The horse may be anxious or in pain. This frightened horse is leaning back with head raised and turned to face an alarming object, ready to flee, ears held back, whites of eyes showing with tense muscles above, tense muzzle with square nostrils. The horse is about to run away.
It may be a head shy horse raising their head, or a horse jumping to the side in a spook. Flight can be a horse constantly going too fast, or rushing towards jumps. Other signs of fear or tension include tail swishing, high head carriage, a hollow back, teeth grinding, or refusal to move – known as freezing.
Researchers found horses tended to move more slowly and have slower heart rates in the presence of fearful humans. Equine head carriage was lowest when horses were around fearful people and those who were tired or stressed following exercise.
Plastic bags are almost every horse's worst nightmare. They cling to tree branches and make spooky sounds all on their own. And did you know they MOVE?! They're most likely gathering an army to take over the world. Horses are deeply afraid of plastic bags and it's best to avoid these at ALL times.
Unfamiliar sights and sounds can cause a spook. Horses have keen senses of vision and hearing, which means they may spook at things almost invisible to humans. The scent of a potential predator is also enough to scare a horse.
Setting small goals will not only help you get over your fear, but it will also help you learn to trust your horse. Part of your horse learning to trust you is by you placing trust in them. This is what builds a stronger relationship with your animal.
Horses prefer to flee from danger, if possible. This may be in the form of a total “run off” or the horse that simply does not want to be caught. However, if flight is not an option, horses will fight to protect themselves from a perceived danger.
Horses learn by repetition. If you want your horse to be confident in a certain situation, the best thing you can do is to keep putting your horse in similar situations. For example: if your horse lacks confidence on trail rides, keep practicing going on the trails and introduce them to a variety of different paths.
Let the horse release some of its nervous energy by giving it a simple and familiar task. Doing one or two basic training exercises or going for a brisk trot can put your horse's attention elsewhere and lessen their anxiety. “He [the horse] can think of just one thing at a time,” said Zdenek.
Your veterinarian may suggest sedative drugs to keep your anxious horse from wearing himself to a frazzle. Whether or not you use them is a personal choice, but there are natural alternatives, such as supplements and training exercises, that can work equally well, if not better.
For horses, spooking is a natural response to being startled or afraid of something. In the wild, spooking is an innate mechanism that helps them flee from danger very quickly. Other factors, such as excess energy, pain, or vision issues can increase a horse's propensity to spook.
Antonio Lanatá and his colleagues at the University of Pisa, Italy, have found that horses can smell fear and happiness. While these are just two emotions the researchers identified, further studies may reveal horses can pick up additional emotions from the body odors humans emit.
Your best tactic is to back off for a few minutes and give your horse time to calm down before you make another attempt to approach him. Corral your horse. If your horse takes off running when he sees you coming, you may need the help of one to two people to "corral" your horse in order to catch him.
Signs of aggression include ears flattened backward, retracted lips, rapid tail movements, snaking, pawing, head bowing, fecal pile display, snoring, squealing, levade (rearing with deeply flexed hindquarters), and threats to kick.
If you feel like your horse doesn't like you, here are a few things that might be going on: Too much rigorous training. Not enough basic groundwork. Lacking confidence when giving commands.
Maybe you have a favorite scent that helps you relax: something like eucalyptus, or lilac, or jasmine, or cinnamon. Well, according to a recent study, horses do as well — and it's lavender.
Researchers confirmed that horses can smell specific odors in human sweat that reflect emotions like fear and happiness, which could open doors to a whole new way of understanding emotion transfer from human to horse, they say.
Prey animals identify predators by smell and sight—including their view of eye position. One look at a human face, and the evolutionary equine brain knows we are predators. Because horses see us as natural predators, human eye contact has a warning effect.
Dr. Antonio Lanatá and his colleagues at the University of Pisa, Italy, have found that horses can smell fear and happiness. While these are just two emotions the researchers identified, further studies may reveal horses can pick up additional emotions from the body odors humans emit.
One study conducted in Sweden confirmed that horses sense the anxiety of their riders and experience an increased heart rate at the same time as their human companions. This may be why it is said that horses can sense fear when a new human is attempting to handle them.
Nose and smell
Horses have a very acute sense of smell and use it to interpret their world in ways that are far beyond the capabilities of a human. A horse can literally smell danger.
Horses prefer to flee from danger, if possible. This may be in the form of a total “run off” or the horse that simply does not want to be caught. However, if flight is not an option, horses will fight to protect themselves from a perceived danger.