How We Manage and Engage With Our Horses Shapes Their Personality

Most horses will socialize well with humans, but only if the human responds to their cues. This is unlike dogs, who will initiate more interactions.

Eye contact is meaningful to horses. If a horse looks at you, they may be asking you to look back. If you do, and they continue to look at you, you've made the first step to connection. The ears will usually go forward at this point.

That gives you permission to approach. If you then offer an open palm, you'll probably get a muzzle touching your palm. Now you've been accepted as being allowed to touch the horse. This little hello social ritual works with most horses, even ones who don't know you.

When you see someone approach a horse that knows them, they'll usually do this without thinking about it. You'll see the eye contact, the ear movement, and the muzzle touch, in that order. Horses have strong flight and startle responses, and this defuses those.

Read "Talking with Horses", by Henry Blake.[1]

So few people get this today that Horse Guards in London no longer lets tourists get near the horses. For over a century, they did, but the cluelessness level got out of hand, and about two years ago a white keep-out box was painted on the pavement. This is partly a cell phone problem. People would back up to the horse to position themself for a picture with the horse, without ever making eye contact. Horses read a backwards approach as an unexpected approach and possible kick threat. Some tourists got nipped.[2] The usual "No" seq […]