Galop 2Knowledge
Contents
- 01WelcomeOverview
- 02The five sensesKnowledge
- 03Life in the herdKnowledge
- 04The mouth and mealsKnowledge
- 05Feed, water, mealsCaring for the horse
- 06Housing, catching, turning outKnowledge
- 07More coats and patchesKnowledge
- 08The legsKnowledge
- 09Three breedsKnowledge
- 10GroomingCaring for the horse
- 11Quick-release knot and bridleCaring for the horse
- 12Saddling, saddle careCaring for the horse
- 13Work on footOn foot
- 14Mounting, girth, reinsIn the saddle
- 15Going forward, changing gaitIn the saddle
- 16Sitting or light seatIn the saddle
- 17Figures and arena rulesKnowledge
- 18The first fenceIn the saddle
- 19Equestrian activitiesKnowledge
- 20RevisionRevision
Horses together
In the field, a group of horses is never just a crowd: each one knows who it scratches with, who it follows and who it gives way to. Read these exchanges and you will also know where to stand when you walk in among them.
In the exam programme
- Describe how they behave with one another.Common module B
- Observe how horses or ponies behave with one another.Common module A
The horse is made to live in a group. Alone, it frets, calls out and looks for company. In the field or in an open barn, horses talk to each other constantly through their body language (ears, neck, tail, legs), through touch, through sounds — a whinny, a snort, a short squeal — and through smells.
Friendly behaviour
- Greeting: two horses who meet bring their nostrils together, blow at each other and sniff. The meeting sometimes ends with a squeal or a strike of a foreleg on the ground.
- Grooming: side by side, two horses scratch each other’s neck, withers and back with their teeth. This is mutual grooming.
- Resting together: side by side, often head to tail, each swishing the flies off the other.
- Playing: mostly the young ones and the males — nipping, chasing, rearing face to face, racing in a group.
- Following: they graze, move about and go to drink together. When one takes fright, head high and ears pricked, the others look the same way and may bolt together.
Threatening and avoiding
- Threatening: ears pinned back, neck stretched out, head low and aimed at the other, sometimes mouth open. The horse “sends off” another horse.
- Threatening to kick: it swings its quarters towards the other, lifting or waving a hind leg.
- Striking: a bite, a kick, a blow with a foreleg. Yet most quarrels stop at the threat, with no contact.
- Giving way: the other moves off, lowers its head or turns its quarters away.
These exchanges are often about food, water, shelter or a spot: one horse moves another off the hay pile, and the other gives way. They reveal how the group is organised, with its friendships and its pecking order, which you will study in Galop 3.
Watching a group
Mutual grooming
Side by side, two horses scratch each other’s withers with their teeth.
Play
Two youngsters rear up face to face.
A threat
Ears pinned back, neck stretched out: the other moves away.
Resting
It dozes, one hind leg resting.
- Stay outsideWatch from the fence, quietly, without calling the horses or showing them treats.
- Take your timeTen minutes or so is enough to see some interesting scenes, especially when the hay goes out.
- Note who is with whomWhich horses stay together, groom each other, follow each other? Which ones keep apart?
- Spot the threatsWho moves whom off the hay or the water trough? Which postures warn of a threat?
- Spot rest and alarmA horse dozing with a hind leg resting; a whole group lifting their heads towards the same point.
Safety
Never stand between two horses that are threatening each other, or in the middle of a group when the hay goes out. A kick meant for another horse can land on you.
A word from the instructor
Two horses scratching each other’s withers are doing exactly what you do when you groom. If yours offers to return the favour with its teeth, decline politely and take a step back.