I am currently serving the Middle Kingdom and Midlands as Regional Equestrian Marshal. I'm very interested in helping people get involved in the equestrian community, and as such, I thought I would share some tips for how to behave around horses. Please keep in mind that this is in no way an all-inclusive guide to the safe handling of horses (whole books have been written on that subject), but is meant as a starting point for the uninitiated.
A
Few Suggestions for Meeting Horses
The main thing to remember, which may
seem obvious but is easily forgotten around well-behaved and friendly
horses, is that they are large and heavy prey animals with minds of
their own. (As prey rather than predator, horses are prone to flight
over fight; the longest-lived wild horses were not the ones who
stood around waiting to see what everybody else was running away
from.) Couple this with a horse's limited field of vision and you
are virtually guaranteed, given enough time around horses, to be
injured. The idea is to minimize the risk and, when the inevitable
happens, the injury. Here are a few things to keep in mind
which may help achieve both:
* Horses are prey animals. They may be
large and strong enough to hold their own against you, but they don't
necessarily know that. Nor do they know that they can hold their own
against your cloak, your hat, your veil, your strange-smelling armor,
etc. Things that flap, make sudden loud noises/sudden movements, or
“appear from nowhere” (i.e., without warning from outside that
limited range of vision) can trigger a horse's flight instinct. It
is not unreasonable to call out to a horse you're approaching if
you're not sure it sees you; if this makes you feel self-conscious,
a) remember that we walk into convenience stores dressed this way and
b) you can call out to the horse's human instead if that makes you feel
better-- just to be sure the horse knows you're coming. Happily, the
horses of our barony seem inured to the noise and motion of an event,
but be aware that even the calmest horse can blow its cool. The
horse always has a reason...we just don't always know what it is.
* Do not approach a horse without the
owner's permission. Even a horse you know well might be having a bad
day, or be feeling poorly and therefore cranky. It's always best to
check in with the (much safer) horse's human.
* Any good equestrian will tell you
that you can't say a horse absolutely will not bite, or kick, or
spook. They may have never done it before, but as soon as you say
it, the horse will find a reason and a way to prove you wrong.
They're perverse like that. Always be aware that even the
best-trained horses will make their own choices sometimes and behave
in unpredictable ways. Just be alert around them and don't assume
that they know (or care) where you are in relation to their feet,
heads, or rumps.
* Do not let a horse rub its head on
you. Besides being a rude habit on the horse's part, if s/he is
wearing a halter or bridle, you can wind up with bruises from the
hardware on the tack. Some horses will rub vigorously enough to toss
their muzzles head-high, resulting in the human scratching post
getting a bit shank or even hard horse teeth whacked across the face.
It feels just about as miserable as it sounds. Avoid it.
* If you get permission to pet a horse
and you reach for the horse's forehead (which is human nature), the
horse may toss his head. He's not necessarily being unfriendly; he's
just trying to watch your hand to find out what you intend to do to
him with it. Because a horse's eyes are on the side of his head
(prey animal!), he can't see what's directly in front of his face.
You can still pet him on the head, but slow movements are called for.
* If you must pass behind a horse, stay
as close to the horse's rump as possible-- touching, preferably, if
the horse will allow it; check with the owner for the horse's
rump-passage-tolerance. Many people will advocate passing behind a
horse “at a safe distance,” but the problem with that is figuring
out the safe distance. Some horses, when kicking behind, may just
lift a hind leg and let fly; others may get their whole bodies into
it and step backwards before kicking. Horses' legs are strung
together with dependent sets of ligaments; the power of the kick
doesn't begin and end with the little fetlock (ankle) or even the
relatively small hock, but from the back and through the pelvis to
the hip and on down to the hoof. Like an atl-atl, the force is
beautifully efficient and magnified. Imagine getting struck in the
jaw by a sledgehammer wielded by the strongest fighter you know. On
the other hand, passing close by the hind end of a horse minimizes
the damage by minimizing the force he can muster-- he can shove you
around a little bit, but he can't get a good swing going. Best, of
course, would be not to pass behind a horse at all if you can help
it, but when you must, up against the horse is better than a few feet
away.
* On a related note: if a horse is tied
to something sturdy (a tree, a fence post, etc.), don't duck under his
neck to get to the other side. A panicked horse can bolt forward,
squishing you between himself and whatever he's tied to. Even if
nothing panics him, he may lift a foreleg to shake off a fly or just
to paw the ground out of boredom. While getting whacked with an
errant foreleg is not as painful as a full-on kick, if you've just
taken a knee to the head or a hoof to the shin, that probably won't
be much comfort to you.
* Don't feed a horse without the
owner's express permission (even if you've fed them before). Horses
have stupidly sensitive digestive systems, and can (and will) eat
things that will make them sick or even kill them. They are, like
humans, one of the few animals that will eat themselves to death.
Don't think “it's just a carrot” or “just a handful” of
whatever-- ask the owner, just in case. Believe me, they'll thank
you for it.
* Don't wear sandals, slippers, and
other light footwear around horses. Big horses. Limited field of
vision. Hooves like stone. Be kind to your toes and keep them the
shape they are.
* I saw this warning on another group's
equestrian website, and while it horrified me to think you'd have to
tell people this, better safe than sorry: No live steel around the
horses. Ever. Seriously. Remember all that talk earlier about how
they can move in unpredictable ways? They are also marvelously prone
to bizarre accidents. And always remember-- an injury that, to us,
may seem minor can necessitate the on-site destruction of a horse.
And an emergency euthanasia is not something you want to see or be a
part of. Ever. I would hope that no one in the SCA would be silly
enough to pull a live weapon around one of our horses, but if you
ever see it done, be understanding if the horse's owner
goes bats about it. It's justified.
* To conclude, please keep in mind that
while this list may make it seem like horses are insanely evil, they
really aren't-- they, like us, just have their own personalities,
quirks, phobias and bad days. They are also fun, funny, and
affectionate. We, unlike our medieval counterparts, don't have
horses because we have to; we have them because we enjoy them.
There's a reason why we love them so much. Come find out what it
is.
