Horses living in a herd environment, whether in the wild or in the pasture, learn good manners and the social boundaries of the herd. Their social hierarchy is very specific, and horses will often be aggressive to establish or maintain their status. Higher-status horses have greater access to food. In a mixed herd, a dominant mare is often in charge, with a dominant male below her, responsible for being alert for danger and moving the herd. Troublesome youngsters are put in “time-out” until they calm down—they hate being alone!
The close contact provided by the herd is a source of comfort for horses. Good horse friends greet each other by breathing into each other’s nostrils. They may nibble on or drape their heads over each other’s necks, rub against each other, and like to stand head-to-tail to whisk flies off one another. They play various games that include racing, bucking, rearing, and twisting. If they are natural competitors, during a race, they may kick another horse as they pass to ensure their win.
Human boundaries are very different. We prefer to keep an arm’s distance from other humans. We don’t buck, bite, kick, or rear, and we offer handshakes instead of nostrils. Consequently, horses and humans often don’t understand each other. One of the obvious problems is size. If a thousand-pound horse tries to play horse games with a hundred-pound human, problems can quickly arise. As empathetic humans, we must teach horses human boundaries while not finding fault with them for acting like horses.
Read more about the nature of horses: