So, You Think You Love Horses? Some Reflections on the Nature of Horses and Man

More Discussions by “The Accidental Horseman”

When in a herd and as part of their natural pecking order, horses will bite or kick at their mates and these behaviors may be either done in an aggressive or playful fashion. These behaviors are ones that they are capable of and might be deliberately or unintentionally inflicted on humans. Never forget horses are very large and powerfully animals. If they act up they are dangerous and can easily inflict harm, even if unintentionally. Often it is best to get away from them as quickly as possible and do not approach them again until they are calmed down.

I have been bitten by horses. The first time was by a pony that I later understood was known to do that kind of thing. I had not even considered that this cute little animal might bite. The most recent time was while loading my wife’s horse on a trailer. When training the horses to load we often would give them a horse treat that is a small crescent shaped “horse cookie” as a reward for a good performance. While I was buckling her halter my thumb was a small crescent shaped object located near her mouth. I was focused on the snap of the halter and the next thing I knew I was experiencing this sudden and horrible pain in my thumb causing me to cry out in pain. It was obvious from the reaction of the horse that this was unintentional in that she pulled back with an alarmed, horrified expression on her face. Most horses are well aware that biting humans is a violation of that 11th commandment: “Thou shall not bite the hand that feeds you.” This is why my wife’s horse was so horrified at having mistaken my thumb for a horse cookie. What her reaction told me is that she had the ability to understand, on an animal level, cause and effect and also right and wrong. That is to say that she knew that I would perceive her behavior as wrong and that she might expect retribution. I have already mentioned that horse are not dumb animals, they really are able to reason basic things through on a purely nonverbal level. They cannot do algebra but they can figure out how to open a container than contains food, find their way home though a maze of trails or perform an involved dressage test responding to the most subtle cues from their riders. I believe that it is necessary to correct misbehavior in a horse so that it learns not to repeat the behavior. In this instance I chose not to. It was mistaken identity and the horse realized that it was inappropriate to bite me as evidence by her reaction.

Abrasions as a Result of an Equine Bite on a Human Arm
Equine teeth are not designed to tear fresh and the act of pulling away produced the abrasions

I have never spent much time around stallions. Every male horse that I have ever owned has been a gelding. It is said that geldings are more even-tempered than mares and that has been my experience. There is a certain natural aggressiveness and assertiveness that comes with being an intact male animal. You will find this is true in most species. You do not see female big horned sheep butting heads. Monty Roberts in his book The Man Who Listens to Horses speaks of incidences with several stallions that constituted a danger to their handlers. However, I have been told that many other stallions are "prefect gentleman." However, I accept that even the most perfect gentleman might be having a bad day and consider that stallions are an exception to what I am saying about other horses (geldings and mares) in general.

Kicking behavior is also very dangerous to people. I remember once talking to someone who said that they had gone to a summer camp that had riding as an activity. There was a girl who was the most experienced in the group around horses, having ridden before. They were leading the horses in a group and the horse in front kicked out hitting this girl square in the head and ultimately causing her death. This is very tragic and I fault the individuals supervising the group for allowing such a thing to happen. I present this as a cautionary tale. Nature equipped horses with the ability to kick out and injure a predator closing in on them and horses do not like commotion to their rear and in their blind spot. Their natural reaction is to kick out and we really are lucky that more people are not injured in this way. One night in the dark I accidentally walked up on the rear of one of our ponies and I got kicked, but fortunately not in the head.

The other occasion when I was seriously kicked was very strange. We were going to ride on our own land one morning and I was grooming my horse on the lawn. There was a hound of some kind down in the woods that was making a great deal of noise. That was an unusual situation and I still do not know how the hound happen to be there. For some reason this caused my horse to become really jumpy but I figured he would settle down. Then all of a sudden he side kicked while I was grooming his flank. This was a serious kick and he caught me in the hip area and nearly knocked me off my feet. My wife who was next to me yelled at him and smacked him with a crop and he was properly contrite. I did not break anything and since I was fairly close to him his kick did not carry as much force as if I were properly cow kicked at a greater distance. Still I was black and blue and very upset that this horse that I had worked with nearly his entire life would kick me over some “dumb dog.” He has never done anything like that since.

My wife had a more serious close call. Her horse had come up lame and we took on another horse as a free-lease (board and feed in exchange for its use). The horse’s usual rider was away at college for the winter. One morning we were going to ride and this horse was in a paddock. My wife walked toward her with a halter and the horse suddenly wheeled around and kicked out such that her hooves narrowly missed my wife’s head. If she had connected she would have done serious injury. On another occasion a good friend was asked by one of her friends to look after a horse that had great breeding but unfortunately was known as a problem animal. Her husband was leading the animal ahead of her and she was following leading another horse. She allowed herself to get a little too close behind this horse and the next thing she knew the horse kicked out and her leg was seriously fractured. She was a veteran rider and knew her way around horses yet this still happened. It is an easy thing to do when following and I know that I have caught myself doing the very same thing. You are leading a horse with another person ahead of you and your mind is on something else and the next thing you realize you are coming up on that other horse’s rump. You need to stagger your path relative to the other horse and space yourself out of range of any possible kick. In both of these examples the horse and person did not know each other that well. When working around a strange horse you need to be particularly on guard.

These kinds of situations are rare and my examples are distilled from decades of working with horses and knowing other people who do. I do not wish to alarm or put off my readers about riding. Horses really are wonderful animals but it is your responsibility to be cautious in their presence. Just like driving a car, you need to always to stay alert and have an eye to safety.