There is an endless list of things to remember regarding your horse. The need for clean water, good feed, a safe environment, regular vet and farrier care, what to do if he gets colic, (and steps you can take to limit the risk), that he doesn’t like umbrellas but he’s fine with tarps, he prefers apples to carrots… like I said – the list is endless.

But the most important thing to remember about your horse isn’t on this list.

He is a prey animal.

There are several shared characteristics of  prey animals:

Flight, fight, freeze   

Horses are primarily flight animals – their first instinct is to run from danger. This is a deeply ingrained instinct – when something restricts their freedom, the option to flee has been removed. This is why they can panic if tied, but as soon as they break free, they’re fine – the option to flee has been restored.

Being aware of his instinct to flee danger can decrease the chances of you getting trampled. Even the best-trained horse is still a horse. While they may respect your personal space and be extremely well-mannered during normal circumstances – he comes from a long line of prey animals – he’s alive today because his ancestors knew how to run away a million years ago.

Try to avoid standing directly in front – if he jumps forward, you don’t want to be in the landing zone. I always use a breakaway ring when I tie my horses. If they panic, it will give. On the rare occasions this has happened, as soon as the pressure was released, the horse stood still. They no longer felt trapped. It wasn’t so much a case of them needing to run away, but rather them needing to know they could.

Vision

Prey animals have eyes on the side of their heads, giving them, nearly 360-degree vision allowing them to be on alert for predators. When startled, they’ll raise their head so their body blocks less of their rear vision. They will often trot forward and turn, again, giving them a better look at the perceived threat. That’s why when a horse is relaxes, he’ll often lower his head – he’s allowing himself to be vulnerable.

With his eyes on the side of his head, it’s important to remember that horses can’t see directly under their noses. You may notice how he’ll hold his head low and stretch his nose out a bit if he’s approaching a strange object. He does that so he can scope it out while it’s still in his range of vision.

The other important factor is that he can’t see directly behind his body. If you’re approaching him from the rear, always do it from the side and talk to him so he knows you’re coming.

A good way to see exactly where his “blind spot” is is to stand behind him (at a safe distance) and walk from his left side to his right side. Notice when you can see his eye and when it’s blocked by his body. Any time you can’t see one of his eyes, you’re in his blind spot.

Another tip for working behind horses is either to stay very close to his body or far enough away that you’re out of kicking range. If something startles him (or he gets stung by a bee, trust me, I know this for a fact) and he kicks out, you can get a nasty reminder of just how powerful he is if you’re within kicking distance. If you stay very close to his body, you’ll get more of a shove from his hip than a kick at the full extension of his leg.

Hearing

Horses have acute hearing and their ears are very mobile. According to Iowa State University’s Extension and Outreach “Using ten muscles, a horse can rotate each ear independently, up to 180 degrees, to locate, funnel, and magnify sounds. This allows the horse to position itself towards the sound that is making the noise.  Horses hear sounds over a wider range of frequencies than we do.” This is one reason horses are more spooky on a windy day – there is more white noise making it harder for horses to isolate the location of possible threats.

If you don’t fully understand the effect being a prey animal has on your horse’s behavior, you (and he) are more likely to become injured, or at the very least, have an unnerving experience.

Why are all of these characteristics important for you to know? One word – safety.

By understanding that his reactions have been developed over several millennia, you’ll be more likely to remember that, no matter how well-trained he is, instinct is instinct.

Oh, and the second most important thing to remember? Humans are predators. Remember how much trust he has in you the next time you go for a ride.