Post by blacktent on Dec 29, 2009 8:25:22 GMT 1
One recurring idea in equine behaviour literature is that humans look like predators to horses because our ears are pinned back all the time (which a horse would interpret as an expression of aggression).
This is not a new idea; it has been appearing in equestrian literature for several decades and has been put forward by such people as Michael Schäfer and Desmond Morris, as well as trainers such as Pat Parelli. The idea seems superficially plausible, but how likely is it that horses read our appearance in such a manner?
To be able to do so, they would have to be able to generalize from their anatomy to ours and to know that our ears corresponded to theirs. Until recently, this idea would not have been generally accepted by scientists. However, experiments conducted independently by me and by Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington involving horses imitating our actions suggest that horses can indeed generalize in this way. (See Chapter 11 of my book Inside Your Horse’s Mind; see also Kiley-Worthington, Horse Watch – the Equine Report, Chapter 3.)
I have also made some observations which tend to support this. My horses and I indulge in quite a lot of mutual grooming; I have found that this strengthens the bond between us, even if it is rather rough on my clothing. I have noticed that if I initiate a grooming session by scratching, say, a horse’s shoulder, he will almost invariably reciprocate by ‘grooming’ my shoulder, in approximately the same spot.
This was demonstrated vividly earlier this year. Our Arabian stallion, Nivalis, suffered a very acute, very severe, attack of laminitis, which necessitated a hoof operation and some fairly intensive after-care. To distract Nivalis from the discomfort of having a strong iodine solution sprayed on his feet (and I have to say he was a model patient in almost every respect), I used to scratch his withers. He almost invariably responded by whiffling at the back of my neck with his muzzle (never his teeth – he’s far too well-mannered for that). If I scratched his poll instead, he would move further up my neck; if I scratched his shoulder or chest, he would do my shoulder or chest, and so on. This does seem to indicate that he equates my neck and shoulders with his own!
So does this mean that the assumptions of Schäfer, Morris, Parelli etc. are correct, and that horses do indeed see us as permanently aggressive, because they are able to recognise the correspondence between our ears and theirs? My own observations lead me to think that this is highly unlikely. Most horses learn to read the body-language of other species extremely well; even if they do understand that the funny-shaped things attached to the sides of our heads are ears, they are quite capable of learning through experience that in our species their pinned-back appearance does not denote aggression. So I really don’t think we need to worry about them thinking we are being aggressive all the time!
(The photo shows my husband, Brian, enjoying a mutual scratch with Nivalis. Brian scratches Nivalis's shoulder, and has his shoulder scratched in return.
This is not a new idea; it has been appearing in equestrian literature for several decades and has been put forward by such people as Michael Schäfer and Desmond Morris, as well as trainers such as Pat Parelli. The idea seems superficially plausible, but how likely is it that horses read our appearance in such a manner?
To be able to do so, they would have to be able to generalize from their anatomy to ours and to know that our ears corresponded to theirs. Until recently, this idea would not have been generally accepted by scientists. However, experiments conducted independently by me and by Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington involving horses imitating our actions suggest that horses can indeed generalize in this way. (See Chapter 11 of my book Inside Your Horse’s Mind; see also Kiley-Worthington, Horse Watch – the Equine Report, Chapter 3.)
I have also made some observations which tend to support this. My horses and I indulge in quite a lot of mutual grooming; I have found that this strengthens the bond between us, even if it is rather rough on my clothing. I have noticed that if I initiate a grooming session by scratching, say, a horse’s shoulder, he will almost invariably reciprocate by ‘grooming’ my shoulder, in approximately the same spot.
This was demonstrated vividly earlier this year. Our Arabian stallion, Nivalis, suffered a very acute, very severe, attack of laminitis, which necessitated a hoof operation and some fairly intensive after-care. To distract Nivalis from the discomfort of having a strong iodine solution sprayed on his feet (and I have to say he was a model patient in almost every respect), I used to scratch his withers. He almost invariably responded by whiffling at the back of my neck with his muzzle (never his teeth – he’s far too well-mannered for that). If I scratched his poll instead, he would move further up my neck; if I scratched his shoulder or chest, he would do my shoulder or chest, and so on. This does seem to indicate that he equates my neck and shoulders with his own!
So does this mean that the assumptions of Schäfer, Morris, Parelli etc. are correct, and that horses do indeed see us as permanently aggressive, because they are able to recognise the correspondence between our ears and theirs? My own observations lead me to think that this is highly unlikely. Most horses learn to read the body-language of other species extremely well; even if they do understand that the funny-shaped things attached to the sides of our heads are ears, they are quite capable of learning through experience that in our species their pinned-back appearance does not denote aggression. So I really don’t think we need to worry about them thinking we are being aggressive all the time!
(The photo shows my husband, Brian, enjoying a mutual scratch with Nivalis. Brian scratches Nivalis's shoulder, and has his shoulder scratched in return.
What a lovely post and no I don't think human ears are considered by horses to be a sign of very much at all. I do agree that horses equate our head , neck , shoulders and back to their's though. I too have been able to "ask " most of my girls to gently scratch me where I indicate on them . My mane is thick and curly too which apparently is extremely attractive to foals lol
The cheeky so and so and he never grooms my backside back ;D He also likes his chest stratched and will stand for ages with his head in the air and his lips wobbling 
What do i get in return, lots of sloppy tongue licks mainly on my hands but sometimes he licks my hair.
SYNERGY EQUINE: 
