Horse-Behavior-Packet

Pet Partners® Horse Behavior Packet

Version 2 December 2016

Pet Partners 875 124th Avenue NE, Suite 101 Bellevue, WA 98005-2531

Website: www.petpartners.org Email: [email protected]

Contents About this Packet ...... 3 Horse Introduction and Behavior ...... 3 General Considerations and Information about the Species at Large ...... 3 Behavior Considerations ...... 4 Equine Evaluation Overview ...... 6 Horse Supplement to Policies & Procedures for Evaluators ...... 6 Acceptable Equipment ...... 6 Unacceptable Equipment ...... 6 Equipment Considerations ...... 7 Other Supplemental Information ...... 7 Equine Anatomy ...... 8 Structure Notes ...... 8

About this Packet

This packet is intended to provide both general as well as evaluation-specific information for both Pet Partners prospective/existing handlers and Pet Partners team evaluators. Some sections include reference to which audience may be particularly interested in that material; however. The entire contents are useful to both audiences. Horse Introduction and Behavior

General Considerations and Information about the Species at Large Equines for purposes of this packet will apply to: draft/heavy horses, riding-size horses, ponies, miniature horses, mules, donkeys and miniature donkeys. For purposes of this document, equine and horse will generically be used synonymously. Any size or breed, or mix of breeds, is acceptable as long as the size is suitable for the visiting environment. The first thing to remember when testing horses is that Pet Partners tests for visiting, not for riding activities. Horses have highly developed herd relationships and excellent communication skills. Most communication is in the form of subtle body language. Vision and Hearing Horses are a prey species with a highly developed flight response. Horses routinely flee a situation and turn to analyze it later. Its visual abilities are directly related to the animal's behavior and the fact that the horse is a flight animal. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the horse's visual abilities should be taken into consideration when training the animal, as an understanding of the horse's eye can help to discover why the animal behaves the way he does in various situations. Horses have binocular vision in front and monocular vision on either side. This can make things in their environment change shape and become frightening. Because equine's eyes are on the side of their heads, they have a broader range of vision to the rear than that of a dog. However, if they do not bend their neck around almost 90 degrees, they cannot see what is directly behind their tail. Depending upon their age, experience level and training, they may kick out if something touches their tail, they hear something behind them they cannot see or if a person who is directly behind them steps sideways and suddenly appears in their field of vision. An equine will raise or lower its head to increase its range of binocular vision. Equines will also tip their vertical head to the side so that the eye on one side of the head is facing the ground and the other eye is facing upwards. They do this when there is an object near their feet on one side of them. Horses are less able to adjust to sudden changes of light than are humans, such as when moving from a bright day into a dark barn. This is a consideration as quickly moving from light to dark or vice- versa will temporarily make it difficult for the animal to judge what is in front of it. Horses have more

rods than humans giving them superior night vision. This also gives them better vision on slightly cloudy days, relative to bright, sunny days. Horses are not color blind but have two-color, or dichromatic vision. This means that they see two of the basic three wave lengths of visible light, compared to the three-color, trichromic vision of most humans. In other words, horses naturally see the blue and green colors of the spectrum and the color variations based upon them, but cannot distinguish red. This means that certain colors, especially red and related colors, appear more green. The hearing of horses is good, superior to that of humans, and each ear can rotate up to 180°, giving the potential for 360° hearing without having to move the head.

Behavior Considerations Horses carry their head level with their back or low and swinging when relaxed. Their muscles are soft and the gait is slow and fluid. Tail carriage and movement or twitches, head position, ear position and facial expression are primary means of communication. Vocalizations are usually soft, puffing or rumbling nickering. Strong snorts, loud neighs and high pitched screams and squeals are given when horses are distressed or aggressive. Baseline Posture  Head level or lower than top of shoulder  Eye contact  Tail swishing or hanging loosely  Weight evenly distributed, well-relaxed; may rest all hind weight on one leg, cocking the relaxed leg  Lips are closed relaxed. Old horses or those with damaged nerves may hang loosely lips are smooth; muzzle unwrinkled]  Nostrils relaxed [small and oval] edge of nostril is soft and pliable.

Alert/Distressed  Head high or tossing upwards  Eyes wide, may show whites  Note: often horses with multiple coat colors on one animal, especially paints/pintos and appaloosas; have the “white” showing all the time as a normal breed characteristic. This should not be construed as aggression if not accompanied by wide eyes and/or other behaviors.  Ears pricked stiffly forward or laid slightly back or rapidly turning forward and back  Important: this is not to be confused with ears slightly above neckline but turned backwards, ears in this position are paying attention to rider or what is behind horse.  Weight on front legs, may stomp with front feet  Hindquarters rarely tucked and tense  Tail when alert may be held high above back level  Tail when distressed may “wring” around in a circle or slap from side to side

Aggressive  Head and neck stretched out from body. Can be level with back or slightly above or below.  Aggressive or angry head may be thrashing or tossing back and forth – less frequently up and down.  Ears pricked stiffly forward or pinned back against head [threatening or aggressive]  Neck tense  Eyes wide, may show whites  Often horses with multiple coat colors, especially paints/pintos and appaloosas, have the “white” showing all the time as a normal breed characteristic. This should not be construed as aggression if not accompanied by wide eyes and other body language.  May bare teeth or wrinkle nose (gnashing teeth is pain)  Lips tense and stiff, chin flattened  May snort or whistle  Flared nostril (with or without blowing)  Kicking out behind or to the side

Submissive/Fearful  Eyes blinking, rolling and or very wide  Head up and pulled back  Ears back or pricked high and forward  Flared nostril (with or without blowing)  Lips pulled back  Tail tucked or held high and rigid (unless tail is manually being lifted which will cause a natural tail tuck).  Hindquarters hunched  Weight on hindquarters  Quivering or shaking  Backing away  Hiding behind and leaning against another animal or human  Defensive kicking out behind or behind and to the side

Displacement Signals  Bobbing head  Shaking mane  Pawing  Grazing  Yawning  Turning Away  Blinking wide eyes  Licking lips or another animal or human

 Chewing on objects when being held – boards, ropes, fences, etc. (Can also occur when animal is bored.)

IMPORTANT: If unfamiliar with equine body language, evaluators should consult or employ an equine expert consultant. Also, the evaluator can and should expect for the handler to be fully engaged with guiding the interactions and keeping the evaluator informed as to what the horse may be feeling. Evaluators should remind handlers of this at the beginning of the evaluation.

Equine Evaluation Overview

The Pet Partners Evaluation Overview - Equines is a resource developed for handlers to increase understanding of the evaluation exercises. Evaluators are encouraged to review it prior to evaluating a horse.

Horse Supplement to Policies & Procedures for Evaluators

Acceptable Equipment  Halters of any fabric or material other than metal - buckles, snaps and connector pieces of the halter may be metal  Bridles without bits  Fabric or leather lead (without chains) Also they may be any length. If they seem longer than necessary it may be to provide the slack necessary to tie the horse for transport.  Soft natural or synthetic bristle or rubber Brush (no metal)  Rubber or synthetic hoof boots/overshoes/Easy Boots or other brands of similar product  Hooves wrapped in duct tape or vet wrap to stop slippage on flooring

Unacceptable Equipment  Bridles - with bits  Halters with bits  Halters (stallion or show) with lip, nose or chin chains, or control knots on noseband  Neck or grooming halters  Chains of any size or length attached to any equipment  Tail bags (for collecting manure)  Harnesses (for pulling or driving)  Coat polish, eye / lip gloss not allowed  Hooves may be polished as long as polish is dry  Insect repellent allowed on legs only

Equipment Considerations  Halter and lead should be clean (only connections can be metal) and handler should have good control at all times.  Horse should be clean and well groomed.  Horse may wear some type of shoes or boots that will prevent slipping on waxed tile floors. But please be mindful that shoes for horses can be very expensive so a handler may opt for no shoes, or shoes only on the front feet, or they may wrap the hooves with vet wrap.

Other Supplemental Information  Verbal cues should be a conversational tone.  Hand cues on various body parts should be light pressure.  Bottoms of hooves should be picked and brushed clean.  Shaved body is allowed in spring; animal should not be shedding heavily when evaluated  Evaluator May use rug or rubber mat for equine to stand solidly if testing area has slippery floor.  Horses need to complete all exercises except for Sit, Down and Come When Called during the evaluation.  Chairs to create a simulated 6 foot corridor for the horse to back up through for Back Between Furniture.  An open bag or bucket works well as a Leave It prop/toy.  Carrots or horse treats are both acceptable treats for a horse.  Observe the horse’s response when a hand is placed near or on the mouth, muzzle, eyes, ears and poll (top of the head just behind the ears). Horses that are afraid of, or uncomfortable with, being touched in these areas may react with avoidance, fear or aggressive behaviors such as pulling away, jerking head high and out of reach, jumping forward, head tossing, biting or striking out with front foot, especially when unable to flee. Horses will protect their head typically by pulling back or turning their rear towards the threat. These are called head shy horses.  When walking around a horse, the handler should support their animal and directing you as to how best to approach.  Be sure to pick up all feet (not just front feet) Always being sure the horse knows you are approaching before touching the animal. Feet should be picked up by standing facing towards the back of the horse, slowly and gently sliding hand down from shoulder or hip down leg to just above pastern/fetlock (horses ankle), tap lightly and lift gently. Make sure handler has shifted horse’s weight to the opposite side before asking to pick up foot.  When meeting the neutral dog, watch the horse not only for frontal aggression but also rear aggression. Note that horse may need to tip its head to almost horizontal to be able to look at the dog that is very close to it. This is due to their normal vision  During grooming drop the brush on the ground under the horse’s belly or between the horse’s legs to check for spooking but be sure the handler knows what you are doing and they are directing you and supporting the animal at the same time.  During exuberant petting, bump the horse under the belly, gently pull its tail and gently rub its ears. Do not lift up on the tail. This will cause the tail to tuck tightly but is not a sign of fear or stress – just dislike. Again be sure that you keep a hand on the horse so they know where you are at. As you are doing this the handler should be supporting their animal.

 Two finger tap – When reaching out to tap be sure your body is on the side of the animal not directly behind in case it kicks out.  Be sure when doing the noise distraction that the sound is at least 10 to 15 behind the horse in case they kick out.  If you see the horse stretch their body out and/or lift or move their tail to one side they may be preparing to relieve themselves.

Equine Anatomy

Structure Notes  The equine shown on the next page has had its hair clipped in a "spring cooling" clip. There are different patterns of hair clipping that are appropriate for various weather / work conditions and acceptable for visiting.  Ears are forward and alert. Gaze is forward. Generally, equines focus their eyes in the direction their ears are pointed.  The tail bone itself ends approximately even with the stifle. The remaining tail is all hair.  Length of hoof (from coronet band to ground) can vary by several inches depending upon type of activity in which equine is worked. Under no circumstances should the "toe" (noted as "hoof" below) curl up. That is poor husbandry. Testing Procedures References  "Rump"; shown here and labeled "croup"  "Rib cage" shown here and labeled "flank"  "Flank" is actually a little further to the rear - closer to the end of the rib cage and descending down from point of hip.