Horses are not born trained. They are born to eat, watch out for danger, and have babies.
Humans are generally not interested in watching their horse eat, have babies or have their horse run from danger. Humans want horses to ride or drive or obey signals, as seen in liberty work. They use horses to do many things. The horse usually doesn't have much say in what happens in human/horse interactions.
Dakota, a wild horse in captivityThe change of the population from being farm-raised to living in town makes a huge difference in how the person may handle a horse. Farm-raised people have experience with animals. They know that animals have a different agenda than people. Farm people also know that animals can really hurt a human. Either deliberately or accidentally.
Town people have watched TV, learned about animals, and maybe had a dog or cat while growing up. Television leaves out unpleasant things or anthropomorphizes animals. Thank you, Walt Disney.
Horses are big. They are strong. They have a particular way of thinking because they are prey. This means alertness and the ability to move fast from danger is essential for survival. Even though the horse has been domesticated for a few hundred years. Breeders have been bred for specific characteristics. Some are not conducive to being calm, sensible, etc. etc. Compare photos of wild horses to domestic horses, and you will see. In the wild, being flighty is not good because the horse will use up too many calories. Calories lost in winter can make the difference between survival or not. A horse running from fear may not watch where she is going and could get hurt, making the horse vulnerable to a predator. It is easier to hunt/kill an injured horse or youngster than a healthy horse.
So, what can a person do to make handling their horse safer?
1. When working in the field or paddock, ask the horse to move.
Do not walk around the horse. Move the horse out of your way.
2. Tie your horse and leave it for an hour to 3 hours. Your horse can eat hay. Ignore the pawing. Do not say anything. Ignore the pulling and dancing around. When your horse stands still, then you can say something. It is best to find something to do while letting the horse learn to stand quietly.
Tie to something solid with a halter and rope that will not break. have about 3' slack. Not enough, the horse can reach the ground. (put a leg over the rope). At wither height at least. Not lower. Your horse will have to stand quietly at some point. Standing quietly in the trailer is best learned by being tied to a post first.
3. Lead your horse on a slack lead.
The head is in front; you are just in front of the shoulder. This is a safe place to be. Don't choke your horse with a death grip. Use a rope halter if your horse tends to go where she wants. If a rope halter doesn't work, you have taught your horse to pull through and to ignore you. Not a good thing.
4. No, it is not an option.
If your request is reasonable, your horse should do it. Standing for the farrier is reasonable. Allowing the vet to work is valid. (temperature, heart rate, teeth check, touching a body part etc.). It can take some time to convince the horse to go, but in the end, the horse goes. Otherwise, don't ask if no is an option.
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