Five Misconceptions About Horses

There are almost as many untruths as truths regarding horses and horse ownership. I spent many years in the equine industry, starting colts at Churchill Downs, working at Arabian farms, dressage barns and hunter/jumper barns, and witnessing the good and bad of training before running my own training barn for eight years. By now, I have heard and seen everything, and still, the falsehoods out there about horses are astonishing.

Here are several statements about horses and horse training that are still out there. Many people still adhere to them, but time and time again, in training and retraining horses that have been exposed to these 'facts' I have found that they do not stand the test of time.

Be the boss. I remember my dad spending hours trying to get my gelding in the trailer one morning, they went round and round, there was yelling and cursing, and the horse, come hell or high water was not going to step into that Devil box. My dad wasted so much time and emotion being the boss that he forgot to be the leader. Horses don't follow crazy leaders full of animation and violence, they follow calm composure, and they will follow it anywhere, even off a cliff. I spent one spring loading over two hundred head of Arabians into trailers after a barn bankruptcy, I learned that flailing and yelling will not cause a horse to follow, but once you find the right tack, the right way to lead, any horse will follow you anywhere - even 200+ flighty Arabs who had never seen a trailer in their lives. And my gelding? He never did get into that trailer.

A horse that is difficult to train is 'stupid'. Sorry, horses, as a species are not overly bright. Nature is stingy and brains are 'expensive', a horse needs enough smarts to maneuver through not terribly complex herd politics, eat grass, run from frightening things, and find a mate. This does not take epic reasoning skills. Horses do have very good memories, because water sources must be remembered on the dry steppes where they evolved. But are horses endowed with shining intellects? Not so much. The reason that someone is having a tough time training a horse is likely because the person training has no business doing so. If they use the 'this horse is stupid' crutch, then that assumption is guaranteed.

Any one can train a horse. Actually, horses are not easy to train, they are not dogs, they have no intrinsic desire to please. They do not seek your approval. They are prey, and they think like prey. Unlike dogs they will never see you as a member of their pack. You are an alien being imposing ridiculous rules. They are shy and need to be coerced into a relationship, no matter how tenuous. They cannot be bullied like a dog, because that will just trigger their flight response. Let's face it, most people cannot train a dog, or their kids, they have no business training a horse.

Sacking out is a reasonable way to get a horse past its fear. I will not say it doesn't work. What I will say is that true sacking out, where a terrified animal is rendered helpless while something it believes is going to kill it is rubbed all over its body is hideous and cruel. No animal should have to endure such a thing. The whole premise flies in the face of common sense. Yes the horse will suffer what I heard a veterinary behaviorist refer to as learned helplessness, and surrender to the terror, but you have just crushed this animal's mind. There is never an excuse for such a thing. Ever.

Tying a horse will teach it patience. This is ridiculous. If I lock you in a room, will you learn patience? Horses tied and left are not only in danger of ridiculous feats of self destruction, but they will likely grow bored and paw, gnaw the hitching post, each other's hair, or the rope. Eventually, like any animal exposed to boredom, they will doze off, but you have not taught them anything. What could they have possibly learned? If I fall asleep they will come and get me? Learning doesn't work that way. Just as standing in a line will not teach you patience, standing at a rail all day will not teach your horse patience, boredom, yes, patience, no.

There are many misperceptions surrounding horses, everything from a girl's Black Stallion fantasies, to good ol' boy wisdom handed down for generations. Some things work in spite of how badly they are for the horse. To understand a horse, you must respect what they are, not what someone told you they are, or you always dreamt them to be, but what they are. Once you do that, your understanding and respect will grow and you will see the true beauty that they represent.