Beginners Guide To Horses

Riding horses can be a relaxing and fun activity for children as well as adults.  But horses are also very large, very powerful animals who startle quite easily.  Before going riding, you should know how to behave around horses and ponies.  First of all, horses can’t see very well.  They do not have very good peripheral vision and can be surprised if someone approaches them from behind.  Because of this, it is important to always approach horses with caution.  Start by approaching from the front where they can easily see you and then move along to their side.

One good reason for not approaching a horse from behind is because the horse might kick you.  A kick from a horse is very powerful and could break bones or even kill you.  Kicking at something from behind that a horse cannot see is a protective reflex.  They kick first and ask questions later.

You should also remember to use slow calm movements around horses.  Startling a horse could cause them to break free from where they are tied destroying riding equipment and anything else in their path.

When you are working around  a horse, keep an eye on his hooves at all times and make sure you are always wearing boots.  Tennis shoes or open toed shoes will not protect you from a thousand pound animal stepping on your foot!

You should always face the horse rather than standing with your back to him.  Some horses do bite, which can be very painful and can even break the skin.   Take extra care when bending over to pick up a horse’s feet to clean them.  Be on guard at all times.  You never know when something might happen.   A horse could easily kick you while you are bent over with your head close to his hooves.  It couldn’t hurt to wear a helmet while you are cleaning a horses feet.

If you decide that you want to feed a horse by hand, you need to be very careful.  Watch where the horses teeth are.  A very experienced horse friend of mine was hand feeding her horse hay once and her horses accidentally bit her fingers.  The bite went clear down to the bone and left the flesh hanging from the bone.  The horse certainly didn’t mean to bite her fingers, but she was talking and not watching and he just chomped down on what he thought was food.  This is why some people choose not to hand feed horses and will put treats in their feed bucket instead.  If you do decide to hand feed, don’t cup your hand.  Hold it flat with your fingers together and your thumb flat against your hand.  Then you can place the treat on your hand and feed it to the horse.

Lastly, whips are not meant to strike a horse or for punishment purposes.  They are meant to tap or signal that to your horse that is time do something, like transition from a trot to canter.