by Patrick Corcoran

Created on: July 24, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

At 30 I took an Equine Science Course and a Farrier Course at the local Community College. Before long I was training and shoeing other people's horses and having a respectable amount of success. I had my own horse lying down on command and doing several circus style tricks to the extent that we were localy famous.

Since those early days I have owned many horses and ran my own horse and cattle business for a short period of time in the hills of Kentucky. I've competed in amateur rodeos, roped a few cows and sat a few rough horses without serious damage other than to my pride. I'm now a few months shy of fifty and I'm writing a synopsis of what I've learned from the people I've met, the books I've read and of course the best teacher of all, the horses I've had the pleasure to deal with.

Horses have an inherent fear of human beings. We humans have ears set on the side and eyes to the front of our heads, similar to predators like cougars and bears. Also humans stand on their hind legs much like a large cat, canine or grizzly would in the attack mode. Even a horse rears and flails its front legs when in a fighting stance.

Evolution has imprinted the instinct in these herd animals to flee from predators similar to the ones humans resemble. A horse born today is just as wild with the same instincts as a horse hundreds or thousands of years ago.

The horse, a prey animal in contrast to humans, has his eyes on the side of his head and the eyes rotate so that they can see impending danger while they graze with their heads down. This is very much like most hoofed animals domestic or feral. A good example would be another herd animal like the white-tailed deer. Deer and horses rely on other members of the herd to warn of the approach of predators so that they can flee at a moments notice.

This reliance on their other herd members causes a horse to be nervous when taken away from their family. A horse alone is very vulnerable to attack and that is why a solitary horse may run side to side or stand nervously. He needs his herd members for assurance.

I've found out that not all horses are alike. One horse's fright level may be higher than another one of the same breed and in the same herd. Generally though it's all has to do with confidence and dependence. They depend on the other horses and they have confidence when they're in the herd. The place where we as horse people want to be is where the horse depends and has confidence in us.

Round pen training or training in

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