. And, they can smell things that we never will.
All of these senses are highly developed for their use -- fleeing trouble as
soon as it's detected. If we recognize how these senses are working, we can
use them to our advantage.
I'm sure glad they don't lock people up anymore for saying what may sound like crazy things -- because this is one of them. If you look at a horses eyes you can see a lot about what is going on in their minds. I'm not talking science fiction or "retina scans", but rather the physical appearance of the eye. A worried horse or nervous horse will have it's eyes wide open and you will see the white membrane around the eye. You'll also see wrinkles around the eye. We call these "worried wrinkles", they are a sign that the horse is not comfortable with a situation. Another signal that you can get from the eyes relates to thought. After you work on training your horse and you can see from their posture that they are relaxed, licking and chewing. You'll also notice that they are blinking their eyelids more frequently than normal. This is where we get strange on you -- this blinking is an outward sign that they are thinking about what just happened. We work with a trainer who says "If they're blinking they're thinking". It's just another indication about what's going on in that little "horsey" mind. Hearing If you watch a horse that is in it's pasture you will notice that it's ears can move independently through a pretty good range of motion. One ear may be directed at something happening in the barn, while the other is directed at some other horses in the pasture. You can use this to see what the horse is paying attention to. Is your horse focused on you? This doesn't work to well if you have a cranky horse who always has her ears pinned flat to her head. Talking to your horse is an interesting concept. The only talking horse I ever saw was Mr. Ed on TV. I am sure that they can understand the que for walk, trot, whoa, etc. if you use these everytime you ask. I overheard Dennis Reis chastising a student at one of his clinics when she said HO, HO! to her horse. Dennis responded, like only he can… "A ho is a garden tool or a bad girl!", his point being that they don't understand speech. I am also sure that they can understand the clucking and kissing noises that some people are taught to use for asking different cadence. But why would you want to teach your horse this stuff? They don't speak. If you are out on a trail ride and someone behind you is clucking and kissing to their horse to get him to go, how do you know your horse isn't listening to them? I'm not saying don't talk to your horse. But, I would never consider voice as an alternative to seat or leg commands. |
Horses
great each other with a blow through the nostrils. It has been reported that
they can remember another horse's smell ten years from the time they first met.
While I do not recommend blowing in a horses nose every time you meet, there
is another way of greeting a horse. The "handshake" is something that
a horse can quickly understand. The next time you work with your horse, offer
the back of your hand to the horse. Let him smell it for 2-3 seconds. This is
a great way of initiating contact with your horse when you go to get them out
of a stall or pasture. If you have a "biter", you're going to need
to work through that issue first.
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