05/02/2025
Another quality post from the Equine team over at PPGA :)
I'm very spoilt – I have time to sit and watch my ponies. Grazing, interacting, exploring their environment, acting like horses do. I’ve seen them exhibit some behaviours that really amaze me.
I often wonder what other people see, and why it is so different.
So many facebook posts with people trying to justify punishment – “it's ok for you to do that aversive thing, because you should see what horses do to each other!!”
Well if you really look at the right horses, they actually don’t.
I DON‘T see horses chasing each other away, trying to be ‘dominant’, biting, or making other horses leave.
I see grazing together, mutual grooming, sharing time under a shady tree, following each other down to the water trough, amongst other things. Generally one or two horses will start to walk off, and the others follow voluntarily.
Occasionally if the younger ones move first, they will stand and wait patiently for the rest of the mob to choose to walk with them down to the water trough.
Grazing together and hanging out together is affiliative behaviour. I smile to myself, as often when grazing together they are all facing the same direction!!
Why do so many people only notice the aggressive displays, when they are (or should be) such a small part of horse interactions? {1}
And the bigger question, why is there a need for aggressive displays?
Many times It’s bad husbandry. Unknown or incompatible horses in too small an area. Poor access to water troughs or not enough feed supplied in suitably spaced out areas. I think sometimes horse keeping has been so inappropriate for so long that the horses are just grumpy! Many kept horses are predominantly unhappy, and with little scope to exhibit normal behaviour.
It's time we stopped normalising horse keeping that is suitable for humans not horses. Stables. Individual yards. Individual day paddocks. Rugging. Limited feed availability, as in grain feeds and hay issued twice a day, that runs out long before the next meal is due.
So many equine ”problems” would just dissolve with good species specific horse keeping. Space to graze, move, walk, explore, and rest, without restricted resources.
Then maybe others could also be spoilt and spend time watching peaceful, amenable, normal equine interactions.
Like the many amazing times I've seen my younger active horses wait patiently on top of the hill, watching for the older slower horses, and the shorter little ponies, to finish their drinks and catch them up, so they can all move off to go grazing together.
1 1 {Affiliative interactions and responses significantly out number aggressive ones (p
