Home » Plants & Animals » Horses » The Truth about Horses

The Truth about Horses

© Marta Towne

Horses can be such sweet and loving creatures at times, then at other times they can be annoying as all get out. You can never take a horse for granted. We must always remember that these creatures are much bigger and stronger than we are. Most non-horse people only know that "one end kicks and the other end bites." But those of us in the know realize that there are numerous other actions that we need to be constantly on the look out for.

The front end not only bites, but knocks heads, stomps, strikes and crushes feet. The back end not only kicks but stomps, steps on, and "bumps." You have to always keep your eye on a horse at all times. One second of wandering attention can lead to injury of either the rider, the horse or innocent bystanders.

Sometimes people allow their attention to wander, and that is when accidents happen. The best riders in the world are those that understand that we humans are much too small to physically control a horse. Our only hope is to convince the horse from an early age that we are bigger, stronger, faster and smarter. If a horse is never allowed to find out that he is stronger and faster than humans, we can control them.

In order to train a horse, we must first convince them we are stronger than they are, but the most important part of training is earning the horse's trust. If a horse is afraid of you, you can not really teach him anything. He may do what you tell him to do, but only because he is afraid of your reaction if he does not. And at the first opportunity, he will escape you. The best way to train is to convince the horse that you are his friend and that even though you are bigger, stronger and faster than he is, you would never hurt him, nor allow him to be hurt.

Once you have won his trust, a horse will go out of his way to do what you ask. He will risk his safety and life to do what you ask, even when it frightens him. That is the type of relationship a good trainer seeks with every horse he trains. To train a horse, you have to win his trust and faith. In order to develop a bond with a horse, you have to be his friend. The old adage is completely true, "to have a friend, you have to be a friend."