The Horse's "World View"
Through a study of Equine Ethology, we get a better understanding of how a HORSE sees the world.
Ethology is the study of animal behavior. This science was developed from the desire to understand how animals behave in their own environment. Ethologists study the spontaneous
behaviors and responses to stimuli- again, in their own natural environment. EQUINE Ethologists have studied horse behavior through years by careful observation, and are able to compare their behavior in the wild with their behavior in captivity.
A further specialization- NeuroEthology- studies how the the Central Nervous System (including the brain) gives rise to these behaviors. Even more specialized are the Equine Neuroethologists. There are just a few of these in the world, including Dr. Marthe Kyle Worthington, and their work has been extremely valuable to us in the horse world.
"Horses have shown that they make an effort to stick together and be nice to each other- they are 'stickers' not 'splitters'. They work at cementing bonds and deflating potential 'splitting' of the group." (Kiley-Worthington 1998).
What is important to the horse is vastly different from what we find important based on our individual needs. This is the first and most challenging thing that must be understood by the person. Once we do, we are well on our way.
When we add this to our equine husbandry, we find a once unresponsive or overly-concerned horse is now responsive to learning, seeking, and in over-all better general health.
"Looking through their eyes will open ours."