Horses are prey animals, meaning that in the wild they end up being other animal’s meals. Due to this, horses are naturally very aware of their surroundings, to keep an eye out for danger. There is safety in numbers, and as such, horses are herd animals. Every herd needs a leader, so the horses will play dominating games to test each other for the ‘head of the herd’ position.

These dominating games that horses play with each other extends to their interactions with humans. Horses want to feel safe in knowing that their humans are the boss, so they will test them to make sure that their human is still the boss. They will play little games from nudging their humans with their heads and purposely not paying attention, to running away from their human in the field and trying to nip at them. All of this game playing makes horses the perfect animal for teaching humans key skills such as setting boundaries, reading body language, communication, assertiveness, leadership, and many more.

Horses, like other animals, do not care about what you wear, what colour your skin is, how much money you have or what religion you practice. They care less about how old or young you are, or even how much horse knowledge you have! Horses only care about feeling safe, fed and having their instincts met (eat, sleep, reproduce). 

Horses don’t care if you make a mistake while working with them, they don’t hold grudges (unless you severely abuse them), and they certainly don’t go back to the paddock and tell all the other horses nasty things about you. Instead, they are forgiving, non-judgmental, loving, intuitive beings that can teach you how to be the same. They give you open and honest feedback about yourself and your behaviours in a way that feels natural and non-threatening.