I have read conflicting information on whether or not you should look a horse in the eye...what do you think? Will this help or hurt your interactions with a horse?
Depends on the horse and what you want to accomplish. If its a wild horse or unhandled and you are trying to gentle it so it trusts people, then normally you would not look it in the eyes right away - especially while trying to get that first physical contact.
However, with a horse that is tame and friendly then looking it in the eyes is not a problem.
Hmm, thats a good one. I've always heard not to "stare" a dog in the eye, because it means you want to fight or something lol.
I think with horses it's alright to look them in the eye at anytime. I always thought they read you mostly on body language? (I don't think I said that right lol)
For example, if I was standing calmly looking my horse, any horse in the eye I don't think there could be a problem. On the other hand, if I were staring at another horse with my body language showing that I was tense, upset, angry, etc. the horse may react differently.
I don't know if thats right, I'm just sort of guessing on this one lol.
before you've gained the trust of a horse, looking them in the eye is not a good idea. this is because predators in the wild will look into their prey's eyes to psych them out. however, once the horse has a trusting relationship with humans, looking them in the eye can even be a good thing sometimes because the horse fully understands that you are not there to eat them.
Looking them in the eye is a form of body language -- Mostly with scared/wild/nervous horses do you have to pay attention to it though.
I can look into my horses eye fine. But not with a horse that thought I wanted them for dinner.
Funny you should ask:lol: I read a study on this some time ago. I'll try to find it if I can and post a link. It was to see if looking in the eye made a difference when trying to catch a horse. The study concluded that it made no difference what so ever. :shock: I thought that was pretty interesting.
Vida..i read that same article..which is what sparked my interest in what people thought. I understand the prey idea..which makes sense. I have always looked horses in the eyes, and never had a problem.
I honestly don't pay enough attention :lol:
I don't lunge my horses (just a tiny bit with the babys) and don't have trouble catching any of them. I like looking in their eyes because they are so beautiful, but thats when I'm already in their face.
I do like a horse that will look me in the eye, maybe its just a personal thing :?. I pay more attention to butts and ears :lol:
When a horse looks another horse in the eye, it means "back off". They read it the same with people. When I want my horse to move away from me, I look him in the eye, and when I want him to come to me, I look to his shoulder. They look me in the eye when they're nervous or looking for direction.
It doesn't matter as much when you're grooming or cuddling or just hanging out, though. At least my horses don't really care. Which makes sense, because you're not asking them to do anything in those situations.
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