The horse is a prey species. It’s a grazing creature that, in the wild, has always lived in herds on grasslands. Horses are ‘naturally’ afraid of humans because humans are predators. 

But what is the difference between a prey animal and a predator and how are both able to connect with each other? 

 

Animals that are eaten or hunted are called prey. Examples of prey animals include; horses, goats, and rabbits.

Predators are animals that hunt, or prey, on other animals. Examples of common predators include; lions, bears, and foxes.

 

Equine vision plays a role in how the horse reacts to events. An understanding of the horse’s vision will give us a clearer picture of its world and help us to remain safer.

 

First, we need to realize that the horse evolved as a prey animal and its first response to anything scary is to flight. Horses understand that their safety relies on their ability to put distance between themselves and something they perceive as dangerous. What is dangerous to a horse? Almost everything! Their wellbeing relies on their perception that everything that moves or is new could eat them.

 

It’s all about survival for the horse, and their instincts are no exception. You might have heard of the term “fight or flight." A horse’s first instinct is to get out or dodge the moment he encounters anything remotely scary. Flight will always be the first instinct of these animals.

In the wild, a predator would like to have the horse in a situation where it could not escape. When we trap a horse we can trigger its flight or fight response. With flight, the horse may try to run through or over a fence or person to escape. If flight is not possible, the horse may resort to the fight response by charging or kicking.

 

So, when we lead or ride a horse up to or past something it has not seen before, the horse can become wary and nervous.

 

While horses are prey animals, humans are classified as predators, and as such, we approach life in a very different manner than the horse. A lot of things we naturally do can be counter-productive when it comes to working horses.

 

Did you know that horses’ minds and bodies are constructed in a way that aids them in their survival as prey animals?

One characteristic of prey animals is that their eyes are on the sides of their faces so that they can have a wider field of vision to spot a predator. Horses have monocular vision, which means that each eye is independent from the other. This allows the horse to see nearly 360 degrees, except the areas directly in front of them and directly behind them. Such comprehensive field of vision allows the horse to keep an eye out for those predators on every moment of every day.

 

Contrary to the horse, we humans are predators and, as a general rule, operate completely opposite from the horse with our bodies and our minds. Take our vision, for example. We have binocular vision, which means that we can use both eyes at once and see best out in front of us. This enables us to focus in on fast-moving objects… potential prey. We also think first, act later. As predators, it’s our instinct to walk right up to an object to get whatever it is we want. This can be immensely intimidating for our equine counterparts.

 

lightness, non-resistance, and positive responses, I need him to offer me all of these qualities on the ground before I get on his back. I won’t ask my horse to do something when I’m on his back unless he’s first done it willingly for me on the ground.

 

Before we ride horses, we should do groundwork with our horse. But what is groundwork and why is it so important? 

 

Groundwork is a very important part of the training process in many different ways. The most beneficial piece is to establish or re-establish yourself as the leader of your horse in your herd of two on the ground before you get on his back. Getting on his back to ride is not the time to discover that your horse still considers himself your leader. You need to establish your leadership the same way another horse would, by first controlling the movement of your horses’ feet while you are still on the ground.

 

I always start a horses training with groundwork - liberty work, no matter how much training they’ve had. It’s, to be honest to my horse and myself and to success our goals in the future.