Horses have been linked to man for centuries, an example of this are the cave paintings where equines already appeared. Currently the horse no longer performs a function of a mere work or mobility tool, thanks to the appearance of vehicles the horse is now considered another pet in the animal world.
On our site we have always wanted to offer information on the behavior of certain animals such as the horse, a sensitive, faithful and majestic animal.
If you want to discover everything that surrounds the mind of horses, find out properly in this article on how horses think and discover why it is an animal so appreciated and valued throughout the world.
The social behavior of the horse
The horse is a social animal that lives in a herd to protect itself together from predators. The family structure is strongly consolidated and has at its head a leading horse that guides the entire group towards the protection and feeding of the meadows.
The figure of the trainer or rider is a way of occupying this position in the social life of the horse, in this way a good rider knows his horse and his intentions through body language or the attitude he may to show.
Each horse has a completely different behavior from that of other horses, just as it happens with people we can find shy, brave, social or expressive horses. The best way to discover a horse's specific behavior is to spend time with it, exercise it and observe its behavior.
As happens with dogs, horses have one attitude or another depending on how they are treated: positive reinforcement, affection and love will make the horse a social and calm animal while the abusive use of the whip or negative behavior will make our animal sad, frightened and sullen.
Another factor to take into account is that as they are social beings they observe the behavior of other horses to learn what they should or should not do. We observe very clearly the imitation in the foals that do exactly the same as their mothers.
The mental capacity of the horse
We can be surprised how quickly a horse learns in a calm and relaxed environment. Having excellent memory the horse is able, through repetition, to repeat certain behaviors. Quite the opposite will happen if you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, the horse will only remain scared and will not be able to concentrate on what you ask of it.
The foals receive imprinting lessons from an early age in order to understand their surroundings and not develop their own behaviors such as running away.
Another thing to keep in mind is that negative factors or fearful memories remain permanently in the horse's mind causing A trauma usually happens when it is the first time they are faced with a stimulus. We must prevent our horse from suffering any unpleasant situation.
At night horses relax and remember what they have learned during the day, for this reason if we have repeated an exercise many times the horse will probably do it better the next day.
The horse, a sensitive animal
Unlike other animals also considered as a pet or family companion, the horse has a unique sensitivity in the animal world.
Although it seems to us that the horse is a distracted and large animal, the truth is that in its mind and heart the horse can feel many things: love, trust, sadness, loneliness, jealousy etc. Over time we can discover how the particular specimen shows all those feelings. And it is that a horse can feel sad for months due to the loss of a friend, child and even the habitual rider.
We must emphasize that the horse is an animal that has always lived fleeing from its predators, for this reason we can relate the great speed, its ability to react and the easy association of a negative experience as fundamental parts of the horse reasoning.
These are animals with a special sensitivity that you can only discover if you get to know them without fear and with a very positive attitude. And remember, everything that is comfortable and pleasurable for the horse is good, while stressful or uncomfortable factors are very negative.
