A Few Basic Horse Handling Tips
Safe horse handling requires a basic understanding of horse behavior. To ensure positive, rewarding interactions with horses, handlers should establish safe habits and routines when they are approaching, haltering, leading, and grooming the animal.
Handlers should approach all horses with care and attention. Because horses are herbivores, their most effective defense mechanism is running away. When this is not possible, they will kick or bite in response to a perceived threat.
Horses have a keen sense of awareness of what’s happening around them, which makes a handler’s approach important. With eyes on the sides of their heads, horses have nearly 360-degree vision, with blind spots directly behind and in front of them. Handlers should approach the animal from the side to stay out of the blind spot, and they should speak as they get near to avoid startling the horse.
By touching the horse firmly but gently on the neck or shoulder, handlers alert the animal to their presence without alarming them. Handlers should always avoid standing directly behind a horse to protect themselves from being kicked or stepped on.
As they gain experience, handlers can begin to read a horse’s body language. When a horse’s ears are pricked forward, for example, they are showing interest in something ahead. Ears that are back during a ride indicate the horse is listening to the rider, while ears pinned flat back to the head show the horse is feeling threatened. In this case, the handler should watch for signs of aggression.
Haltering a horse requires holding the lead rope attached to the halter in the right hand. To shorten the line, fold it back and forth and hold the middle of the fold. Never wrap the rope around your hand or any other body part to avoid being pulled or even dragged. Don’t allow the horse to pass too closely to other horses, as they may try to bite each other.
To secure a horse safely, look for a solid, fixed object. Use no more than an arm’s length of rope from halter to knot, and aim for a tie knot around the horse’s eye height. Keeping fingers out of the loop, use a quick-release knot.
Once the horse is stationary, the handler can begin grooming. In addition to its importance to equine care and hygiene, grooming can strengthen a bond between horse and handler. First, the handler should brush out tangles in the main, brush dirt and dust from the body, and tend to any problems with the ears and nose.
To groom the head, handlers should stand to the side of the horse, near the shoulders. Avoid ducking under the tie rope, and pass behind the horse with enough space to stay out of kicking range. Alternately, walk closely behind the horse with a hand on the horse’s rump.
Maintaining a horse’s hooves requires special care. Handlers should squat rather than sitting or kneeling to clean a horse’s lower leg or hoof, to allow for a quick escape if the horse spooks. Working at the side of the horse, facing the tail, they should extend their hand down the leg to pick up the foot, then use a pick to remove rocks or other small objects.
