HORSE BEHAVIOR

 They watched my every move. They knew what time it was and stood there. . .  waiting. But I had other plans for the moment.

I walked to the farthest paddock, stood by the fence, clucked my tongue and called "come here!"
They just stood looking and wondering why I wasn't feeding them now. After all, it was grain time and they knew it.


Did you know horses have incredible memories? 
Every time you interact with a horse it is a teaching moment, because they don't forget a thing. It's important to always make that last memory a positive one, or one in which the human is in charge. They are also creatures of habit expecting the same thing done at the same time. 


We both stood our ground. They weren't moving and neither was I.  We kept eye contact, but noone moved. Not until I turned my back and looked the other way.
Curiosity took over and and Lilly came running to me. It was no longer a battle of wills.

Oftentimes, when horses are unsure or confused, they will not move. But as soon as you turn your back and release eye contact, they become curious and move towards you, as long as they don't feel threatened.

Big as they are, horses are prey animals, and the least little thing can scare them and their means of protection are flight.  They would never deliberately hurt you, but being in the way of a 1200 lb equine who may run and buck out of fear, can seriously injure and even kill a person.


No matter how well a horse is trained, and how experienced a horse person is, a horse is still a horse with horse instincts. Awareness and caution keeps people and horses safe.


As soon as Lilly came running, Leah followed. Horses are herd animals and when one moves to a different area, the others will follow.

Even though it was grain time, curiosity got the better of them, and they trust me. 

They stood and posed for some pictures. Thank you my sweet beauties! Now I need to go feed grain.
                                   happy day!

Linking to:
 Photo Challenge - Outdoors at RAZMATAZ. 
 Farm Friday at Wabi-Sabi Wanderings
 Farm Friend and Farmgirl Friday