Horse herd © Benkert

The natural characteristics of the horse

Understanding the needs and characteristics of horses is a basic requirement for handling and riding. Whoever has understood the nature of horses will behave correctly towards the horse and achieve a positive understanding with him.
The horse is a living being with instincts and previous experience, a particularly pronounced memory and many other special characteristics that have developed in the course of its evolutionary history. Even though the horse has been kept and used by man as a military horse, as a farm animal and as a sports partner, for a very long time, its natural characteristics remain formative for its behaviour.

Horses are herd animals
The herd association offers them protection and security. Therefore, horses naturally do not like to be alone. The herd is led by an experienced leading animal, which is usually recognized without any arguments. Horses have a fixed ranking within the group. Rules in dealing with each other ensure their ability to survive in the herd. Fighting for rank, which can be observed particularly well with young horses, but also with new grazing partners, is part of the natural behaviour. The position of superiority is either accepted by the inferior animal on the basis of the behaviour of the more dominant horse or is "fought out" in each case. Often a single confrontation is sufficient for this.

Horses are flight animals
Immediate flight has given the herbivorous horse the safest protection against any danger since time immemorial. One of the most elementary needs of the horse is security. For this reason they are naturally constantly on the lookout for possible danger. Only if escape is not possible when danger threatens, horses defend themselves by kicking out with their hind hooves, by attacking with their front hooves and by biting.

Horses are steppe and running animals
In their habitat, the steppe, from a certain stage of development on, they were in quiet movement for many hours a day in search of food. They covered 30-40 km daily. They were constantly out in the fresh air in the widest possible environment with good visibility. They did not seek shelter in caves or shelters because there the escape routes were restricted.

Sense organs of the horse

The horse's sense of smell is very well developed. The sense of hearing is also highly developed. The horse's vision and especially the field of vision is clearly different from that of humans. The eyes on the side of the head allow a very wide field of vision, almost a panoramic view. The horse is a pronounced "movement seer". It perceives moving things particularly well, even if they are far away, to the side or even diagonally behind him. The sense of touch and the sensitivity of the skin are very sensitive and well developed.

Communication of the horse

Apart from audible sounds, communication between horses takes place in particular through body language. With body language one can recognize a certain posture, a facial expression. The posture of the ears are also unmistakable signs for other horses. Horses are by nature rather good-natured in handling, even if they are often rough with each other.

The horse - a creature of habit

They have a particularly good memory and a pronounced sense of location. Horses like to orientate themselves to familiar conditions and procedures, they stick to habits whenever possible. As a rule, a horse - as far as body size is concerned - is largely fully grown by the age of about five years. However, the overall physical development is only completed at about seven years of age.