New Report Documents the Faulty Science of “Predator-Prey” Relationship Between Humans and Horses

Colorado Springs, CO (December 14, 2009) — When she realized Mark was being too agressive with her filly, Dale Rose of Brandon, Mississippi got creative. Rose “gave” the teenager an imaginary glove to gentle his touch. “Then,” says the Wind Child Farm owner, “it became beautiful to watch.”

Whereas many trainers would have corrected the teen by telling him that humans scare horses because we’re their natural predators, Rose thinks “the predator-prey construct is at best a wobbly allegory” that needs serious revision. An article released today by the non-profit research and education organization Tapestry Institute says she’s right.

The predator-prey model of horse-human relationship has the reputation of being science-based and therefore reliable. But Dr. Dawn Adrian, Tapestry’s Senior Scientist, says it’s not good science.

Adrian, whose Ph.D. in Paleobiology is from UC Berkeley, says, “Humans do eat horses. But they eat dogs, too. Yet no one argues that the primary relationship between humans and dogs is predator-prey, or that dogs’ innate response to humans is fear. Dogs and humans have a complex evolutionary relationship, and so do horses and humans. Relationship is not a one-stop genetics shop.”

An example of erroneous biology is the explanation that horses instinctively buck riders because they mistake them for a predator. Horse predators, the argument goes, leap down from trees or cliffs to kill them with a bite to the back of the neck. So horses have evolved to instinctively fear, and try to dislodge, anything on their backs. But, Adrian points out, horses evolved on the plains — a place without trees or cliffs. And their natural predators worldwide are lions and wolves.

“Both wolves and lions hunt by running down their prey, coming at it low and from behind. So if you want to talk about horses’ instinctive relationships to predators, the issue is that they evolved long legs and hooves for a high-speed getaway in open country. Predators on their backs isn’t any part of that.”

Tapestry’s article on the science of predator-prey, released today on the organization’s website (http://www.thevoiceofthehorse.com/predatorprey), documents not only the ways that horses’ natural predators hunt, but how they kill too — and it’s not by a kill bite.

“There’s often a big gap between what scientists know and what the public thinks we know,” says Adrian. “So here’s the horse community doing its best to use valid, scientifically-based understandings of horses and it’s all tangled up in stuff scientists have known isn’t true for forty or fifty years. We’re trying to bridge that science gap so horsepeople have the information they need to do things better.”

Tapestry and Adrian have been bridging the gap between science and public for over ten years, through projects funded by five federal research grants, conferences and workshops, and invited presentations. Their Horse-Human Relationship Program serves Tapestry’s larger mission of integrating different ways of learning and knowing to help people reconnect to the natural world.

For more information, contact:
Anne Belasco, Esq.
anne@tapestryinstitute.org
Tapestry Institute
12495 Paint Mine Road
Calhan, CO 80808
Ph: 719-347-3090

–END–

Thank you for your help and support!  We now return you to The Voice of the Horse entries exploring the horse-human relationship.

This study is evidence that subtle gestures we may or may not be aware of can influence our horse.  Heart rate is one of them to consider.  If we are leading or riding a horse who is fearful, we must always remember to be calm, no matter what the situation may be.  Calmness can prevent situations from arising, and if they do arise, it can prevent them from escalating.  We also have to remember that if we are fearful when riding or when leading a horse, the horse will pick up on that.  The most helpful thing we can do is learn how to center when being around horses.  Horses are herd animals, and it’s only natural for them to pick up on our nervousness and wonder if there is a reason to be nervous.

The next time you’re with a horse, consciously think of being centered and calm.  Take deep breaths from your diaphragm.  Let all of the stress that you may be experiencing, all of the thoughts of things you “have to do” leave your mind.  When you’re with your horse, your focus should be on the relationship the two of you have.  Being with horses is a wonderful way for us to be more balanced, centered, and connected.  The natural world does not multitask; it is centered and focused.  We can learn a lot from that way of being.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are many other factors that influence our relationship with horses that we may not consciously think about.  While this study focused on the factor of heart rate, think about others that might be creating communication between you and your horse without you even thinking about it.  When you lead a horse near a potential scary situation, do you breathe faster, perhaps grip the leadline tighter?  When you’re riding, and you are worried something might spook your horse, do you hold your breath or breath very shallowly, sit up straighter and become more tense, close your fingers around the reins so that you’re putting pressure on the reins without realizing it?

What this study shows us and what it allows us to begin to consider are all of the tiny ways in which we influence and communicate with our horses all of the time.  It also allows us to realize that we can have a much more subtle and sensitive relationship with our horses.  And if that is true, if we have been relying too much on heavy handiness with our horses, what else have we been missing with our horses that may lead to a better relationship?

What might our horses be communicating to us in a subtle manner that we are missing?

Take some time and watch horses in a field.  They don’t constantly whinny.  They aren’t constantly running around.  If they want another horse to move, they often move their ears and that is enough to let the other horse know that they need to find another place to be.  Watch what happens when a fly lands on a horse’s skin.  The horse will simply twitch a muscle to flick off the fly.  If the fly continues to land or if it bites extremely hard before moving, the horse will swish her tail or bite at the fly.  But first, there is the twitch of muscle.  What do we do when a fly lands on us?  A lot more than just twitching a muscle.

Do you ever ride bareback?  Many people don’t because it takes them out of their comfort zone, which was discussed in the last entry.  Riding bareback is a wonderful way to feel the subtlety of your horse and to learn how to be subtle yourself.  Like most people, I was taught that the main way to stop a horse is with rein pressure.  It was my Quarter Horse Cisco and our two Mustangs, Flint and Sugarfoot, who have taught me to gently use my thighs for a perfect stop.  Cisco is a horse I brought with me cross-country from Massachusetts.  He’s a wonderful teacher horse, who has taught me a lot and who is now teaching others.  One of the most important things Cisco has taught me is subtlety.  His preferred way to be ridden is bareback, with a halter and reins or leadline, on the trail (no actual trail is needed, however, just land to ride on).  Try pulling back on the reins, with or without a bit, and you’ll find he stops but not nearly as quickly, quietly, and nicely as he does if you just sit.  It’s that simple…and not.  We are so accustomed to pulling and making big gestures, that Cisco will teach you that you have to sit just right for him to stop.  It’s a gentle squeeze with the thighs that gets him to stop perfectly.  Once you learn it, you have it.  But until then, you have to avoid the impulse to pull and instead, just gently squeeze.

In the process of riding our two gentled Mustangs, Flint and Sugarfoot, I found that they, too, will stop on a dime.  Again, it’s a matter of a feather-light squeeze of the thighs.  Too hard, and they don’t like it.  But just a gentle squeeze, and they stop right then and there.  Cisco, Flint, and Sugarfoot all respond to the same cue.  All three horses were trained by different people, used in different ways, and yet, they all understand the same cue.  And not all of them were ridden bareback.  So, who is really teaching whom?  We pull to stop when all we need to do is just sit and gently squeeze.  And since these 3 different horses all know the same cue, it is clearly something universal.  How and why these horses all understand this cue are questions we may never know the answer to.  And that’s OK.

What is most important to realize is that horses can teach us what cues to use and that we can be very subtle when riding.  There is no need to be any more severe or loud than that.  Ride with subtlety, and you’ll begin to understand what riding naturally is all about.  More on that topic in future posts.

Let’s say that you learned how to jump when you were younger, and you focused on that.  You would have been trained to keep your heels way down, your toes turned out, and you would be used to leaning forward, especially in a 2-point seat.  Now, you decide to switch to riding dressage.  Suddenly, you are told to keep your toes straight, to let your heels rest naturally, to sit tall and relaxed and straight.  Your body is so conditioned to the “comfort zone” of the hunter position, that you must constantly readjust it.  When you are tired or are not paying attention or get frustrated, your body will revert to the comfort zone it knows of the jumper position.  Eventually, with enough time and training and patience, your body will find a comfort zone in your dressage seat.  With even more training, you will be able to have different comfort zones for jumping and dressage.

The key to comfort zones is to recognize them and to be able to realize when we resorting to them, even if they are not helpful to us.  We return to comfort zones because they are familiar to us, even if they are not healthy.  They are “the known,” and no matter how painful they may be, the pain is preferable to the fear that lies outside the comfort zone.  This is one reason many abuse victims have difficulty leaving abusers and/or continue to find themselves in abusive relationships.  While the abuse is painful and horrendous, the victim knows subconsciously what to expect.  To leave the abusive situation is terrifying and that fear may be greater than the comfort zone of the abuse.

So, when we use the term “comfort,” in comfort zone, we’re not necessarily talking about feeling good.  A more descriptive term would be the “known zone.”  We search for the known, even if it’s painful and continues to create unhealthy situations, because it is better than the feared unknown.  Mind you, that fear is generally subconscious and unrealized, which makes it all the harder to get out of.

But getting out of a comfort zone, seeing what is out there that may be helpful and healthy in our lives is very important.  Comfort zones, as I mentioned above, exist in the horseworld in the form of riding disciplines.  They also exist in many other areas, and I’ll be exploring those areas over time.  For now, think about what comfort zones you have in connection with horses.  Think of ways you interact with horses that might be a comfort zone for you but that might not be the healthiest or best behavior for you and your horse.  Think of comfort zones when you ride.  Do you, for example, constantly ride a certain way that you know isn’t the best way you can ride, for you or your horse, but you just can’t seem to correct it?  Why do you think you can’t correct it?  What do you think you need to do to correct it?  Keep all of these questions and answers in mind as we explore comfort zones and the horse-human relationship in future entries.

Unlike most other horse blogs on the Internet, this one is written from within an Indigenous Earth-based worldview.  This blog is based on the ancient belief that almost everyone in the horseworld has lost sight of – horses are our friends, our partners, our teachers, and our kin.  Indigenous cultures still relate to horses this way.  Revered horseman such as Mark Rashid, and the late Ray Hunt, Bill Dorrance and Tom Dorrance talk and write about horses this way.  Certain classical horsepeople, such as Paul Belasik and Erik Herbermann, share this view as well.  Reading their books and attending their clinics are wonderful ways to learn how to relate to horses within this worldview.

This blog gives you something more.  It explores everyday topics concerning horses from within this worldview.  It also addresses horse issues by considering the different ways we know about, learn from, and respond to horses.  For example, the issues concerning wild Mustangs in the West are not merely intellectual ones.  They also involve other ways of knowing, such as myth and story.

Why aren’t there any other blogs like this online?  I believe it’s because relating to horses in this way, taking the time and energy to explore horse issues at a deeper level, is not always easy.  Our modern culture has taught us to look for carrot sticks and spurs, gimmicks and short cuts, rather than taking the time to explore our relationship with the horse.  There are some tough issues concerning horses, issues that don’t have easy answers, but that will only be answered in a way advantageous to the horse if we are brave enough to explore them.  It’s not an either/or world…it’s both/and.

Training horses, training ourselves, taking the time to look at issues, stretching ourselves so that we are better horsepeople, these are all things that we should do to benefit the horse.  They give so much to us.  It’s time we start giving back.

Welcome to The Voice of the Horse!