It's a love/hate thing...

Horses are very intelligent and intuitive creatures. They are much more intelligent than most people give them credit for. In fact, in my limited experience, I've found them easier to train than dogs. Prior to owning horses, my experience with them was limited to riding friends' horses here and there, as well as taking dressage lessons once upon a time. From these experiences, I knew I loved horses and I knew I wanted to eventually own a few. I admittedly thought of them as pretty cows a person could ride. My husband and I both thought a well-trained horse was basically a push-button automaton. You feed them, you ride them, you brush them, and they eat and poop.

Not so. We were absolutely wrong.

The realization of their intelligence came slowly for us. I did immediately notice their ability to predict my behavior and to set their clocks according to feeding time. That was completely understandable and of no surprise to me. They are incredibly food driven animals. Their stomach design requires them to eat small, regular meals. Due to their stomach acid production and the rate at which food travels through their digestive system, a horse is healthiest when it is constantly able to nibble little bits of hay or grass throughout the day. As a result, they always feel hungry and the bulk of their natural activity revolves around food seeking and eating behavior.

I didn't notice the depth of their intelligence until I realized their training was lacking and I needed to do something about it before either my husband or I got hurt or killed. I discovered that one trial learning is the norm for horses. You teach them something once, and they get it. Very little repetition is necessary on the horse's part. As you can imagine, we're very thankful for that!

Even more impressive than their intelligence is their intuition and the bond they develop with the people they care about. This bond transcends rational thought and bridges into a connection beyond logical description. For example, one night while watching television, I abruptly decided to get up and look out the window at the horses. Molly was standing by the side gate, looking across the drive and through the window at me.

I knew she needed something. I don't know why or how I knew, but I just felt it. I am convinced she was deliberately and purposefully communicating to me that she needed help.

I put my boots on and went out to investigate. As I got closer, I noticed she was standing funny. I have a few small logs in the paddock that I've used to train the horses to walk or trot over objects on the trail. Molly apparently walked over one, it rolled, and her foot was lightly caught under it. She easily could have stepped away on her own. However, Molly was hobble trained by her previous owner. Hobble training is a method where the horses legs are tied together at the ankle to teach them not to struggle or bolt when their legs get caught. A horse who is properly hobble trained will immediately stop if they feel their leg is being held by something.

Molly was stuck.


I walked over to her and moved the log. She still didn't move, so I clicked my tongue at her and she walked a few steps after realizing she was now free to move. As I walked back to the service gate, she followed me. Never before had Molly followed me unless I was carrying food or she was attached to a lead rope. She is not an affectionate horse and usually keeps to herself. She generally doesn't like to be touched, although she tolerates it. As I stopped to open the gate, I could feel her breath on the back of my neck. I turned around to scratch her under the neck and she rested her head on my arm, letting out a big sigh. She couldn't have said thank you more clearly unless she spoke the words out loud.

Although they clearly are sentient beings, as with all animals, horses are driven by their survival instincts. One of their most powerful instincts is their need to be a part of and to stay with their herd. For some horses, the drive to be with their herd is so powerful that they will injure themselves to rejoin their herd members. This behavior, when it interferes with a human's desire to work with or ride a horse, is referred to as being herd bound. Most horses, when kept separate from other horses or animals that can act as a herd, will also suffer from a form of depression.

When our horses first arrived on our property, we let them loose together in the paddock. Molly immediately informed Cisco of her desire to own and eat all of the hay and chased him away from the hay piles. She even bit him quite severely a few times when he didn't seem to understand that her pinned ears and shaking head were meant to move him out of her way. She didn't want him near her. We were a little concerned, but the hoopla disappeared in less than a week as Cisco started to understand that Molly meant business. She still gives him little reminders here and there when he forgets she is the boss. Although gelded, he is after all still a male.

After watching Molly chase Cisco around with teeth flashing, I figured she just plain didn't like him. It is quite possible she doesn't. If you watch them throughout the day, especially at feeding time, you are completely convinced she absolutely hates him. However, the first time I tried to ride her away from the paddock without him, she fought me every step of the way. As soon as she realized we were leaving the property, she panicked and turned to rush back to her herd mate.

It is not easy stopping a 1400 lb. horse when they've made up their mind to do something, especially when your initial efforts to stop them are met with more speed on their part.

I finally was able to bring her to a complete halt using the one-rein stop technique. As we walked past the barn on our way back, she was wide-eyed with her head in the air. She was sweating. She frantically searched for a view of Cisco through the barn windows. As soon as we were back in the paddock, she settled down. I was amazed. The horse she seemed to so vehemently hate was, in her mind, critical to her survival.

The relationship of a horse with its herd mates is complicated. Regardless, the driving factor is always survival. Survival of the individual horse means the horse must be pushy and defend its food from other horses, however, survival of the individual horse also depends on the security of the herd. For Molly, it's a love/hate thing...