So how does herd behavior apply to EAL and why is it so critical to the success of your program? First, for the safety aspect, but second and third (etc.) by knowing how horses think and react, is critical to your ability to facilitate how a horse’s reaction relates to what your students are doing and how this knowledge can assist in the process of bringing about positive change. For example, by knowing that horses are at their most vulnerable when they are grazing and must rely on their herd members to watch for danger while they eat is the ultimate display of trust and respect in a horse=s world. Our teachable moment comes when a horse bows his head to one of your clients as he has gained the respect of the horse he is partnered with. Numerous parallels can be identified as they play out in the arena if you understand the significance as it relates to the horse.
COMMUNICATING THROUGH BODY LANGUAGE
Horses communicate with each other by using their whole body. Their stance, is an expression of their intent. Their instincts force an immediate reaction, therefore it is important to personally identify the subtle precursory clues that bring your attention to identifying a teachable moment.
A horse’s ability to communicate tells a great deal about a their mood, attitude, and preference. Almost every part of the body is used. Either separately or in conjunction with another part of their body. Every gesture is an action that the horse would use in the wild for self-protection. Body language indicates a wide range of responses that reach to the heart of a herd’s trust and respect for each other. The most obvious signal is his overall posture. It’s easy to identify a horse’s intent through his stance and is sometimes as clear as a difference between a high, rounded outline of an anxious frame versus a flat relaxed outline of a horse comfortable with his surroundings.
POSTURE: Body posture is a horse’s primary form of communication. Horses are able to clearly express fear, curiosity and aggression. In the case of fear, horses often flare their nostrils and flatten their ears against their heads, lips are pursed together, muscles are tense and feet are braced, ready to leap into flight, tail is clamped tight until they run away then it is sticking straight out. In comparison, when a horse seeks out to explore, curiosity is expressed with the same nostril flare and snort but both of his ears are pointed toward the object in question, with inquisitive lips and a relaxed, forward leaning frame. However, if the object in question were to move before it were fully explored, his posture will shift from curiosity to fear in a split second. Aggression, can produce a similar expression, although instead of leaning outward ready to flee they are leaning in the direction of their aggression with a clamped tail, and generally an open mouth. Three different intentions with similar posturing. But by understanding the big picture (adding personality traits, outside influences, surrounding circumstances, verbal communication to their posturing) one can clearly determine the different intentions with similar posturing.
As indicated, horses speak volumes if one can interpret the use of their body language accurately. The following will provide an indication of what different body parts are capable of saying. The horses body is broken down between the eyes, ears, face, head and neck, barrel and shoulders, feet and tail.