Training Horses - Learning How to Train Lilly - It Begins!

 Training Horses 

Learning How to Train Lilly 

It Begins

So to help me train Lilly I am taking a special online class. It is called 30 Day Relationship Fast Track. Since Lilly is not here yet, Gabi Neurohr (the women who does the training) very graciously has offered to extend the classes for me an additional 2 weeks so that I can still have the 30 days of support. I want to document all that I am learning so I can revisit it as well as show our progress as a team. I can not share any resources from the training - but I can talk about what I am learning and I can show videos of what I am doing with Lilly. So that is my plan. There is a private facebook group, weekly zoom meetings, and daily assignments. EEK! I am so excited. 

I found Gabi when I read her book "Understanding is the Key" Then I bought her course Road-Map Foal to Dream Horse which gives flow charts to help you know what you should be teaching your horse at different stages and in what order. 

So now I will be taking the 30 Day Relationship Fast Track. The first day is today! 

 

🎶Happy 5th Month Birthday Midnight Lilly Belle 🎶

Lilly is 5 months old! This is her LAST birthday away from home. In just 2 more weeks she will be home!!!! I am so excited. The dream is becoming a reality!

5 months old 9/26/2020

4 months old 8/26/2020 (Picture from 9-2-2020)

3 Months 7/26/2020

2 Months 6/26/2020

1 Month 5/26/2020

Newborn 4/26/2020

Happy birthday to my wonderful Midnight Lilly Belle. In less than a month she will be home! Her next birthday she will be with us! She has had a lot of big events in her life this month!

I will do a recap of her first 5 months and all the milestones she has accomplished.

Milestones:

4/26/2020 Lilly Born

5/7/2020 Lilly gets her full name - Midnight Lilly Belle

5/6/2020 Lilly gets us as her new family :-)

5/13/2020 Lilly has such long legs

5/13/2020 Lilly loves being a big "sister"

5/22/2020 Lilly is growing 

5/26/2020 Lilly is 1 month old Happy Birthday

5/28/2020 Lilly's Best Friend

5/28/202 Lilly is gaining some independence

6/3/2020 Lilly grows into her long legs (at least for a little)

6/14/2020 Lilly learns how to wear a halter 

6/26/2020 Lilly is 2 months old

7/13/2020 Lilly loses her best friend Dolly

7/13/2020 Lilly makes a new best friend Hugo

7/22/2020 Lilly starts learning to lead

7/26/2020 Lilly's Photo Shoot

7/26/2020 Lilly is 3 Months old

8/3/2020 Lilly Update

8/8/2020 Lilly's Next Big Step Weaning

8/13/2020 Lilly Eating Grain for the First Time

8/19/2020 Lilly's Mom Leaves
8/20/2020 Countdown Officially Begins

8/20/2020 Preparing for Lilly's Travel Across USA

8/26/2020 Learning to be Tied

8/26/2020 Lilly is 4 Months old

9/1/2020 Lilly's First Bath - NOT A FAN!!!

9/2/2020 Lilly Gets a Battle Wound

9/3/2020 Lilly's Health Requirements

9/15/2020 Lilly is Preparing to Travel Home!

9/18/2020 Lilly Learning the Trailer 

9/19/2020 Lilly Update

Lilly Update 9-19-2020

 Lilly Update 

9-19-2020

There have been fewer pictures since Lilly has been at the other barn learning how to be an independent weanling. But it always fills my heart with joy when Rebecca has the chance to post pictures on Facebook. I always scan the pictures looking for my Lilly. She just posted some pictures today of the weanlings and I found my Lilly! I love getting new pictures. So here are Lilly's most recent pictures. She has a new weaning buddy. Looks like her and Turtle are friends. 

 This one you can actually see Lilly's battle wound scab - hopefully the hair is able to grow back. 

 Lilly Learning the Trailer 
9-18-2020

The weanlings horses at All the King's horses are learning how to be comfortable in the trailer. Rebecca has the babies go through a "baby bootcamp" to learn a lot of new skills quickly so they are ready to go to their new homes. She has a great way of helping the weanlings learn how to load into the trailer on their own. Every day they get their grain IN the trailer. This helps them associate the trailer with getting something yummy as well as making them confident and comfortable going into a trailer on their own. I am so glad Lilly will be having lots of trailer time before she makes the 3 day journey from Pennsylvania to Wyoming in less than a month!

I love how in so many of these pictures I am getting with the herd Lilly is looking up at the camera. All the other horses are busy eating or doing their thing - but it is like Lilly is looking right at me :-) 💕💖

Lilly's 2nd Photoshoot with Foxglove 9/2/2020

 Lilly's 2nd Photoshoot with Foxglove

9/2/2020

Lilly got to have a second photo shoot. Rebecca was having Foxglove photography come out and take pictures of the other horses so I decided to also have her take more pictures. I am so glad I did. She looks amazing! She is growing up so much. Here is a compilation of the photos that were taken that day. The other horse with her in some of the pictures is Dancer. She is a GVHS registered Gypsy Vanner filly 4/22/2020 her name is AKH Ballet Dancer. 

 Lilly is Preparing to Travel HOME!!!!!!!

Lilly will be doing many things in preparation to travel to Wyoming and come HOME!!! The most important prep is her pre-travel vet check. This is where she will get her last vaccination to help prepare her to be around different horses when she arrives her. She will also get the much needed coggins blood test and her travel health certificate. Without a negative coggins test and a travel health certificate she will not be allowed to travel to Wyoming. She also will not be allowed to be registered as MY horse once she arrives. So these are two very important documents to have as she prepares for travel. In anticipation of her vet visit she also had her feet trimmed for the first time! Here are my conversations with Rebecca about these two events. 

 Learning About Horses - Touch

Horses have extremely sensitive sense of touch. It even helps them identify flies on their skin. The sense of touch is one of the most developed and important for the horse in terms of human interaction. 

Horses vs Humans

The horses' sense of touch is MUCH more sensitive than humans. Horse's entire body is as sensitive as human fingertips. 

Horses' Nose

The horse's nose is especially sensitive. Vibrissae are a horse's whiskers. Vibrissae are coarse tactile hairs around the muzzle and eyes. Vibrissae are important sense organs and gather much information about their environment. These coarse hair can help them sort hair from baling twine. They can help them find what is at the bottom of a bucket. Horses can even use their prehensile nose to open anything. Horses use their sensitive muzzles to lip, lick, chew, bite, warn, defend, groom, find the mom's udder, and touch the ground to evaluate the safety, softness, and depth of ground. 

Nerves

The primary facial nerve is the trigeminal nerve. The maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve is the primary facial nerve. It exits the skull through the infraorbital foramen (this is where nosebands sit). The smaller branches make the skin of the muzzles, nose, nostrils, and upper lip sensitive. Another branch makes the lower lip, chin sensitive. It leaves the mandible at the mental foramen (right where flash nosebands go)

I found these new and better nose bands, bridles, and tack that take these nerves into account. I do not need these yet for Lilly since they are for riding a horse and that will be in a few years. 

The Dressage Connection & Horse Nation & Tota Comfort System are good articles and places to buy these when the time comes. 

Here are some other bridles that are trying to address these as well. 

Horses have pressure points and sensitive nerves. These nerves are related smell, vision, neck muscles, and even heart rate. If you press on nerves it can cause hindrance to all or some of these functions. 

How can you expect a horse to remain well balanced if the bridle is putting pressure on the "balance" cranial nerves. 

It is important that bridles avoid the main facial nerve, spare important blood vessels & arteries, and reduce pressure on the horse's neck.

It is important the the headpiece, noseband are designed to release pressure from the horse's head, nose, and neck. Making your that your horse has the maximum comfort through extra padding. 

Horse Sensitivity Varies

The thickness of the skin, hair coat, breed, age, and the density of nerve receptors make the horses' sensitivity to touch vary widely. The horse has hair follicles and nerves in the dermis layer of the skin that are receptors for touch, pressure, pain, vibration, and temperature. 

Most Sensitive Parts

The nose, lips, mouth, and ears are the most sensitive areas. They can also detect when the hair on their body is touched. This helps them protect their sensitive organs such as eyes, mouth, and nose. The horse's hair protects them and MUST NOT be shaved off. 

They can feel a fly on a single hair. The most sensitive areas of a horse are the head, poll (bridge of nose and mouth), the back, and the sides. 

Hooves

Hooves do not respond to touching, but various parts of the hoof are able to feel touch. 

Understanding the Sensitivity 

It is important that humans understand the degree that horses are sensitive to touch. Horses can feel the slightest touch with their lips. It is very important that reins and bridles fit correctly on the horse's head and mouth. 

Predators

Predators will bite the nose of a horse to pull the horse down. We can not act like predators. 

Practical application

Knowing that a horse can feel a fly land on its back makes it even more obvious that the slightest shift of weight in the saddle can affect the way a horse moves. This acute sensitivity is why position is so important when the rider is asking the horse to perform specific maneuvers. Poor position, exaggerated movement, excessive force are confusing to horses and result in poor performance. It is really important to use the sense of touch to create a willing partnership between horse and human. 

Horses Using Touch 

Horses also use touch with each other. Foals seek touch from their moms. Mares respond by to the touching behavior in many ways. When a foal nuzzles or suckles the mare lets down their milk. They use touch to groom and scratch each other's itches with their teeth. 

https://www.equisearch.com/discoverhorses/horse-touch#:~:text=The%20sense%20of%20touch%20is,are%20able%20to%20feel%20touch.

https://lvperformance.com/blog/facts-on-horses-senses-you-need-to-know/

https://horses.extension.org/horse-senses/#Touch

https://countryways.blog/2018/07/01/bridles-re-designed/

Learning About Horses - Smell & Nose

 Learning About Horses - Smell

Horses have a strong sense of smell. Horses can detect each other with just this sense. Horses remember the unique smells of the horses in the herd. These smells remain in the horse's brain for a long time. A horse is able to smell human sweat because of fear or anxiety and then respond accordingly. 

Horses use their sense of smell to identify friends, seek sexual relationships, recognize territory, find appetizing meals, and sense danger. Humans are predators so they are much more vision-oriented. "Horses depend on their sense of smell the way we depend on language."

Dogs have the most sensitive noses but horses are not far behind. 

Horses can smell water and food if it is clean or not. 

Nostrils are designed to take in a greater number of molecules. 

Because humans have such a poor sense of smell and do not understand all the complications that can occur during such research. We do not understand the actual range and acuity of a horse's sense of smell. 

Nasal Anatomy

Horses have long cavernous nasal passages that facilitate the intake of large quantities of air during exercise, as well as all the chemical messages in air. 

Horses olfactory receptors are amazing. They have millions of elongated nerve cells (specialized to analyze smells) located in the mucous membranes in the upper portion of the nasal cavity. When airborne odor molecules come into contact with the lipid and protein material of the mucous membranes, they interact with the microscopic tufts of hair protruding from the receptor cells. When the horse sniffs if can intensify the currents of air in the nasal passages. This provides more contact between the odor molecules and the receptor cells and gives it more time for analysis. 

The olfactory cells send out two branches: One extends over the surface of the olfactory mucosa. One acts as a direct pipeline to the brain. 

The horse has twin olfactory bulbs (distinct areas of the brain responsible for identifying scents). They are located at the very front of the cerebrum - one on each lobe of the cerebrum. They are connected via the main olfactory nerves to the receptors in the nasal passages. The olfactory bulbs are one of the only brain structures that do not cross over. The receptors in the left nostril are connected to the left olfactory bulb. Right is connected to right. 

Horses have TWO olfactory systems

Horses have a second pair of olfactory organs under the floor of the horse's nasal cavity - the vomeronasal organs (Jacobson's Organs). Almost all animals have vomeronasal organs (VNO) EXCEPT humans, cetaceans sea mammals which do not have them. Lots of research has been done with reptiles and rodents but not much for equines. 

VNOs in horses are tubular and cartilaginous and are about 12 centimeters long. Even though they are so big they are carefully concealed. They are lined with mucous membranes. They contain more sensory fibers of the olfactory nerve. They are connected to the main nasal passages by a duct called the nasopalatine duct. Because horses are NOT mouth breathers the VNOs only communicate with the nasal passages. VNOs seem to expand and contract like a pump with stimulation from strong odors. They have their own pathways to the brain. They function almost completely as separate sensory organs. 

VNOs main purpose is the detection and analysis of pheromones, the chemicals signals emanating from other horses. The main purpose of pheromones is to indicate an animal's sexual status. The VNO is a sex organ. VNOs help stallion identify when a mare is in heat and receptive to breeding, when she is out of season & reject his advances, and when there is a rival stallion in the area ready to steal his mares. 

Stimulation of VNOs has a profound influence on the animal's endocrine system. 

"Flehmen" posture is when horse tilt up his head, curl upper lip in a "horse laugh" appears to help horses trap pheromone scents in the VNOs so they can be analyzed more closely. After the horse draws in the organic odor (several seconds of olfactory investigation), he curls up his lip up to temporarily close the nasal passages and hold the particles inside. Then an upward head tilt seems to help the airborne molecules linger in the VNOs. A horse performing a flehmen is giving you an outward demonstration of a stimulated vomeronasal organ. Stallions flehmen the most. Mares will also flehmen will do it smelling the birthing fluids on a newborn foal often triggers the response. 

Horses also flehmen when they come in contact with an unusually strange or pungent inorganic odor-smoke from a fire or fresh paint. 

A horse's olfactory systems never rest. Horses analyze smells every second of the day-barn smells and herd smells, water smells, plant smells, and the smells of the humans, dogs, and cats that enter his environment every day. In a domestic setup, a horse's olfactory senses might be overwhelmed with artificial odors like liniments, fly sprays, and deworming drugs.

Domestic horse's sense of smell is a marvel, capable of identifying his owner at 100 paces, helping to bring him (and you) home from the woods even then the trail has disappeared, alerting him to the presence of yucky medications in his sweet feed even though you've doctored them with applesauce and molasses. 

https://lvperformance.com/blog/facts-on-horses-senses-you-need-to-know/

https://thehorse.com/13971/equine-sense-of-smell/

Learning About Horses - Taste & Mouth

 Learning About Horses - 

Taste (gustation)

Sense of taste in horses is probably not as important as sense of smell. It is difficult to separate behavioral responses due to taste or olfactory sense. 

Horses use their sense of taste to differentiate between different types of feed. If a horse has access to multiple forage species the horse will select different types and species more than sheep, goats, or cattle. 

Horses are NOT "nutrition wise." Based on research it seems like horses will not balance their own rations when provided with a variety of feeds. Horses will also consume higher levels than necessary to meet their nutrient needs. However, they are selective grazers basing their choices on taste and texture. They will USUALLY avoid toxic plants if there are better choices available. BUT will eat them if pasture or hay is limited. They choose to graze on younger more tender plants.

Tip of the tongue

The tip of a horses' tongue is very mobile. This helps the incisors and lips select, grasp, and move it into the mouth. The tip of the tongue is also very sensitive and allows the horse to choose what it wants in its mouth since it can not see right in front of its nose. 

Use their tongue

The top of the tongue is covered with papillae (tiny protuberances) that provide traction. The papillae help move the food down to the esophagus for swallowing. As the horse eats, the food mass will stick to the top of its tongue. The horse presses this to the roof of their mouth and move it to the teeth for mastication. The more the food is masticated, the more it breaks down, releasing nutrition, and more saliva is released to help in digestion. 

They also use their tongues to clean their teeth, poke out leftover food, and allow saliva to wash over them. 

Horse taste buds are located on the base of the tongue or the soft palate and are ovoid in shape. They function as chemical receptors and the Glossopharyngeal nerve or the Trigeminal nerve may become activated. Horses also have some extra taste buds on the Epiglottis. The epiglottis covers the windpipe opening during the swallowing process. So when a horse swallows he gets an extra burst of flavor. Horses do not have any taste buds on the tips of their tongue. 

Horses prefer sweet and salty flavors. They can taste salty, sour, sweet, and bitter. 

The cheek teeth grind the food which mixes with alkaline saliva. There are 3 pairs of salivary glands: Parotid, Submaxillary, and Sublingual. 

The Parotid (located behind the jaw and under the ear) are the largest. Partly under the Parotid glands and partly inside the jaw bone itself are the Submaxillary glands. The Sublingual gland is found under the tongue and can be felt under the skin in between the bones in the jaw. It's like a little bubble that will flex when you push on it. 

Adult horses can secrete up to 10 gallons of salvia a day!!!

Horses should eat slowly. Grain should take 5-10 minutes PER POUND to consume. Hay should be consumed at their leisure and usually takes 15-20 minutes to eat a pound of hay. Hay will absorb four times its weight in saliva. 

Saliva is the digestive juice that acts on starches and sugars and lubricates the food to help with swallowing. The tongue helps push the food towards the pharynx. 

When a horse drinks the tongue is used like a suction pump like we do when we drink from a straw. The horse consumes 1/2 pint of water per swallow. 

https://www.equisearch.com/discoverhorses/horse-taste?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-expert-how-to-for-english-riders

https://www.communitynewslinesville.com/horsin-around-with-roseanne/2258-the-horses-sense-of-taste#:~:text=Horses%20have%20taste%20buds%2C%20just,Trigeminus%20nerve%20may%20become%20activated.&text=The%20horse%20does%20not%20have,the%20tip%20of%20the%20tongue.

https://horse-canada.com/magazine/miscellaneous/10-amazing-facts-equine-sense-taste/

Learning About Horses - List of Lessons

 Learning About Horses - 

List of Lessons

• Basic Needs
• Digestive System
• Grooming

• Hoof Care
• Brushes
• Hooves
• Life Cycle
• Nutrition - Young Horses
• Senses
• Eyes & Sight
• Ears & Hearing
• Taste & Mouth
• Smell & Nose
• Touch
• Training

• Creating Connection
• Focus Work
• Principles of Training
• Weight Calculators

Learning About Horses - Hearing & Ears

 Learning About Horses - 

👂Hearing👂

When thinking about training and working with Lilly - hearing is another consideration. 

What do horse's hear? How much better is a horse's hearing compared to a humans. These are the questions I wanted answers to.

Knowing how a horse hears can help you understand the horse's behavior and help you anticipate and avoid dangerous spooks or reduce his anxiety in noisy environments. 

A horse's hearing is much better than ours. They use their hearing for 3 purposes. 

Detect Sounds

Determine location of sounds

Provide sensory information to identify sounds

Horse hearing is similar to that of humans. 

Shape of the ears

Horses external ears are called pinnae. The pinnae act like satellite dishes to capture sound waves and funnel them to his inner ear. The horse's large dish like ears  capture noises that you might miss with your small flat ears. 

Horses can move their ears 180° using 10 different muscles (humans only have 3 muscles) to single out a specific area to listen to. This allows a horse to orient itself toward the sounds to be able to determine what is making the noise. The ears can also rotate independently. The ears are shaped to locate, funnel, and amplify sounds. 

Type of hearing

Horses have binaural hearing (like all animals) meaning his ears hear sound concurrently. 

Range of Frequencies

A horse can hear low to very high frequency sound 14 Hertz to 25,000 Hertz (55-35,500 Hertz) (humans can only hear 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz). Horses hear the best in the 1,000-16,000 Hertz The decibel levels are about the same between humans and horses.

This means that horses can hear things that we do not hear. In contrast to dogs - dogs can hear even higher sounds as high as 45,000 Hertz. 

This means that horses respond to training commands that are very low in volume. Horses are also sensitive to tone of voice. We need to have a confident tone. Avoid overly emotional tones such as shrill, high pitches.

Horse needs to hear predators

Horses are hard-wired to listen for the sounds of stealth-the snap, crackle, pop of grass and twigs under a predator's paws. These telltale rustling contain high-frequency sounds, which your horse uses to locate the direction from which they came. They do not need to hone in on a precise location only an approximate indication of where the sound erupted so he can run in the opposite direction. 

Steps in the hearing/fleeing process for horses

1. hear a sound
2. eye movement
3. raise and turn head
4. freeze his body so as not to give away his position (quit chewing)
5. perceives danger
6. spook & run

Emotional Hearing

Horses have very strong emotional (fear) response to whatever sensory input they might receive. Fear triggers your horse's flight mechanism. This hair-trigger response is an important thing to have. A brave horse is a dead. His best shot for survival is to run first and think later. 

Watchdog of the Herd

Some horses react more strongly to sound because they are the watchdogs of the herd. They have to be more alert to warn the whole herd of danger. To help reduce the "watchdog's" reactivity you can block out a majority of noise with earplugs. Most importantly watch your horse's ears. They tell you where his attention is. If you see a piece of plastic blowing to the left - look at his left ear if the open part of the ear swivels toward the bag (Pyer Reflex) he's tuning into it. 

They use their great sense of hearing to pick up on changes in their environment. 

Horse's Use Body Language

Horse use body language as a key component of their communication. Since horses are herd animals they communicate via body language rather than vocalisation and sound. Subtle body and head cues, twitch of an ear, widening of an eye to communicate. 

They use their ears to communicate what they are thinking and feeling. A horse that puts its ears back means that they are angry, threatening, or warning. Ears forward means the horse is attentive and listening. If the ears are tipped forward, stiff and nostrils are flared the horse is scared or really interested in something. 

Hearing issues can affect their behavior. 

Check a horse's ears every day to make sure it does not have insect infestation or infection. (redness, scratching, hair loss (could indicate rubbing)).

Horses are not as affected by hearing loss as humans. Hearing loss happens with age, disorders, brain disease, head trauma, ear infections. 

10 Facts on Horses' Hearing

Learning About Horses - Sight & Eyes

 Learning About Horses - 

👀Horse's Eyesight👀

As I was thinking about training Lilly and getting a flag to use with her I had a thought - what CAN horses see. I know that dogs can not see the same colors as humans so it made me think about what colors will Lilly be able to see. This lead me to the following discoveries. 

Scientist are still learning about horse vision. There is many contradicting facts out there in the world of horse vision. This is what I have found that seems to be the most accurate/uptodate information we have about horse vision. 

"Equine vision is different from human vision in almost every way---acuity, range, eye contact and detection of peripheral motion, just for starters." 
Acuity - humans have 20/20 vision. This means that you can see something 20 feet away. A horse's acuity is 20/30 (20/60 one study showed) which means that details we can see from 30 feet (60 feet) the horse can only see them if he is 20 feet away. The horse has to be 50% closer to see the same details. Horses can also be nearsighted or farsighted. Horse acuity also changes with age. The best acuity in horses occurs around 7 years old. Before that it is still developing. After that, it is declining. The size of the nose also factors into acuity. Long convex horses have better acuity than horse with short concave noses. 

Points of View

The horse sees 4x more area than we do. This means they are going to see things before we do and since they are prey animals more things are going to be threatening. The horse's vision is poor above and below his eyes. A horse can not see the person standing directly behind him so always approach the hindquarters from the shoulder.

A horse also can not see from his eye level to the ground below his nose. He can not see the grass, the bit, the fingers that stroke his muzzle - he uses his mouth & whiskers to sense these objects.

Visual field - this is the area that an animal can see.
Horses' eyes are positioned on the sides of head (laterally).

Range of vision is 350°
65° binocular vision (humans have 90° binocular vision)
285° monocular vision
The range of a horse's monocular vision, blind spots are in shaded areas

A horse has two blind spots = in front of the face 3-4 feet and right behind its head which extends over the back and behind the tail when standing with the head straight forward.
Horses have a smaller field of vision for depth perception than humans.

A horse can use binocular vision to focus on distant objects by raising its head.

A horse with the head held vertically will have binocular focus on objects near its feet

From what I am seeing it is really important to use loose reins when riding so the horse can see where is it going. Being able to move their head up and down so they can use their binocular vision is going to help the horse.
Horses are also more objective when it comes to what they are seeing. Human brains are more prone to illusions and assumptions.

Looking Sideways

Trying to make a horse look at something head-on is making the horse use their worst vision. The horse needs to look at something sideways in order to see something clearly. How to help a horse - if a horse is scared of something they see - allow the horse to more in circles or loops at the closest distance she considers safe. Use vicarious learning - let the horse see a familiar human (or even better another horse) walk to the object, stand next to it, and speak calmly. She will recognize the voice. Stroke her neck and encourage her to approach. A step or two more than she wants is success. Stop and come back at it another day. When the horse is relaxed at a distance ask her to walk back and forth past the object. Than if she is willing ask her to advance head-first and allow her to sniff the object. Stroke her neck and speak calmly. She will probably jump a few times. Touch the object to make it make a soft noise so she can learn more about the object by using her excellent hearing. Always listen to the horse. Do what the HORSE is comfortable with. You are able to see things differently than her. Remember that!

Predator and Prey

We are predators. Horses are prey. This is a biological fact. Our forward facing eyes tells our horses that we are predators. Prey animals identify predators by smell and sight. Human eye contact has a warning effect. Use it as a reprimand ONLY it is the human equivalent of an alpha mare's flattened ear. If a horse is moving too quickly slow down. Look down, watching and listening to her feet. If a horse is hard to catch - look to the side and slowly walk backward toward the horse while speaking quietly.
Horse MUST be highly aware of peripheral motion. It doesn't matter if they know WHAT they saw they just need to notice peripheral motion immediately so they can leave at a high speed before a potential predator begins to approach. 

The human brain takes half a second to process - this half second is out of the question for a horse in the wild. Every millisecond delay could mean death. Nothing is lost from running from a harmless object.

To help the horse - sharpen YOUR peripheral senses. Become MORE aware. If a horse is more nervous in an area he was not been nervous in - he notices something that you do not and is trying to tell you about it.

What People See	Why	What Horses See	Why
A large opened silver gate	Your eyes auto-focus using flexible disc-like lenses that are attached to powerful ciliary muscles. These muscles flex or relax as needed to adjust your lens shape so you can send a sharp image to your retina.	A hologram with a collage of silver arms, shimmering in and out of focus reaching forward as he approaches and passes it	They have eyes monocular vision because they have eyes on the sides of their heads. Their eyes work independently sending separate images to separate sides of their brain. Only when your horse has directed both eyes on an object can they see in binocular vision. The horse has much less flexible ciliary muscles. In order to help his eyes focus he must move his head, adjusting the distance between his eye and the gate.
____________________	____________________	____________________	____________________
10 pound yellow cat sitting on a stump to the right of the driveway	Your eyes autofocus and instantly sends your retina a sharp image of the cat	A cat the size of a Cocker Spaniel	Horses have the largest orb found in a land mammal and has an oversized retina. This means that up-close objects look 50% larger than they appear to you
____________________	____________________	____________________	____________________
You see a couple of white-tail deer 50 years below and to your left, grazing in front of some trees	As you get to the top of the hill, you turn your head slightly so that the deer remain directly in your binocular line of vision, as you turn your attention back to the driveway the deef fall into your peripheral vision and they become fuzzy clump of tan blobs	Depends on his position he may not notice the deer since they are slightly ahead and to the left of him at a lower level than his head. As he passes over the hilltop the deer enter his peripheral vision and become crisp, sharp images	He can't see them clearly from the hilltop because his eyes operate in a manner similar to bifocal glasses. Looking through the lower half of his eyes - as he would at the deer below - he can clearly see up-close objects but not those in the distance. Looking through the upper half of his eye he can clearly see distant objects but not those close up close "visual streak" a 215° area area horse's vision is the sharpest due to the density of nerve cells - superb peripheral vision. He is genetically programmed to pick up slight, invisible to you movements.These slight or invisible to the human eye are big-screen occurrences to your horse. If deer are quietly grazing the horse will not be worried about it. If the deer where to suddenly bolt into the woods the horse would spook (and you would not have seen anything)
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You see your German Shepherd trotting in from the field to join trail ride he zigzags "herding" your horse	Your forward facing eyes see the whole scene when you turn around - you are convinced your dog's herding is harmless and you turn around and face forward	The horse's right eye sees a pony-sized dog. The dog disappears and another pony sized dog appears in his left eye.	The horse's monocular vision makes his brain process the information separately. The dog is a new threat. Each eye sees the dog for the first time.
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Neighbor standing ahead at end of driveway wearing Panama hat, hot-pink hatband, brown and yellow striped shirt, unsightly bilious-green stretch pants	You see the world in lots of colors so your neighbor's fauz-paus leaps out at you - you wish you were color blind	Horse sees a large human with green legs, yellow and gray toned body brown/gray straw-looking thing on her head which may or may not be edible	Horses can perceive SOME colors. The most vivid color is yellow, followed by green, then blue. Brillant colors are not important to horses. His predators tend to be brown so red is seen as a brown/gray - a non color. Your horse is not frightened by bright colors. As long as the neighbor does not make any sudden movements he will quietly accept her presence.
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Neighbor offers a piece of pie while motioning to a small, grassy paddock we can put the horse	Your eyes works as one and you can see each part - you untack your horse and turn him loose in the paddock and eat the pie	Horse sees grass immediately drops his head and digs in	Unless something catches the horse's eye he will munch away. While grazing, horse remains aware of his surroundings to detect potential threats by looking through the tops of his bifocal eyes. If he perceives anything he will raise his head and arch his nect so he can continue to use the top halfs of his eyes.
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Dusk settling in, dimming your ability to discern shapes or see long distances	Your eyes are poorly designed for night vision because they lack the light absorbing/reflecting mechanisms to see clearly in dim light - you hurry to finish your pie, retack horse, and hurry home	Head back home images look brand new to each side of his brain - he can see clearly despite the lack of light	Due to low-light perceiving receptors in his eyes your horse's night vision is about 50% better than yours. He also has reflective panels on his retinas that catch small amount of light still available at night. He will probably stroll home with complete ease because he can see well at night and there are usually fewer activities. He will be less spooky UNLESS you are nervous which you can easily transmit to him.

Horse and Rider

Inside a horse's eye

Retinas

Most animals the retina is consistent, smooth, concave surface - the horse's eye is different. Its retina is more concave in some places than in other places. Some sections are nearer the cornea than others. Horses are dependent on the retina for good focus and clear vision. Horses CAN NOT focus its eyes like we do. Instead it makes sure of the irregular surface of the retina by lifting, lowering, and weaving its head. 

Ciliary Muscles

Ciliary muscles in humans and many other animals are strong to help facilitate lens adjustment - Horses have undeveloped and it does a poor job in helping the horse focus.

Pictures

It also sends two separate pictures at the same time with each eye. It would be like if a human was trying to watch two TVs at the same time. 

The eyeball is like bifocal glasses. While it is grazing it is looking through the upper portion of the eye and will lift its head to examine the object using the lower portion of its eye. 

Biggest Eyes

Horses have THE BIGGEST eyeballs found in ANY land mammal. This means they also have an oversized retina. That means objects are magnified. It is about 50% larger. A large dog might appear as a large as a small pony. 

The horse also needs to be trained with BOTH eyes. It must see the same things first with one eye and than with another eye. 

Horses and Color 

What does this mean? This means if you want a horse to see something really well - use YELLOW!!!! But DON'T wear or use yellow when training the horse. For example, don't wear yellow clothes or use yellow flags as this will be too startlingly for the horse. 

But research shows horses react more to yellow, white, black, and blue floors - so these are NOT good option for floors. “Adverse reactions of the domestic horse to environmental stimuli can be problematic in training and management. Hesitation and alarm reactions to visual features of the ground can occur in both ridden work and when handling horses.” It is better to have floors that are green, red, brown, or gray