Safety Around Horses: Safe Ways to Pet Horses and Reading Horse Behaviors
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- #horses #horsemanship #pettinghorses
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By request we're talking about petting horses. This video has a pile of information about not only petting horses and why you need to keep yourself safe while doing so, but also subtle behaviors and cues that horses give. Each of these clues can add up to a safe opportunity or a not safe opportunity to approach and be near a horse. Recognizing that can keep you in good shape and help the horse too.
See the follow up here: • Why You Should Pet You...
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Thanks for showing this video. A good reminder. I am just getting back into horses again. Ears forward🙂
You're welcome, and thank you! I did a follow up to this one as well, it might be interesting if you haven't seen it yet: th-cam.com/video/cODRfZ_6Au8/w-d-xo.html
Chasing a leaving horse = kick to the face. ;)
+JIMBO8472 I agree with that. It's a great way to get hurt.
oof! are you ok
When a horses ears are turned back,that doesn't always mean they don't like something or they are angry. It means they are aware of their surroundings and listening to everything else going on. When their ears are turned back look for more signs,if it really does irritate them they will show more signs.
+Laurin Mertens thanks for the comment! For sure, it's not always the case but I'd say it's the majority of the time and is the precursor to the rest maybe?
I'd describe the difference between listening ears and threatening ears, as whether the ears are swiveled back or laid flat against the neck. If you're teaching a person who's new to horses, it's better to have them be overly cautious and back off from listening ears, than that the person doesn't notice actual threat posture.
He was demonstrating unhappy, threat ears by holding the ear down, in the threat position. I think that was a good educational demonstration.
Thanks :)
Sounds good to me
I wouldnt always start with there face because how would you feel if someone just cam up to you and start touching your face
that's ok, you don't have to. I would consider how often you see horses touch noses at their first meeting instead of considering how humans feel. We don't go around sniffing butts either but animals do that a lot! Careful about anthropomorphism :)
@@StableHorseTraining I work in a stable 5 days a weak actuly :)
@@freakfactorystudios4211 ok. I don't understand what you're saying... I've already said you can do as you want and I'm not trying to convince you personally of anything outside of the actual facts of animal behavior as it differs from human behavior. If we go on our personal experiences, I have yet to meet a single horse that doesn't warm up VERY quickly to light touches to the face and eyes and many of them really lean into it. Your experience says don't do that, and I've said that's fine. Telling me you work in a stable seems more of a flex to explain to me you have a lot of experience. Are you then just quietly insinuating I'm wrong? I just don't understand what you're trying to say here. Anthropomorphism happens to everybody, working in a stable or not, dealing with 1 horse or thousands. Unless you're saying you're immune to such thought processes...
@@freakfactorystudios4211 I actually made a video a while back for people that feel that touching a horse's face isn't good :) th-cam.com/video/cODRfZ_6Au8/w-d-xo.html
A friend's mare lives in a pasture next to the busy freeway, and it seems like she mostly keeps her ears pointed towards that noise source. She greets me with ears forward at feeding or treat time (surprise!), but her ears will quickly turn back to the freeway. Often, her ears are pointed away while she is calmly eating from my hand. Is that unusual?
Seems normal to me, especially if it's particularly noisy. Some vehicles can be quite loud and some are quiet too which would maybe get them concerned.
I watched this because there is a really cute horse, the first horse I haven’t been anxious around, that comes a runnin’ when my son and I call him, he loves a pet and scratch and a chat... until some kid (about 10 or so) came along and he started snorting in his face, the horse, snorting in the kids face. The kid was clearly scared of the horse but pretended not to be because we were petting him... it seemed like the horse was trying to get rid of him or was maybe finding it funny how the kid was reacting when he (the horse) was snorting on him.
Anyway. This video doesn’t have anything like that so... just wanted to share a funny story and see if you have seen this yourself? 😅
I tried to answer this in a live stream I did recently. Essentially I said I needed more context of the situation and I didn't know what a "snort" was from the horse or the kid. I don't think horses find things funny nor have a sense of humour in the sense that we think of it. If the horse was snorting as I think of it, I think that if the fence wasn't there then there would be danger to the kid. If the horse was just blowing his nose, then nothing really. Thanks for sharing the story though!
Stable Horse Training well yes it was like he was blowing his noise but purposely in the kids face, the kid would react and try to get away, then the horse would do it again when he tried to give him some grass or pet his snout. (Because that’s what we were doing, the kid also would walk or ride past these horses on a regular basis as he lives in the same street) I found it quite funny as I see the horse often and he’s otherwise really friendly.
I’m not sure it makes sense really but I thought that either the horse was trying to make him go away or was finding it funny because he was reacting everytime he was getting blown on.. if that makes sense. But I don’t know horses.
Anyway, thanks for your reply! :)
Don't start at the head. Let them smell ur hand then breathe into their nose and smell their breath to identify each other. They can't see the front of their face. They don't like the face gone for right away. After sharing breath scratch the withers, than high part of the back next to the neck.
Excellent suggestions! Thanks for commenting :)
Good point
I agree. I go to their side first so they can see me first. I let them approach me first, let them smell my hand, and if they come toward me I slowly and gently petting them, usually the neck on down first.
That's what I was saying. I start at the neck or shoulder gently so they can see me first.
I learned a lot from different videos. I start with neck and shoulder first so they can see me. They see better at the side and the back, not so much at the front first. I found that works better.
It's a good idea. Where have you found that they see better from the side? With only one eye they have no ability to judge distance. I believe a sideways approach does give a safer situation for the horse and may seem less confrontational.
There’s this paint young mare where i used to ride that would actually start putting her head weight on my shoulder and SLEEP while I massaged her. Lol!
That's awesome! You're lucky to experience that. I've heard people claim you should never touch a horse's face or head because they don't like it. Crazy right? Anyways, I love it when they sleep on my shoulder too but be careful if they doze off a little. They can lose their balance a bit and stumble suddenly, which surprises them and they get jarred. Could be dangerous if they get worried enough.
Do they like being brushed, seems like it would scratch where they can’t lol
Yes, they love it.
Nice information! Once, i was riding a horse and she tried to bite my feet, i wasn't being harsh with her at all, i already don't know why she did that....🤔
Sometimes they get in the habit of it and essentially are trying to tell you something. Hard to say what it was without being there though.
You are a wonderful horseman Graeme. Really I suppose you are a horse whisperer although you don't say you are. It's something I would love to learn but thinking one doesn't need to learn it's just naturally built in us. So thank you again Graeme. I'm so pleased I found you Chanel.
Thank you very much, you're too kind! There are many ways to learn it, mostly though it's time. It's not too long before the both of you are making efforts to communicate and then you just practice until you get good enough to realize you're not that good and then keep building on it :) Thank you for your very kind compliments, very much appreciated.
Graeme it's so lovely to see you and Luke. You can see the bond between you both.
Thanks! We keep working at it, he's a snugglebug by nature though :)
Last couple minutes was the most useful to me as I'm looking for almost a beginners Guide. Thanks for making this video :)
You're welcome, glad it was useful!
Basically approach horses as you would approach a car. Not the front or the back (you might get run over) but by the door side.
why? I guess you haven't been watching this channel long at all, maybe this is your first video here?
@@StableHorseTraining It was a joke...
I learned to approach a horse from the side so they can see you. I don't touch the face first on a horse I don't know. I let that horse see my presence first, let them smell my hand first. Many of them will lean in to me and I'll gently rub their neck. Not approaching directly in front (they can't see you straight in front well), is respecting the horse. I never pet the horse on the nose because they will rear back like (uh, why are you touching my face)? I learned that from some other articles. I found it works and I've taught people at fairs how to introduce themselves slowly.
Those are great ideas, thank you for sharing them
I am curious though, where did you learn that a horse can't see you from the front? Also where did you learn that it's disrespectful to approach the horse from the front? Have you ever seen new horses come together and approach from the side? Are all horses disrespectful to all horses? I think your thoughts are about safety but as this is my channel I feel like it's important not to mislead my viewers down the wrong road in regards to the science of what you are hypothesising.
@@StableHorseTraining I agree with the learning from what Horses do when they approach each other. The Face and nose and neck seems to be first . The best contact so far for us , is when He stretches His neck way out towards my face . , so we touch noses . It’s precious. . Just our Noses and it’s at His request 🐴😇Laura and Bear
Thank you Graeme how kind of you. Yes I agree with you all why do people give them a massive pats.
Talking about their ears does it give us information about how they feel. Ok thank you Graeme
Thanks for letting me know. Great to hear you enjoyed the video
Oh my goodness!!! You're mighty brave to go behind a horse and scratch his rear. I've heard that you never walk or even stand behind a horse because they will kick you.
I address that myth a lot. It's perpetuated by people that make their horses scared so that when they go behind them they get kicked because their horse thinks they'll get hurt by that person.
That’s an advice for people who don’t know about horses
I was told that you start by petting their shoulders and then move wherever! A lot of horses don't like having their face touched (lol it's impossible to brush my horse's face).
+Maddie The Horse good points! It usually doesn't take too long, I've yet to see a horse not just sort of melt into it in time
Yes, Stable, they will melt into getting their face touched, and lots of other things, in time. It's just not the starting place for a newbie to walk up and start touching a horse. A lot of horses, even gentle ones, will take offense at such a rude approach.
I want a horse friend now
They're the best!
Even tho i don't know much about horses i think you need to let them smell you so they don't feel threatend >~
That's a good idea, you should do that, it gives them time to figure out if you're going to hurt them or something and understand how afraid of them you are or not.
I assume they don't kick you because they are familiar with you? I may be wrong, don't know a thing about horses..
Horses rarely kick anybody. You almost have to be completely inept to get kicked by a horse, it surprises me anybody does... They mainly do it when they are scared, so essentially, just don't scare them! Overall though, yes, my horses trust me that they have no need to kick me.
Once again this was a nice easy instruction . You make it uncomplicated . To me that seems the way reading a Horse should be. And you always take fear out of your teaching! So important.👍🏼 Laura 🐴 And Happy Jesus Sunday ✝️ .
Thank you! I try to take the fear out of it for both people and horses, it's how we learn best.
Is this a riding center, I am quite interested.
Miriah Levy hi, yes we are a riding and training center. What are you interested in doing? Are you located in the lower mainland? Our contact info is on our site if you want to chat or set up an appointment www.stablehorsetraining.com
There is a horse I'm not too familiar with. I've just seen him once, actually 😂 I whistled and he came near me, up to 30cms let's say. I handed my hand over, but he didn't come closer. His ears were facing front and were lifted. I gave him an apple, dropping the cut pieces to the grass. He ate it and went away only when I left.
I suppose I have to wait till he sniffs my hands before trying to reach for his neck to pet him.
The thing is I'm afraid of going for the neck. If he turns abruptly he'll bite me for sure 😂 that's the reason why I'm tempted to go for the front head..
Any advice? 😂💖
My first instinct is to suggest a "fist bump". Which may sound amusing and it literally is you with a closed hand in a very very light fist reaching to the nose. They will touch, when that happens retreat your hand and see if they are still curious and try for some more. In time you'll be able to reach the side of the face, front of the face and neck. You'll know through any posturing or trouble they exhibit if they don't like you through that method. Horses rarely bite.. and they project their intention quite loud before that. Look for the ears to go back and the eyes to get furrowed over.. Hard to explain, maybe I should make a quick video about it.
@@StableHorseTraining thank you very much for your advice 😊 I'm a bit aware of horse body language, I've checked a bunch of videos on internet 😊
Ill try to put your method into practice next time I meet the horse again 😊 thankssss😎😎
@@Unknown.Stranger you're welcome 😊
I can do that pinch my best friends horses cheat he is a beautiful Pinto cross quarter horse he has the most beautiful personality when he's lying down or you can go up to him and he will lie his head in your lap. My Arab she wouldn't do that he's very head shy
That sounds pretty good! It's always nice to hear good stories like that. Keep up with the Arab then, in time it'll come, I'm sure of it.
Sorry don't know if I've spelt Chanel correctly. Nevermind lol!!
almost! Channel, with two n's
I am new to this channel but do you have the giant rubber balls with the handle on them for the horses to play with? That is so fun to watch. :0)
Hi Kathy and welcome to the channel! We have had giant horse balls in the past but our horses have never really been interested in playing with them. Also due to the design of the arena the backs tend to bounce out 😆 but i agree if a horse likes it, fun and entertaining to watch so we have been debating getting some new ones. Stay posted
Hi there I have a question? I am stuck as to how to groom him.at all , touch the Hooves , if My Colt keeps walking away. I have only gotten Hands on to His Neck and One leg . He is super muddy and wet a lot from our Rain . You said at the end to not fallow the Horse if they doesn’t want to be touched . He’s 6 mos. And only been with me 10 days . I had told you what happened when we went for a walk yesterday. He slipped in The Mud and fell after trying to run on a Loose lead rope . Today He seems fine just tired . But wants No petting at all. He walks away . He does go to the gate to go for a walk again . But I think It’s too Muddy. Concerned He’d slip again .So I am not tying Him to anything to keep him still . Show I just keep waiting for Him to come to me? Thank you for helping!,, Laura and Bear 🐴😇
what's with the nets? decrease waste? decrease eating speed? just curious
Hay nets reduce waste and slow down their eating speed, so yes, both! There are many ways to feed horses and hay nets are becoming more and more popular instead of putting the hay on the ground or having the horse in open pasture (even if it's available). As more studies are done and science nails things down, they are finding that old methods of feeding horses don't quite work well for the horse. When a horse can eat as much and as fast as they can, they'll eat themselves to death (not always of course) and end up quite obese. If they have too much nice grass then they get other problems like laminitis and founder etc. It's an involved industry now.. The consensus is now that small hole hay nets do a great job of limiting how fast they can eat. Which in turn allows their food to last longer as their stomachs are meant for "a little at a time, all the time", kind of thing. I did a video on that too here: th-cam.com/video/y38XhVfkK8w/w-d-xo.html
A horse can actually get stomach ulcers from having an empty stomach for as little as 8 hours. I'm not taking about the whole digestive system, just the relatively tiny stomach. By using a small mesh hay net or other slow feeder, we can extend the time that the horse is eating. Think of a wild horse on sparse grass. They nibble, move to more grass, nibble, move. When we keep horses in smaller spaces to meet our needs and capacities, we must find ways to meet their needs, too. The tiny holes in the net make them work for it a little.
This also prevents the mental stress of boredom after a horse has gobbled down its hay. That's a big problem when horses spend their lives locked into a tiny jail cell of a stall in a barn. The behaviors they call "stable vices" are natural reactions to the unnatural, stressful situation of confinement. If that's the only option a horse owner has, then a slow feeder and daily turnout are a huge help toward keeping a horse mentally and physically healthy.
So, dont noogie a horse that you dont know? I should watch the rest of the video...
ha.. yeah, probably not go over well. Luke is just a big pushover for me, so he's fine.
Lol, Richard. That's a great first equestrian safety rule - "Don't noogie a horse that you don't know."
I walk up to my own horses and pinch their butts - after I know they know I'm there! I certainly don't suggest anyone else do that to my or any horse.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying "no patting"! Why people want to pat any animal, I just can't figure out; it's hitting even though it does not hurt. Further more, why pet any animal unless they enjoy it? It's not natural to them so just leave them alone - no talking, no touching.
Obviously, if they are being used for a purpose, as we do with horses, they must be conditioned to allow us to touch them all over. So, just that and nothing more. Anything more is selfish emotionality on our part. Now, dogs do bond with touching of a certain nature. With any animal, just take cues from how they interact with each other and don't put human interaction on them.
Sounds about right to me :)
and you're welcome. I have no idea if I have any impact on anybody in that regard, but hopefully. I too have seen too many people patting their horses after they did "a good job" and some people really whack them hard. It's so weird...
Horses do enjoy getting their itchy places skritched and how can we find, or allow the horse to show us, their itchy places if we're not touching them all over? If a horse doesn't enjoy being petted or touched, someone has been giving that horse unwanted, uncomfortable touches. It's not selfish emotionality to teach the horse that human touch is enjoyable.
Anyone who starts a "petting horses safely" video by telling people to pet the head first, should not be trying to teach people about horses! You have very nice horses, sir, and they tolerate a lot of things. So do mine, but I don't teach my students to walk up and invade the horses' vulnerable places first.
You can offer the back of your loose fist for an introductory sniff, but horses are most comfortable when the first contact is near the withers, (above the shoulder, between neck and back). A good withers scratch will earn you an equine friend for life. That's the focal point of most horse to horse social interaction.
Thanks for taking the time to provide your input.
Great info !
Glad it was helpful!
I just subscribed, and so I'll likely be watching some older videos too. This one came up in my feed and so watched it. I never get the chance to encounter any horses, but one time I did. Oh, I've seen them many times at the state fair when I go, but that's about it. The last time I went to the fair, my goal was to not only see the horses, but I wanted to pet them as well. As soon as we got past the fair gates, we saw the horses almost right away. It was the first thing I did. They had some stalls where owners were sitting with their horses and people would get to pet them. First off, I was overjoyed at the very thought of getting that close to a horse finally, and so I walked up to the first stall. There was a male horse. I walked up to him and started petting his soft upper lip and told him, "You are one handsome boy!" All of a sudden, he nibbled up my arm and walked to the back of the stall and let out a loud neigh. That, there was an instant connection between us. I wanted to stay longer, but there was a line forming behind me, and so I left before I wanted to. I had to wonder if that horse knew that I was going to love him the minute I walked up to him, and was overjoyed himself. I will never forget the experience. I have friends in Canada that have a horse sanctuary and I want to visit them so bad. I would be able to pet all the horses I want, for as long as I want, lol!
Hi Laurie and welcome to our horsey channel 🥰
Yes I do believe horses get a very good “feel” for people and get our vibes that we put out. Clearly you have a love and respect for these amazing animals like lots of us in this family we are creating so you will fit in perfectly. Enjoy the videos and always feel free to ask questions or make comments.
@@StableHorseTraining, I am very grateful for your horse videos. Without them, I wouldn't be able to see horses at all. Had I been able to see these videos earlier on in my life, there's no doubt in my mind that I would have chosen horses as my life. When I look at them, two words come to my mind to describe them - spiritual, and innocent. That is not to think they're helpless by a long shot. Thank you for responding to my post. It is always great when you have a love for something, to be able to express it to someone that understands.
You are very welcome for the response and we do it because we love to! We are grateful and thankful for the people who take the time to write us their thoughts, stories, questions and opinions. We welcome everyone to share their love of horses here it is becoming an incredible horse community! 💕
I haven't met too many horses who like their face touched, I suggest the neck.
+Bardles its a great suggestion :)
Funny because I've only dealt with one head shy horse 😂
exactly.. The beginning of this video I'm thinking, "he's doing this all wrong" and why demonstrate the wrong way to pet a horse. Most of them don't like having their heads messed with, unless they know you well, and even then.
Sorry you haven't met most horses I know. It's an amazing connection to be made. Perhaps a lot of the horses you have been involved with are twitched or shaved all the time? Hard to say. Thanks for coming to tell everybody how you feel. I'm totally cool with a different opinion than my actual experiences and what I hope for others to have as well. Including yourself :)
That's true. I can't believe how many people just wind up and smack their horse as hard as the can when they are happy with them. It's so weird....
Ears back isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes when you speak to your horse, the ears may swivel back to you and depending on where you are it may look like the horses ears are back. There's also a BIG difference in a horses ears being back cus you're grooming or correcting bad behaviour and just before they charge at you. Almost looks like they don't have ears at all with how far back they go.
That's true, there are a lot of cases for when it appears a horse has their ears pinned but they're not. I get asked a lot about what a horse is doing/saying in these cases and some people that get really worried about it. There are many times it's simply that they are listening to something behind them. In fact, one of the most common questions I've had on my riding videos about that very topic! as the horse is just listening to me the whole way along. I'm sorry you've experienced a horse charging at you, I haven't had that in a very long time and it's a scary thing! Thanks for adding to the discussion, I hope somebody reads your advice.
How to tell wether or not a horse is a kicker?
All horses are for sure but some are more prone to do it. A horse that is more likely to kick is one that will turn their butt towards you, in turn they have to turn their nose away. Look for that. A tail swish will come sometime too. Mostly you want all horses to give you their head. If you get the butt, look out!