The Problem With Noses

We have a big problem with noses at our farm.

It seems that everyone, whether they are new visitors or people who have been with us for some time, likes to play with my horse’s noses.

We had a visitor a few weeks ago.  The woman was very excited about meeting the horses.  She had ridden when younger but had not been around horses for some time.  She immediately went up to my big guy, John, and started rubbing his nose and hugging his head.

Very politely we explained that this was not appropriate behaviour around horses.    A horse’s head and face are very sensitive and vulnerable areas.  In the wild a predator may often grab a horse by its face to bring it down for the kill.   To get in a horse’s face is considered rude and aggressive.  What the horse needs is a human leader who will establish clear physical boundaries and personal space.

Although we as predators tend to be more face-to-face than horses   I try to explain the situation in a manner people can relate to.  I usually ask “the offender” how they would feel if, upon meeting them for the first time, I began rubbing or kissing their nose.  That usually gives them pause for thought.

Our visitor moved on to meet Mikey, my haflinger pony, who was standing quietly waiting for his rider.  Mikey is a game player.  He loves to get into peoples’ personal space, nudge them with his nose and catch their clothes in his lips. He does it gently  and everyone thinks it is very cute but we know that this is  how a horse establishes dominance.

Mikey and our visitor were getting more and more wound up and on top of each other.  I finally went over and moved him quite firmly out of her space.  Mikey was fine with my actions but the woman was quite upset and accused me of being mean (whether to Mikey or her I am not sure)

I don’t expect people to understand horse behaviour as it is usually outside of their life experience.  What surprises me however is that, in spite of our explanations, they still persist in their actions. What they need from the horse – warm, fuzzy interactions – seems to take precedence over the horse’s needs – firm assertive leadership with clear boundaries.

Until people come to understand their leadership responsibilities more clearly maybe I should just keep some baby bunnies on hand.

Advertisement