Horse Senses 1st Edition
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Horse
Senses Susan McBane
Co-Founder, Equine Behaviour Forum
Co-Editor of Equine Behaviour (with Dr Francis Burton)
Manson Publishing/The Veterinary Press
DEDICATION
To Pauline and Waverhead Rose (whose photo appears on the title page),
with many thanks for all the challenging rides.
‘ … after all, she’s only a Fell Pony!’
Front cover photo by David Watson of HORSEPIX of Megan, a Welsh Section D mare
owned by Caroline Lacey–Freeman
Copyright © 2012 Manson Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-84076-080-4
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written
permission of the copyright holder or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright Act 1956 (as amended), or under the terms of any licence permitting
limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33–34 Alfred Place,
London WC1E 7DP, UK.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
For full details of all Manson Publishing Ltd titles please write to:
Manson Publishing Ltd, 73 Corringham Road, London NW11 7DL, UK.
Tel: +44(0)20 8905 5150
Fax: +44(0)20 8201 9233
Website: www.mansonpublishing.com
Commissioning editor: Jill Northcott
Project manager: Kate Nardoni
Copy editor: Peter Beynon
Design and layout: Kate Nardoni
Colour reproduction: Tenon & Polert, Hong Kong
Printed by: New Era Printing Co. Ltd, Hong Kong
CONTENTS
Disclaimer 6
Acknowlegements 6
Preface 7
Introduction 8
Part 1: General Anatomy and Physiology 13
Chapter 1: The Nervous System 14
Chapter 2: The Endocrine/Hormonal System 18
Part 2: Systems of Communication and Information 23
Chapter 3: The Sense of Smell 24
Chapter 4: The Sense of Taste 27
Chapter 5: The Sense of Hearing 28
Chapter 6: The Sense of Sight 30
Chapter 7: The Sense of Touch 36
Part 3: Management and Work 41
Chapter 8: The Sense of Smell 42
Chapter 9: The Sense of Taste 62
Chapter 10: The Sense of Hearing 83
Chapter 11: The Sense of Sight 102
Chapter 12: The Sense of Touch 125
Further Reading 155
Index 157
DISCLAIMER
DISCLAIMER
The content of this book is provided for interest and information. The publisher and
author cannot be held responsible in any way for the results of applying the
techniques or using the information contained herein. The information is accurate to
the best of their knowledge and belief. This book is not intended as a substitute for
or to replace professional help. Its purpose is to help readers to understand and help
their horses, and to promote their welfare and health. Horses are unpredictable
animals and associating with them is potentially dangerous. Readers should take
appropriate safety precautions to safeguard themselves, their horses, other people and
animals, and property in addition to taking out their own insurance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank Dr Francis Burton for the great amount of work he has put into
helping me with this book. His generous and conscientious attitude has been very
much appreciated and, combined with his knowledge and skills, has given this book
an accuracy and authority that it could not otherwise have had. If there are any
remaining errors or inadequacies, they are mine and not his.
My thanks also go to my copy editor, Peter Beynon, who is a veterinary surgeon.
This is the first time I have had my work copyedited by a vet and his technical
knowledge of the subject has been a big help and reassurance to me, along with his
light touch and tact.
My good friend Pauline Finch deserves my sincere appreciation for executing most
of the line drawings in this book. She coped admirably not only with the task in hand,
but also with my tendency to ask for drawings at very short notice, which she never
failed to produce. She also generously made available her piebald, Sky, for some
photographs. Their trainer, Jo Birkbeck, BHSII, also spent a good deal of time staging
photographs and persuading Sky to come up with the goods, as did Vicky Gardner,
who helps to look after him. Pauline’s Fell Pony, Rose, to whom this book is
dedicated and who appears on the title page, is my special friend and teacher, and she,
too, had a hoof in several of the photographs, as did her companion, Shetland Pony
Pip Finch.
Liz Whitehead and her handsome horse, Drummer, also spent a morning posing for
photographs for which I was most grateful, and my sincere thanks also go to Betty
Paul and her human and equine family and friends, who appear in several of the
pictures.
Finally, my appreciation and thanks go to the team at Manson Publishing for their
professionalism and expert assistance in bringing this book to fruition.
6
PREFACE
PREFACE
For thousands of years people have associated with horses, initially for solely practical
purposes such as food and the use of their body parts and products (e.g. blood and
milk), and later for transport and also as companions and friends. This is quite
strange for two main reasons: firstly because horses are prey animals and humans are
historically predators, and secondly because the horse does not perceive the world as
we do. In fact, in several ways horses perceive it quite differently, and yet we have had
the closest of relationships over the generations.
I imagine that many of the veterinary students who will read this book will never
actually ride or drive a horse. I have always thought that not being able to ride and
acquire that extra level of experience of such a large, working animal must create a
disadvantage when it comes to treating his disorders, but on the other hand, perhaps
non-riders have more sense than those of us who do ride! Others who read this book,
such as equine science students and those who are planning a professional career with
horses, will also be riders. In either case, I hope this survey and introduction to equine
senses will help everyone to understand horses more and, in particular, understand why
they behave in the ways they do, ways that very often confuse even the most
experienced of horsemen and women.
We are very prone to dismissing horses’ behaviour and our lack of comprehension of
it with such phrases as ‘It’s just the way they are. We’ll never really understand them.’
This may be true, but surely we must try to do so as best we can, not only for our own
enjoyment, knowledge and safety, but also for the horses’ sakes. More and more, as
scientific research goes on in the fields of equine behaviour, anatomy and physiology,
we are coming to realise more clearly how horses work, and that is often very different
from how we have traditionally believed them to function and to think. Many people
still treat and train horses like human children, which is often not only highly
inappropriate, but also potentially dangerous and abusive.
Maybe I should not say it in a book of this nature, but I do not think science has all
the answers, although lay horse people do not, either. The best way forward is surely
for us all to work together, for none of us to think that we know it all, and for our joint
cooperation to result in greatly improved methods of working, caring for and managing
horses from their point of view. Over the years, horses seem to have learned far better
how to work with us than we have learned how to work with them. This is quite an
indictment against humankind when one considers how long we have used and
associated with horses and how many opportunities we have missed along the way.
By better appreciating life from the horse’s viewpoint through understanding how his
senses work and how he experiences our mutual world, I really hope we will realise
what an exceptionally giving and, in his own way, smart animal we are associating with.
Susan McBane
7
INTRODUCTION
This book aims to bridge the gap between scientific textbooks and books for the
general equestrian reader. I hope this will mean that it will be of use to horse
enthusiasts with little or no scientific knowledge, to first year equine science and
veterinary students, to those studying for professional equestrian examinations,
equine studies degrees and other courses, and to committed owners wanting to relate
science to practice. I have chosen the subject of the horse’s senses because so little
seems to have been written about them in the general equestrian literature. I have
tried to present information as reasonably up to date as I can according to the state
of both scientific and practical knowledge at the time of writing, bearing in mind that
research is an ongoing process that constantly adds to our knowledge, understanding
and viewpoint of horses.
Horses are extremely sensitive, perceptive animals, classic examples of grazing,
running prey animals with an intelligence developed in and geared towards their
natural environment, but with the added bonus of tremendous adaptability. They are
very strong in comparison with other species of similar body size, they are fast and
they are often easily trained depending not only on their propensities as a species but
also on individual inclinations tempered by past experience and current management
and state of mind.
Although initially used by man for food and ancillary purposes – every part of the
body being useful for something – their combined qualities of strength, size, speed,
sociability, trainability and adaptability and, in many cases, beauty were fairly
quickly realised and valued, being found together in no other animal (1). Horses are
often inquisitive and many of them seem to actually want to be with us and to learn
what we want to teach them once they know and trust us.
The senses of horses are highly developed, particularly those of hearing and smell.
Most animal species seem to have more effective senses than humans, who seem to be
particularly deficient in the ability to smell and hear as sharply as others.
Not all the horse’s qualities work in our favour, though. As a species, they are
suspicious and cautious, features that have contributed greatly towards their survival
as prey animals for millions of years. They can be highly strung, often nervous and
also highly reactive, depending not always on breed but often on individuality. They
pay great attention to their environment and are particularly alert to even small
changes in it – a tree blown down, a house painted a different colour, sheep in a field
where they are not normally, a vehicle or people and animals moving in the far
distance, roadworks or a newly ploughed field. Sometimes they react significantly to
these changes; sometimes they appear to merely note them.
As horses live naturally in a wide, open world, their mind-set is not so ‘close to
home’ as ours. They live mentally in a more far-reaching environment than we do;
they look a much greater distance ahead and around than we do; and they use their
vision, which in particular is quite different from ours, and hearing to assess their
8
INTRODUCTION
1 Although initially people had to
deal with horses purely for practical
reasons such as transport, haulage
and food, it cannot have been long
before affectionate relationships
developed. Horses are herd animals
with strong bonds with their family
and other herd members, but they
are just as happy to associate with
humans in most cases, provided
they are treated well.
surroundings for apparently miles around. These evolutionary traits mean that horses
can take in many of the features of their locale that are not recognized by humans.
Being naturally wary, they may easily react to features, movements, sounds and even
smells of which we are not even aware. Many a horse has been forcefully
reprimanded by its rider or driver for being stubborn, flighty or stupid, when he was
simply acting on information coming in from his superior senses, which warned him
that he could be in danger.
Throughout this book I have concentrated on trying to perceive and convey the
world as the horse seems to perceive it – something, of course, that it is impossible to
do perfectly accurately because we can never get inside a horse’s skin, never mind his
head, and live as he does. However, from what we know to date (and there is a very
great deal we still do not know) about a horse’s senses, it is quite possible to hazard
a reasonable guess at how they affect his behaviour and his viewpoint and experience
of this world and this life we both share. This enables us to give him much more
appropriate treatment in relation to his management and work, treatment that
accords with the kind of animal he is.
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
Some people call these therapies ‘alternative’ therapies, but I see them as absolutely
complementary to veterinary practices and treatments and also, often, to each other.
Complementary therapies can, of course, be used alone and so can what we currently
regard as orthodox medicine, but my experience is that the two together often
produce a synergistic effect.
9
INTRODUCTION
Some readers of this book may be students of veterinary medicine and equine science
and, as such, will be receiving conventional, ‘hard science’ training. They will be quite
right, bearing that in mind, to query whether or not complementary therapies actually
work. Increasingly, there is scientific evidence acceptable to the scientific community
that some therapies do work; for example, herbalism and also acupuncture (and, by
logical extrapolation, its related therapies of acupressure and shiatsu). A human
generation ago, physiotherapy and osteopathy were regarded as ‘quackery’ and some
doctors used to refer their patients privately ‘under the table’, as it were. Both
therapies are now mainstream in many countries, and doctors give referrals to
acupuncturists, homoeopaths and other therapists; this represents a real sea change in
outlook.
In some countries a referral from a veterinary surgeon is needed before any other
therapist is allowed to treat an animal. Also, in some countries, including the UK,
only a veterinary surgeon is permitted, by law, to diagnose an animal’s condition.
Even if this is not the case, I feel that consulting your veterinary surgeon first on
any aspect of your horse’s health care is the best course of action, not least because
of the rigorous all-round training vets receive in anatomy and physiology. As a
trained equine shiatsu practitioner myself, I have never yet come across a veterinary
surgeon who either belittled my therapy or would not allow me to treat a horse.
Some vets are themselves trained and qualified in specific complementary therapies,
notably homoeopathy, and a few are qualified in medical herbalism and other
modalities. The world is changing, and a more open-minded attitude is much more
evident in both human and animal medicine, and is expected by many patients and
clients.
In Part 3 of this book (Management and Work), I have given some details of a
complementary therapy that seems particularly appropriate for the sense under
discussion. I hope this will encourage readers to look further into the whole field of
complementary therapies in relation to management, health maintenance and healing.
EQUINE BEHAVIOUR
Everything a horse does comprises some kind of behaviour. It always amazes me that
there are so many professional and amateur horse people who say that they are not
particularly interested in equine behaviour as such. Everything we ask a horse to do is
a request for a particular type of behaviour, from moving over in the stable or standing
still for attention to hacking out safely, winning races or jumping formidable fences;
therefore, everyone, whether they admit or realise it or not, is interested in equine
behaviour.
Formal, traditional teaching organisations have only quite recently started to
feature equine psychology and behaviour more in their syllabuses; however, the
coverage still seems to be very sparse compared with other aspects of dealing with
horses such as riding and general management. Despite this, people are very ready to
complain when horses ‘misbehave’ or do not act as their human connections would
wish. It is a sobering experience when you come to realise that most horses’ behaviour
problems are caused by the inappropriate management methods and training
techniques inflicted on them by us humans.
10
INTRODUCTION
A lot of the difficulty, I believe, is because it is still not generally or fully appreciated
how differently from us a horse perceives the world. There is still a great deal we do not
know regarding both the horse’s senses and his behaviour. The latter is very often the
result of his perception and assessment of something in his surroundings, something we
may even be completely unaware of such as a high-pitched sound, ground vibrations,
an interesting smell or something suspicious within the horse’s field of vision but outside
ours. His view of a fence, for instance, may be different from ours in both form and
colour, so he may refuse a perfectly simple looking fence and is unable to tell us why
(2).
There are many excellent books on equine behaviour itself (see Further Reading).
This book concentrates on trying to describe the horse’s senses, mainly in practical
terms, and details how the horse’s senses can be taken account of during management
and training/working techniques, making for better understanding and, it is hoped,
removing the confusion and frustration often currently experienced by both parties.
Horses meet us well over halfway in our lives together. There is so much more that
we could do to repay their generosity and trust.
2 A horse may refuse an easy looking fence because his vision gives him a different view of it
from our own. Something on the periphery of his field of vision, on the other side of the fence
or even towards the rear extreme of his field of vision may discourage him from jumping.
11
INTRODUCTION
THE EQUINE BEHAVIOUR FORUM
The Equine Behaviour Forum (EBF) was founded (as The Equine Behaviour Study
Circle) in 1978 by the late Dr Moyra Williams (a clinical psychologist and renowned
horsewoman and performance horse breeder) and the author of this book. It is an
international, British-based forum, run on a voluntary and non-profit basis, for the
exchange of information and opinions on equine behaviour and, as such, is not a
formal teaching organisation. Its current Chairman and Scientific Editor is Dr Francis
Burton of The University of Glasgow.
Written and illustrated almost entirely by its members, its quarterly journal,
Equine Behaviour, is popular with scientists and lay readers, professional horse
people and amateurs alike. It publishes articles, opinions, letters, book reviews,
conference reports and similar features. The EBF presents a Scientific Symposium
most years. More information can be obtained by visiting the EBF’s website:
www.gla.ac.uk/external/EBF/
12
Part 1
General
Anatomy and
Physiology
The main control systems of the body
are the nervous system and the
endocrine/hormonal system. These two
systems often work closely together in
many different functions, ranging from
the lightning reactions needed in cases
of urgent self-preservation in the
presence of danger to processes that
sustain life in general such as digestion,
the beating of the heart, breeding and
many others.
Chapter 1:
The Nervous System
Chapter 2:
The Endocrine/Hormonal
System
13
General Anatomy and Physiology
Chapter 1
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The nervous system is a complex and highly organised system of electrically active
neurones or nerve cells that send and receive signals as electrical impulses. Stimuli
from the environment and from the body itself are received and coordinated via
sensory receptors, and commands are conveyed to glands (see The
Endocrine/Hormonal System) and muscles so that the horse can sense and respond,
often in a split second, to internal and external stimuli from light reflections and
sound waves, to a rider’s aids, to a potential predator approaching or to a kick from
another horse.
The nervous system is divided into two parts: the central nervous system (CNS)
comprising the brain and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
comprising the nerves and ganglia (masses of nerve cell bodies) branching from the
CNS around the body.
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
The brain, housed inside the cranial cavity of the skull, consists of soft, pinky-grey
tissue, which is the main mass of ganglia in the body. The spinal cord runs from the
brain down inside the backbone, which is formed by individual bones or vertebrae
linked by pads of cartilage, the protein-rich protective pads found in many joints.
Messages can be received and sent by both the brain and the spinal cord (3a, b).
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Branching out from the spinal cord through grooves between the vertebrae are many
nerves. These are string-like structures consisting of a collection of nerve fibres or
cells that carry messages or impulses to and fro all around the body, according to the
purpose of the nerve. There are sensory and motor nerves, and also nerves known as
mixed nerves because they can transmit messages both to and from the CNS.
The sensory function of the PNS is carried out by two types of nerve fibres, which
sense conditions both inside and outside the body.
The motor nerves have a voluntary function that enables the horse to perform
actions as, and if, he wishes. There is also an involuntary function, which the horse
cannot control; this governs such matters as digestion, reproduction and heart
function. Sometimes, the horse can take some control over this involuntary function,
notably in the occasional control of breathing (such as sniffing to detect a smell) and
mares can hold back on foaling to some extent until they judge the environment is
safe. Generally, though, the involuntary function of the PNS is beyond the horse’s
control.
The peripheral nervous system is divided by function into the somatic nervous
system and the autonomic nervous system.
14
General Anatomy and Physiology: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Somatic Nervous System
The somatic nervous system is responsible mainly for actions that are voluntary or
under the control of the horse’s will and that involve the contraction of skeletal
muscles. The horse decides whether or not to wander over to a different patch of
grass, to scratch his ear, comply with his rider’s wishes or kick the vet.
a
Lumbar vertebra Brain
Outline of skeleton
Simplified nerve
tissues
3a, b (3a) Diagram showing how b
nerves branch out around the body
Spinous process
from the spinal cord, which itself runs
from the brain. (3b) Diagram of a
lumbar vertebra showing how the
spinal cord runs through the vertebrae Transverse
along the spine, from the brain to process rd
co
approximately halfway down the
dock. l
ina
Sp
Body of vertebra
15
