Learned Behavior Of A Horse

Learned Behavior Of A Horse

Introduction

When training your horse, be aware that they are creatures of habit and will learn the behaviors you teach them.

Learned Behavior Of A Horse

Learned behavior is a horse’s learned response to a situation, object or person. Learned behaviors can be positive or negative, good or bad and dangerous or safe. A good example of this is when you have a horse that may not like people coming into his stall. You could reinforce this by making sure the horse knows who you are and allowing him to get comfortable with you before going in his stall. Or if there was another person who walked up to him and said “hi” he might kick out at them because he wasn’t ready for it yet. On the flipside if someone wants him saddled up and put on halter then they need to make sure they go slowly so as not to scare him too much because then he’ll buck around instead of letting someone put something on him like a saddle would be more likely​

Headshaking

  • Headshaking is a learned behavior. This means that it is not natural to the horse, but they have been taught to do it by someone, usually their trainer or handler.
  • Headshaking is a sign of pain. The discomfort may be due to an injury or soreness in the horse’s mouth; however, headshaking can also be prompted by other things like stress or frustration.
  • Headshaking is a sign of discomfort and stress. Horses will often shake their heads when they are unsure about something that has just happened around them or if they are anxious about being left alone with no human contact for some time (i.e., at night). They may also use this as way to communicate with each other as well!

Sore Back

The sore back is a defense mechanism learned by horses. It is a response to fear and pain, but also to hunger. The horse has been taught that kicking can be used as a means of escape from his or her environment. This behavior may be initiated when the horse is startled, frightened or feels threatened in some way. The response will vary depending on the situation and what the horse perceives as an immediate danger.

The term “clunkers” refers to horses who are known for having this reaction to being startled while they are walking away from you at pasture or in your barn aisleway when you open their stall doors after they’ve been left alone for several hours without food and water, which is often enough time for them to get hungry!

What Is a Horse’s Nature?

Horses are social animals. They live in herds and enjoy being around other horses. It is normal for a horse to be curious about people and other animals, but if you approach your horse in an aggressive manner he may feel threatened and become defensive. In order to establish a good relationship with your horse, it is important that he trusts you and feels comfortable around you.

The nature of horses has been shaped by thousands of years of evolution as prey animals (animals who are hunted by predators). Because they have been hunted their whole life, they tend to be skittish or nervous around things they do not recognize or understand; this means when your new horse comes into your home he may not be too keen on eating anything unless it’s what he saw the feed person give him before!

When training your horse be aware of the learned behaviors you are teaching.

When training your horse, be aware of the learned behaviors you are teaching. A learned behavior is a habit that has been learned through repetition and possibly through a bad experience or good experience. It can be hard to break but with patience it can happen. If the horse has had bad experiences with something then he will have a harder time learning something new because his brain remembers what happened last time and doesn’t want him to be in that situation again.

If you have ever been bitten by an animal then you know how hard it is not to flinch when they come near you again even though they don’t remember who bit them before! This kind of reaction happens because we have learned to associate certain things together in our minds over time so when we see those things again our reaction tends to be very similar each time around because this is all stored somewhere inside our brain called memory which holds everything we’ve ever experienced in life whether good or bad.”

Conclusion

It can be very helpful to understand the “nature” of the horse and how they think. Horses are not born knowing how to do things like lead, tie, back up or stand still. These are all learned behaviors that have been taught by their owners. Knowing this should help us be more aware of the learned behaviors we are teaching our own horses.

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