Horses can be calm and good-natured, but become uneasy when they sense fear, nervousness or inexperience from their riders. Horses are socially highly developed creatures and are very communicative and cooperative. However, it must be understood that horses are basically prey animals and therefore always on the defensive. Their main defense mechanism is running so they survive by cooperating with each other to detect danger. Communicating with a horse in its own language, which is body language, is the most ethical and effective method to create calmness and trust. It is important to be able to evaluate a horse’s behavior through its body language to calm it down before it gets scared and tries to run.
Humans have been studying the body language of horses for centuries and in training and dealing with horses, this knowledge has been forgotten and rediscovered many times. This simple and basic understanding of a horse’s body language can prevent dangerous situations.