10 Equine Behaviors Explained by Dr. Robert M. Miller
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ม.ค. 2013
- 9thus.spalding-labs.com Dr. Robert M. Miller explains why horses act and react the way the do.
This video discusses the ten traits every horse inherits. Understanding these inbred characteristics will unlock the secrets of horse behavior.
1. The Secret of Flight: The horse in its wild state depends upon flight as its primary survival behavior. The horse's natural habitat is grasslands, prairie or steppes. Its primary enemies in nature are the large predators, particularly those of the cat and dog family, such as lions and wolves.
2. The Secret of Perception: Prey species must be more perceptive than predators if they are to survive. Horses are a prey species that live with the danger of being eaten by their predator enemies. They are programmed to be on the lookout for danger and are always prepared to flee from it in an instant. Inexperienced horsemen often fail to appreciate the extreme perceptivity of the horse. Horses have an uncanny ability to detect sensory stimuli which are far too vague for us to sense.
3. The Secret of Response Time: The horse has the fastest response time of any common domestic animal. "Response time" or "reaction time" is defined as the ability to perceive stimuli and react to it. Prey species must have a faster response time than a predator or they get eaten.
4. The Secret of Rapid Desensitization: The horse is more quickly desensitized to frightening stimuli than any other animal. Why is a flight oriented creature so quickly desensitized to frightening but harmless stimuli? If this weren't so, horses would spend all their time running and there would be no time to eat, drink, rest, or reproduce.
5. The Secret of Learning: Not only do horses desensitize faster than other domestic animals to frightening stimuli, but other kinds of learning are obtained with similar speed. If a novel experience, such as the first shoeing, the first trailer loading, the first saddling, the first worming, the first experience of any kind is traumatic, the horse will henceforth fear that procedure. Conversely, if a novel experience is made pleasurable and if comfort rather than discomfort ensues, the horse will remember that and will be more accepting of such an experience in the future.
6. The Secret of Memory: The horse's memory is nearly infallible. Horses never forget anything! Fortunately, horses forgive and were it not for that fact, a majority of professional horse trainers could not make a living. Horses can and do survive inept, improper and inhumane training methods.
7. The Secret of Dominance Hierarchy: The horse is the most easily dominated of all common domestic animals. It is a herd animal, subject to a dominance hierarchy and because it is a flight animal, the horse needs leadership to know when and where to run. In the wild, horses need leadership and readily accept it.
8. The Secret of Control of Movement: The horse is the only common domestic animal that exerts dominance and determines the hierarchy by controlling the movement of its peers. It is understandable that in a species in which the ability to run away means life or death, positional control is the way in which leadership is established. Dominant horses make threatening movements towards subordinate herd members.
9. The Secret of Body Language: Each species signals subordination or submissiveness with a body language instinctively understood by their own species. Horses give subtle signals when they are willing to submit to any domination.
10. The Secret of Precocity: The horse is a precocial species, which means it is neurologically mature at birth. Commonly, the newborn of prey species is precocial. For example newly hatched chicks, ducklings, goslings, quail, grouse, newborn fawns, calves, lambs and foals are fully active soon after birth. Unlike kittens, bear cubs, puppies or newly hatched owls or hawks, all of which are predatory species and quite helpless at birth, the precocial species must be quickly able to recognize danger and flee from it.
The imprinting period of the precocial species is immediately postpartum, when they visualize and memorize what they see move and want to follow and respect it (which in nature is usually the mother). This helps them to stay with their dam and the herd and they are quickly imprinted to do so. The best time to teach horses, therefore, is right after birth. Attitudes, temperament and reactions can be shaped in just a few hours if we know how.
Dr. Miller's book "The Ancient Secrets of the Horse's Mind" provides much greater details on each trait and explains how you can use each to your advantage when dealing with horses. It is available from Robertmmiller.com for $20 or a special and complete edition is available at no charge with any purchase from Spalding Labs. 3mgje.spalding-labs.com or call 800-248-6826
I was lucky enough to have Dr. Miller as my primary veterinarian in the '70s to 80s. He actually had me and some of my students view a rough cut of his Imprinting the Foal video that was filmed at an Arabian farm in Hidden Valley. I learned a lot from Dr. Miller, and I continue to this day to use and teach on my online videos a lot of the things I learned from him.
Lucky you!
Pp
Got a Bachelor's in Equine Studies years ago. Every year in school, we were assigned textbooks authored by Dr. Miller. I still have them and they still are an important part of my farm! Thanks, Dr. Miller!!!
Great review of horse behaviors. I’ve been using Dr. Miller’s imprinting techniques on my foals for years. I didn’t get my last 2 foals imprinted at birth & they were much more difficult to gentle & control than my others have been. I have been privileged to work with horses for over 60 yrs now. I’ve studied Natural Horsemanship for over 30 yrs at this point & have found it to be far superior to all other methods of horse control. This presentation was a good review of basic horse behavior. Those of us who have worked with horses for many decades still benefit from a basic review now & then.
Thanks Dr. Miller
Thank you for this informative, wonderful video by a great man, Dr. Robert M. Miller, DVM
Hope there are many more like you to follow!
It’s always important to remember basics. So easy to go slightly off track, or treat them with human “reactions “
80 years old, and I have worked and played with horses for most of those years. Still do, every day. This man did not disappoint me. He truly knows horses, and is a great explainer as well.
✨💛✨
That’s why they call him a doctor. You are also his friend. Nice.
Bravo, Dr Miller. My Dad trained horses for others. He was a born leader and instinctively knew how to get horses to respond to him. He never hurt the horse! He told me, in order to guide the horse, you "had to know more than the horse." Oh! how I respected my Dad!
As to how excellent horses’ memories are so they know how, where, and when to detect danger, I’d like to add that their excellent memories are for knowing where to go when for food, water, shelter, and sight seeing(why not;).
Amazing lecture, learned a lot about how a horse thinks and behaves and why. Thank you Doctor 😊
Bull shit
Thank you! That was the best lesson I have ever heard about horse behavior. 👍😊
I totally agree!
I've met Dr Miller at a vet convention years ago, and he was wonderful. 🥰
I am glad that Dr Miller is still with us, I grew up reading his articals in the western horseman magazine way back in the 70s.
Same here!
In training to be a horse rescue volunteer I was shown this excellent presentation by Dr. Miller.
Back in 1995, before our first foals were born on our horse farm in Nashville, my husband and I bought video tapes by Dr. Miller on imprinting. We had never even heard the term "imprinting" although we had both owned horses since we were kids. What a difference those tapes made! Every one of our Arabian, Appaloosa, and Tennessee Walking Horse babies grew up to be safe, dependable family trail horses.
In large pasture with my 9 and 11 yr geldings, walking along beside them. At one point they both stopped dead in their tracks, frozen, heads up, ears fully pricked, eyes and nostrils huge. Within the next 30-45 seconds, 60ft tree 1/2 mile away split it two with a bang!~lightning! Could not get them to follow me forward for 5 or so minutes, then ok. I always listen to my guys, BTW one arab, one half, twice my intelligence!
Thank you for this reminder! I grew up around horses but that was many years ago as I am now retired and 72. I’m looking for a trail horse and brushing up on all aspects of horse care and horses themselves. Thank you.
Lucky You. I rode a lot when I was growing up. Never enough though and now I’m 79.
Thank you. So glad we are starting to understand them. Wish I knew this 30 years ago.
Excellent information and presentation. Wish everyone who kept horses knew these nuggets of wisdom. Thank you Dr. Miller.
Share this video with everyone! The more of us do, the quicker the i formation will spread across the globe and start shifting thinking in horse human interactions!
It is required viewing for all new students at the NWNHC natural horsemanship center!
Should be for all aspiring horsemanship students everywhere..
Awesome!!
In the late 60s/early 70s & raising my horses, I inherently knew about imprinting my foals at birth. Years later (the 90s), I found his VHS video on the subject. I was right all along!
Thank you for so many wonderfully helpful lessons and insights.
I never knew any of these things. If I had I may have been much more inclined to be involved with this amazing creature. I had plenty of them around when I was young and the horse is certainly the most beautiful of all domestic creatures. THIS is horse sense !
An outstanding lecture that unveils and fully reveals a great communication foundation with horses. Every horseman or horsewoman needs to hear and fully absorb this knowledge before interacting with horses. It would obviate so many costly mistakes.
Hello how are you doing?
I’ve been working near racehorses for more than 11 years, this man knows what he’s talking about! Thank you for sharing this information.
Race horses normally don't live in groups, neither they are kept in a natural environment nor their instincts are respected. How do you transfer this information into your daily work?
@@MrFlamants After you’re comment I’m guessing you’ve got absolutely no experience around horses. It doesn’t matter if they locked in or not they display the same behaviour regarding dominance, fear, aggression or submission, playfulness and any other traits for that matter…
@@zsozso411 The problem is you don‘t respect the natural instincts of horses. You can’t. They have to do your things regardless their nature. If not willing you have spurs, stick and other tools to control. Race horses are pieces of sport equipment and they have to make money. That’s all. Who cares about fear, aggression, playfulness, physical and mental abuse?
@@MrFlamants You’re right I only care about my own and my workmates safety when I work with horses, good to know what they’re up to as they can weigh over 450 kilograms…
Wonderful lecture about the subtle behavior of these amazing animals!
what an impressive video., very informative and well done with all the footage of the behaviors you describe here. your voice and manner is a pleasure to listen to
Wow, this video is incredible! Just wish I saw this a few years ago but better late than never. I may end up watching this weekly until it's burned in my long term memory. The information here is priceless. Thank you a ton Doc!!!
I learned more from you than anyone to date! Thank you sir. God bless
Hello Michele 👋 how are you doing
I read Dr Miller's imprint training book and use the techniques on the one and only foal that I raised from birth. It definitely made a difference because that horse was not afraid of plastic or clippers and such because I desensitized him to all those things right at birth.
Great and valuable nsights here. Dr. Miller has provided us humans with a window into the essence of horse psychology. This is an excellent lesson he has shared to enhance our partnership with our horses.
So insightful & educational, I wish I'd learned this decades ago!❤
And I now am beginning to understand the bond/with horsemen and horse
Wow! Really great video for those learning or for those teaching Equine Behavior. Other than a couple of riding techniques I observed during some of the shots of horses under saddle, I really feel this is a great summary of horse behavior with good use of visual examples. Well done Dr. Robert Miller and thank you to the company sponsoring this, Spalding Fly Predators.
Muy ilustrativo y de alto contenido para conocer y respetar a un equino, un compañero como el caballo. Gracias Dr Robert Miller.
I wish someone would have explained this to me years ago!. Thank you for sharing your insight.
Absolutely one of the best explained and fascinating subjects I’ve seen. Thank you sir, looking forward.
Great talk on the ABC of understanding horse behavior and communication. It is vital to learn to speak their language.
Thank you for this video, very much appreciated!
One of the best horse trainers and behavior modifiers in the UK, works primarily through a horse's visual capacities and by controlling the movement of a horse's feet. He only LOOKS at the horse's foot to move it. He does not look directly into a horse's eyes while training, which can influence it's natural instinct toward flight. ( unless it's in a known, trusting, well desensitized horse. )
He gets amazing and rapid results from even the most difficult horses, by connecting with them in a way they can easily understand, accept leadership from, and trust. He teaches relaxing, head lowering techniques to all his horses. He uses extra long leads (9- 10 feet) to use work with loose leads for the horse and teaches spatial distancing around himself. Corrections consist of only very brief lead tension, until the horse initiates correct movement, then immediate release. There is absolutely no harshness or punishment in any of his techniques. He leads from in front of the horse, the horse stops immediately when he does, or is directed to back up, with a look at his feet.
He teaches by leading or driving the horse, gentle neck flexion and relaxation exercises, back up and forward motion requests. Gentle brief loving strokes ( NO slapping or pounding for rewards!!!) or lead looseness for rewards. All of his groundwork translates easily to saddle and bridle directions.
He uses all of your 10 section information about horses with wonderfully results. Most importantly, the horses agree.
All of your information to us can apply to higher learning for horses.
Again, thank you, sir!
Are you speaking of Steve Young of Wales?
@@louisegogel7973 that’s exactly who came to my mind.
@@laraemitchell9064 Steve is awesome! Along with Dr Miller, I think Steve Young and Klaus Hempfling’s videos would make the best education for anyone who wants or has anything to do with horses.
@@louisegogel7973 Hi Louise. I am speaking of Steve Young from Wales. I'm learning so much from him and would love to see his methods spread throughout the horse world!
@@jodyhuston1516 I agree. I’ve posted a few his videos on my fb page every so often, and shared them with various people who have had anything to do with horses. It’s remarkable how quickly and widely something can spread when people share something in that manner.
Also Klaus Hempfling is worth sharing. He is the grand master, in my opinion, of people communicating in horse language. You can see it in each stance of his body and the horses understand him so quickly, it’s really quite remarkable.
There are others out there too who are turning the tide for the better between horses and people, but these two are my top choices for helping people understand through videos.
I have learned a lifetime of information in just 18 minutes.
Thank you so much for posting this video.
Thank you for this video and information! I'm just beginning to learn about horses and am trying to understand their nature. Very much appreciated! You've treated the animal with complete respect, which is extremely admirable and important to me.
This is a terrific video. I will be sharing and revisiting it often myself. It's important to keep yourself grounded with your horse and keep in mind what they're all about at their core.
And do not forget, my fellow horse people, if you're a dick to your horse, she's GOING TO REMEMBER IT!
Righttttttt. Every time I hear folks being mean to horses 🐎 it just burns me.
Indeed. Our 4legged brothers/sisters 🐴🐎🐎🐎never forget🙋♀️
@@DaaTwah Educating the people so they learn and can understand what is actually going on both in the horse language and their own thoughts and body language can shift people, most of whom just don’t have the knowledge and might even be fearful. The more we all understand, the more pressure will be put on all owners to understand and work with this information!
I have never agreed with the idea of "Breaking" a horse, get on a Wild horse and riding it to a standstill and calling that horse "broken in" Understanding the horse, teaching it to understand you just seems so natural and so right, if you need force you are doing something wrong, I had never heard of Dr Miller before but loved his dedication, his love and understanding of horses, horses want to please you, all you have to do is show them what you want, nothing works better than communication any relationship........And Allah took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse.........Bedouin Legend
So we’ll put! It’s wonderful to have a name or classification for actions I had thought I just naturally knew because I have been doing this actions for decades. Thank you very much.
Dr. Miller is a legend in the horse world. Very wise educator.
One point that I will expand on is the brain in windy conditions. This is common amongst all species.
We have alpha and bets waves in our brains. Beta waves are associated with calming. Humans possess more beta waves than horses. Wind degrades beta waves. So...because horses have fewer beta waves, they are affected more by windy conditions. The stronger the breeze, the fewer beta waves, the less calm the animal is.
I live in SE Wyoming. We see this phenominon regularily here. Not just on horses...on humans too. It generally is quite noticeable in humans after 3 or 4 days of 40+mph winds. Horses are affected considerably quicker. Most likely due to the flight response. Just a couple hours of high wind will change the attitude of my horses. They are flighty, impatient, more apt to be defiant and considerably less cooperative.
Unless it is absolutely imparitive that I am mounted ...I seldom saddle up on days that the wind is over 30 mph. It isn't much fun anyway.
The old joke in this country is: never ride in the same direction as the wind. A big gust could come up and blow the bit out of the horse's mouth. lol Or you could cover their rear with your hat......
Happy trails!
Wind provides cover sound for predators. So they are skittish , because they don't want to be eaten.
There aren't any magical waves.
When it's windy horses can't hear or see as well, so they are extra skittish to compensate
Wow!!! Best training lessons for humans - I thought I knew about horses but Dr. Miller gave me insights into horses that I never thought about - always believed the best time to train a horse was after it’s birth but the lessons I learned about grown horses were mind blowing - Thanks for a great lesson I learned!!!
I was able to implement the Dr. Robert Miller method of foal imprinting on both of my mare's foals. By the time the mares stood up after the birth of the foal, I was done. Those babies were turned over immediately to mom as she stood up but the both became such excellent students. It was amazing what I was able to teach them. Thank you Dr. Miller.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. You teach the way I learn...point by point. I'm new to equine care, at 48, and I've been researching my way up to getting in the round pen with my neighbor's 2 horses. Willow, is a 27 year old Mare, and to total sweetheart. She moves slow and steady, kind of hard to read her mood...it always seems pretty much the same. I'll be working with her first. Speckles is a 15 year old Gelding, and he's a bit pushy, a "me first" kind of guy, but I have a much easier time reading him because he's so expressive. I've actually formed a closer bond with him so far, but I hope to be a good leader to them both. I've been trying to get an understanding of THEIR body language. After learning from your video, I have a MUCH better understanding of how they see, how much better their hearing is, why they do certain things, while we are in the field. Most importantly, I knew they were flight animals, but I didn't realize why. Thank you again for helping me!!! Keep posting please
“Why” such a nasty name for yourself! 😵💫
@@ss6273 haha it's kind of a joke between me and @thinklikeahorse
I love his content so much and he's hilarious and the first time he said barn witch, i died and i thought the name was funny so i stole it plus, i am a master cleaner in the barn so the name suits me well LOL
@@horsebitchbarnwitch1076 I think Rick would like to share this video with his followers whenever he is explaining horse behavior. Maybe you would recommend it to him? I have posted it on FB already.
I have often seen your comments on Ricks horse channel and wondered about the name. I’m glad to know the explanation, because your comments are the opposite of his definition of barn witch. lololol
@@louisegogel7973 Haha thank you!!! 😊 ❤
@@horsebitchbarnwitch1076 🐎😁💛✨🔆✨💛🐎
Fascinating & easy to understand. What a great video.
10 years ago this man made a video that taught me more about horses than I've ever learned in my entire life. I pray if he's passed on he's in Heaven surrounded by his beloved horses. Thank you
Thank you for sharing this info with the world! The more we understand the horse, the better we can be with the horse.
Fantastic video. I learned more about horses and behaviors from this video than years trying to on my own. Thank you Doc.
Fantastic video & really well presented, thank you
Excellent video. So much information here. Thank you!
Fascinating. Thank you, Dr. Miller!
This was GREAT! Thank You Sir!
Best video on this topic.Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with us.
Thank you so much Dr. Miller. Very clear explanation.
Excellent overview.
A wonderful video! Thanks a lot, Dr. Miller!
very good.. thankyou Doc Miller loved this video was very informative and helpful.. a real trainer needs to understand the horse throughly. Happy trails am excited to learn more.. Karen Jenkins, Noti, OR
I go thru my "horse kicks" where I watch a gazillion horse vids. Loved this one!
Loved this informative video. So clearly explained and refreshing. Thank you so much!
What a wonderful video with ideas so clearly communicated. Thank you.
And so-called culling - as in killing - them from helicopters is a cruel thing to do. I hope all horses manage to make it into woods before any can be shot, which is possible in the Southern Highlands here in NSW, where the brumbies run. We know ourselves from imagining being in the same position just how unfair it is. That one horse needs at least another horse to be with is a vital point to know. And that if we win the trust of a horse, then we must bear in mind to be trustworthy instead of predatory ourselves.
Starvation is slow and cruel
Thank you so much!! I had a bad fall and was very nervous to get in the saddle again. Back in the saddle. Reading a horse is Hugh . Thank u for your knowledge 💖
One of the most informative videos you'll see. I do want to make one point, a horse lowering his head is not always a good sign. When horses go into fight mode they can lower their heads in order to protect vital organs that are normally exposed, so how does one assess a horses mood when it's head is lowered? By looking at other signs like ears and lips to get an overall reading. I can't speak about training babies and don't know if a mare would even allow it but I'll have to take Dr. Millers word for it.
Others have done fine with horses beyond their weaning time. The worst issues usually seem to arise from hand fed orphans and people behaving in a way that is not leadership with them, according to their language. The herd or dam reaches the foals manners as they grow, from the start.
I LOVED THIS !!! Thank you so much for doing this. It was super interesting and a great thing to feed my brain, so thank you, thank you, thank you ! Wow. Liked and subscribed ❤️🙏
Very informative. Thank you❤🐴🐎
Amazing video!!!
This is a wonderful video.
Thank you!
This is the information I searched for... on another channel! Great lecture
Loved every second of this video. Thank you Sir. Thank you horses for being horses.
This was totally fascinating !
Fantastic video I have learned so much about horses
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Very helpful 🙏
Exceptional video. Compassionate, educational and insightful teacher. Thank you! Happy trails 🐎
Thank you sir for sharing knowledge
Absolutely amazing information thank you so much for sharing!!!
Dispelled a lot of myths! Very informative! Thank you!
6:15 - Is that a.... flying turtle?
Excellent video. Dr.Miller is really great!!
Absolutely brilliant thank you ❤️
This was superb!👏
Fascinating and makes perfect sense.
Thank you so much for this, it's really wonderful !
This is required viewing of EVERY new student at NWNHC natural horsemanship center. Thanks so much for making this knowledge so readily available.
Excellent presentation! Clear information that is very important and helpful to working with these beautiful animals. Thanks!
💯 Phenomenal overview with context and comparisons! I think the dominance and cognitive development areas are more complex than indicated… but you can’t get into that detail in such a perfectly crafted concise video like this one. 👌🏼
Fascinating! Much respect for this man's knowledge and understanding of the horse.
Great video. Great cameras. Thanks 🇺🇸
Flight Animal….enough said. YES!! Thank you 🙏
This is so interesting to me. I meet herds of wild horses when I am out walking sometimes and some will allow me to get close and even touch them.
Listening to the herd's rythm of flatulence, while grazing has been very entertaining for me.
Another time, twin fouls took turns watching me while one would nurse. The mother didn't seem to mind me being there.
Another time, I lost my footing and moved suddenly but the horse, while he did change his body position, did not run away. Somehow he seemed to understand that I was not dangerous.
I first encountered a wild horse after being near the herd for more than an hour. When I knelt down on the ground to look at a piece of colored broken glass and then looked up after a time I saw the herd had gotten around me as if to protect me. I did not hear them move in around me. One later got around my back and tried to take off my hat with her lips (horse play?).
When I give a wild horse a sugar cube, they spit it out and go back to eating the thorny bush here. Go figure
They are beautiful, magistic animals and I really enjoy their company.
Thank you for helping me enjoy them even more.
Lol. This guy has it right on so many points....except when he says that horses are ONLY "flight", NOT "fight" (defensive) animals. Has he ever been around a "cutting" horse? Has he ever seen a horse strike a pesky dog with his front hoof and kill it? I got a buddy who lives in the hills and is plagued by coyotes. His appaloosa stud will stomp a coyote even while he is riding him and actively shooting. Another buddy, this one a lady, told her very young son to "turn her head loose" when one of 3 loose pit bulls that were barking and running around the group of horses they were riding started repeatedly lounging up into the face and neck area of the horse the boy was riding. His mare stomped that dog good. My AQHA "cow" horse gelding grabbed a 85 lb. Wolf hybrid with his teeth and threw the dog up into the air landing the dog 15 foot away. I owned a sweet "kid's" horse that would literally bite little chunks of flesh off other horses so she had to have her own pasture. I trained a horse to ride that on his very first day in the round pen he charged me with teeth barred. I scrambled up and over that 7 foot wall, made out of landscape timbers. Lastly, a horses greatest tool for fighting is without a doubt kicking!
They aren't running away when they do these things.
Dr Miller's books are fantastic!
I learned a lot! Thank you SO much Sir!!!♥️‼️🙋♀️🥰🙏🏻
Watch Rick Gore - thinklikeahorse. No bits, no shoes
Oh my that took me back to when I started out, the man who bred my mares and the veterinarian who mentored me explained their behaviour like that. And so intelligent.
Great video
What a incredible video! Thank you for share your wiseness.
Marvelous!
Excellent, this is so interesting & helpful to help us to understand these amazing, majestic horses. Thankyou so so much for this presentation ❤❤❤
... I noticed the similarity in horse like cats moving their ears frequently
....-it´s a pity that I can´t move my ears !
@@helmutpohl2762 ... and what species are you then -if, it helps to know 😁
Really enjoyed this video as I have always feared, and loved horses and was curious as to their body language and it’s meaning.
Love your info
Help the horse & share this knowledge.
Thank you, Dr.!
Brilliant observations + info! TY, Dr Miller, for sharing your wisdom abt this beautiful and incredible species! 💞🐎💞
Very good info
Absolutely excellent!!!