The modern horse, Equus caballus is a social animal, happiest in the company of other horses. The intact male is called a stallion, castrated males are geldings and females are called mares. The young are called foals (male foals are colts and female foals are fillies).

More obvious than with the other common farm animals, horses form a highly structured "pecking" order or system of social dominance and hierarchy. Lower ranking horses may be chased away from food until the higher ranking members have had first choice. It is not uncommon to see several high ranking members vigorously kick or bite a lower ranked member. If new horses are introduced into a group, there will be a short time wherein all animals fight with one another until the order is established.

Like other herd animals, horses tend to move together in a loosely formed group. The herd is not as tight as cattle or sheep; horses graze fairly far apart from one another and they tend to scatter if threatened.

Unlike cattle who will usually evade the handler until they feel trapped and finally become defensive, horses tend to defend first and then evade. The horse defends itself by kicking, biting, rearing and striking with front legs. Startling a horse, such as walking up from behind, will usually trigger a defensive response!

Horses cause more life-threatening injuries than any other farm animal-including bulls! All horses, no matter how old and docile, have the ability to go from gentle, half-asleep "old dobbin's" to deadly forces within microseconds. Often these defensive behaviors are in response to stimuli of which the human handler is completely unaware!

Handling of horses requires one-on-one demonstration by an experienced teacher. Never handle horses without such instruction. The "mood" or temperament of a horse can usually be determined by watching its head carriage, ear position, and the look in its eyes. Pawing, continuous body movement, head tossing, a wild or frightened look, ears laid back against the head, or attempts to bite are all signals of danger to the handler.

Horses respond best when approached in a quiet and gentle manner.  Timing your approach with either a special food treat (grain) or at the time the horse is normally fed is always a good idea. Speak to the horse to alert it to your presence. 

Approach the horse from the front and stroke its neck and shoulder area (only if you are familiar with normal horse behavior and can read clues such as position of ears).

Unless directed by the unit supervisor or Farm Animal Veterinarian, you should not handle, touch or pet stallions; nor may you enter pens containing stallions. Stallions are cautiously approached, even by experienced horsemen. Especially when mares are in estrus and androgen levels are high, stallions may savagely bite or strike at humans, even those humans they know quite well. This behavior is normal, since the stallion is simply displaying aggression which in the wild would be targeted toward other horses.

Horses are normally restrained with halters. Standing at the left side of the horse by the neck and shoulders, place the lead rope around the horse's neck and then advance the halter so that the nose piece encircles the muzzle and then fasten the catch behind the ears.

When tying a horse, use cross ties whenever possible since this is safer for the horse. If a lead rope is used, be sure to tie short so that the horse can't get his head under the rope, or leg over it, or otherwise entangled. It is advisable to always tie with a knot which can be quick released.

A horse should be led with the handler standing just behind the horse's head and to the side of the horse's left shoulder.

Never lead by standing in front of the horse. Always face the direction you wish to go. If a horse refuses to be led, it may be possible to back it into the desired position if the distance is short.

Attempting to lead a foal with a halter may result in the foal rearing backwards and falling.  Many head injuries to foals occur in this manner. Restraint of foals should be done only by persons trained by the unit supervisor or the Veterinarian. Basically, the foal's rump is cradled with one arm, while the other arm is draped over the foal's withers (an alternative technique is to cradle the foal's chest). The handler's face must not be over the foal's back since it may jump upwards and slam into the bones of the handler's nose and jaw. Releasing the foal in a safe manner is not easy and many foals have injured handlers by kicking out with either their front or back legs.

Horses that are laying down will usually get up when someone approaches (although those accustomed to lots of activity may not). Horses get up front end first, that is, they roll to sternal recumbency, stick out their front legs, raise their chest off the ground and then rock forward as they extend their hind legs.

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Last updated: 01/02/2008 gea