Anthropomorphism - Thesis topic

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aldato_daz

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Hi all,

I am in my third and final year of a BSc Hons in Equine Management and this year it's all about the dreaded thesis!! I would like to do mine on Anthropomorphism and horses. I'm just wondering if anybody out there knows of any good literature or anything or anyone they can refer me to on said topic?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

C
 
I think Larry Bensusan's new book would probably be a good place to start. I've got it and have started the first chapter, it looks very promising and very interesting.
Really good idea for a thesis. It's a growing problem imho, esp people treating/viewing horses as people (or babies!) as regards keeping them all swaddled up warm etc etc. I wonder (and you've probably thought of this already) whether there's a correlation between over-rugging (esp natives) and laminitis.
 
Come to my yard, there's a fantastic example 3 stables down from me! Did you know horses wear pyjamas? Good luck with the thesis, I can't help I'm afraid, I'm not that bright! :D
 
kerilli said:
I think Larry Bensusan's new book would probably be a good place to start. I've got it and have started the first chapter, it looks very promising and very interesting.
Really good idea for a thesis. It's a growing problem imho, esp people treating/viewing horses as people (or babies!) as regards keeping them all swaddled up warm etc etc. I wonder (and you've probably thought of this already) whether there's a correlation between over-rugging (esp natives) and laminitis.
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I cant see a reason why they would correlate :confused:
 
I'd look at equine adverts :) all these feed adverts that suggest your horse will like XYZ or will love you more because you've bought him a spotty rug. I'd look at how advertising anthropomorphizes horses, and how that manipulates the owner into spending :)
 
I did a psychology degree a few years ago and did mine on a very similar topic but on a slightly different angle - if ur interested I can dig it out. Mine was on secondary emotions in horses.
 
RubysGold said:
I cant see a reason why they would correlate :confused:
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Really? Usually laminitics are overweight, and an unrugged pony or horse is using calories to keep warm, no? I realise that this is very simplistic but it does make me wonder. Natives in particular are pretty much designed to cope with winter weather (as long as they haven't been clipped, obviously). When I see Shetland ponies heavily rugged up it makes me want to weep with vexation.
 
kerilli said:
Really? Usually laminitics are overweight, and an unrugged pony or horse is using calories to keep warm, no? I realise that this is very simplistic but it does make me wonder. Natives in particular are pretty much designed to cope with winter weather (as long as they haven't been clipped, obviously). When I see Shetland ponies heavily rugged up it makes me want to weep with vexation.
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I should have worded that better :o
Im not particularly knowledgeable, just wanted to know what you meant.
Im with you now. :)
 
luckyhorseshoe, I'd be interested in seeing that.

OP, I don't know any literature offhand but that sounds like fascinating topic. I think you should look at forums, as suggested, and also, I think interviewing horse owners might turn out some interesting data.
 
I could persuade a lady on my yard to start a blog, should contain ample info. Likely to contain such as; 'shall mummy bwing da boy in for his nap, is he poor tired man not likey sleeping on the nasty grass?' ' did da boy wip his wug cos he didn't like the colour?'. And on days when da boy stamps on her feet, threatens to kick etc ' oooh how can you do that when I love you so much, don't you love me too?'. Incidentally adult owner & beast of a hw cob, who could live out rugless in the arctic. Conveniently, 'da boy' also likes a lie in till 11 on wkends!
 
littlelegs said:
I could persuade a lady on my yard to start a blog, should contain ample info. Likely to contain such as; 'shall mummy bwing da boy in for his nap, is he poor tired man not likey sleeping on the nasty grass?' ' did da boy wip his wug cos he didn't like the colour?'. And on days when da boy stamps on her feet, threatens to kick etc ' oooh how can you do that when I love you so much, don't you love me too?'. Incidentally adult owner & beast of a hw cob, who could live out rugless in the arctic. Conveniently, 'da boy' also likes a lie in till 11 on wkends!
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Are you on my yard Littlelegs, or does this lady have a twin? Does she also talk to other liveries horses like that? Mine just looks at her in total confusion, and my kids fall about laughing. I don't even talk to children like that! :D
 
She must have a twin! She doesn't speak to other horses like that as they infringe on her horses rights. My mare is a true leader, & runs the field very well. More than once I have caught her crying because she's tried to feed 'mummys clever man' treats over the fence & mine chases him off. Likewise daughters pony plays with him (really nicely) which apparently tires da poor boy out when mummy wants to do things with him. She also cried when a dog got in the field & started snapping at them. My mare rounded them all up & chased the dog off. She was upset because da boy was lying down, & my mare made him get up & move away. She should have seen his mummy was on the way to save him & left him. Believe it or not, on these & similar issues she has asked me to have a word with my two. Eg can you explain that they shouldn't steal the bucket of feed I have put out in the field cos its only for him. My daughter too thinks she's hilarious.
 
Oh, but I don't think you need to go as extreme as the above cases!

I find even reasonably experienced and intelligent people handling horses still think they are "being naughty", etc. when they don't behave as they think they should. But maybe I am too way out? I'd say the horses are often just responding normally to inappropriate stimuli and try to work out where I, not the horse, has gone wrong. Does that sound a bit smug?:eek:
 
Agreed dry rot & she is by far the most extreme example I've met. See exactly where you're coming from. I often refer to my oldie as arrogant, as do others, experienced or otherwise. Of course it isn't really arrogance, anyone with experience can easily spot she's just super confident, sure of herself & relaxed. But stuff like arching her nostrils as part of the physical movement of sighing in the face of anything unusual, then turning her head away can be amusingly referred to as disdain, when actually its just cos she's seen it all before. But much as I know the truth, I do tend to refer to her arrogance, rather than her confidence as one of her endearing qualities. Likewise, I call daughters pony cheeky, something most of us have called a pony at some point. Of course ponies aren't in a human manner. But saying inquisitive, boundary pushing etc doesn't have quite the same ring as cheeky.
 
littlelegs said:
I could persuade a lady on my yard to start a blog, should contain ample info. Likely to contain such as; 'shall mummy bwing da boy in for his nap, is he poor tired man not likey sleeping on the nasty grass?' ' did da boy wip his wug cos he didn't like the colour?'. And on days when da boy stamps on her feet, threatens to kick etc ' oooh how can you do that when I love you so much, don't you love me too?'. Incidentally adult owner & beast of a hw cob, who could live out rugless in the arctic. Conveniently, 'da boy' also likes a lie in till 11 on wkends!
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Aaaaaaaarrrgh!! *runs away*
 
littlelegs said:
Agreed dry rot & she is by far the most extreme example I've met. See exactly where you're coming from. I often refer to my oldie as arrogant, as do others, experienced or otherwise. Of course it isn't really arrogance, anyone with experience can easily spot she's just super confident, sure of herself & relaxed. But stuff like arching her nostrils as part of the physical movement of sighing in the face of anything unusual, then turning her head away can be amusingly referred to as disdain, when actually its just cos she's seen it all before. But much as I know the truth, I do tend to refer to her arrogance, rather than her confidence as one of her endearing qualities. Likewise, I call daughters pony cheeky, something most of us have called a pony at some point. Of course ponies aren't in a human manner. But saying inquisitive, boundary pushing etc doesn't have quite the same ring as cheeky.
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Oh, I think we are all guilty of anthropomorphism, aren't we? It's just that some apply it all the time. (Now I'm wondering what size pyjamas to get for Highlands....:D). When I cool down, I can again apply reason! "Disdain" is an avoidance behaviour? That could be a very interesting thesis.
 
There is a fine line between an owner who knows their horse well and can " read" them and someone who truly stretches it. I know my youngster well enough to know when he is really scared and needs confidence from me and when he is just trying it on and needs me to ignore it.

Actually think dogs are a clearer example. Just look at the huge rise of " toy" dogs in rescue as their owners treat them as surrogate children, don't let them walk etc and then are horrified that they end up with a snappy unhappy dog. Battersea would be a good place for info on that!

Maybe a broader and more interesting question could be...have this always been the case? Or is it an indication of people relying on animals for companionship? as we become less integrated as a society?
 
Luci07 makes good points - people do seem to be relying on animals as human substitutes. There was an interesting thread on here recently where many young girls declared that they didn't need to have a baby as they already have their child - a horse. That I think is very sad.
 
Luci07 said:
There is a fine line between an owner who knows their horse well and can " read" them and someone who truly stretches it. I know my youngster well enough to know when he is really scared and needs confidence from me and when he is just trying it on and needs me to ignore it.
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Yes, absolutely. That's one of the hardest things to tell in a horse - when he's saying "can't" (physically unable, or mentally unprepared, or just plain frightened etc) and when he's saying "shan't" (being naughty or difficult). The symptoms are almost identical.

Horses undoubtedly do exhibit some emotions and character traits that parallel certain human ones - we see jealousy, bossyness etc.
The huge problem I see is when people ascribe normal horse behaviour (prompted by separation-from-the-herd anxiety, or fear, or whatever) to 'having a tantrum' (a very human idea, a strop just for the sake of it.) We see this quite a lot in posts in CR where I'd expect people to know better! The problem/danger is then that instead of thinking about WHY is the horse reacting like that, and what can the rider/handler do to make the situation easier and safer for everyone, they get angry because they think the horse is being daft just for the sake of it...
As for the miniaturisation of dogs, and now horses, I absolutely despair. We see pics on Fb of miniature foals with all 4 legs tightly bandaged to try to enable them to stand unaided (I saw a new pic like this yesterday ffs) and everyone goes "Awww". A vet told me that there are a LOT more foaling complications in miniature mares than in normal sized horses, also colic surgery is much more frequent because most vets' arms//hands are too large to do a safe rectal exam on them to determine the problem, so they have to operate 'just in case' more often. This human mania for breeding things smaller and smaller because they're cute and convenient that size just creates a load of animals with a lot more health problems. Poor things.
 
Dry rot- I don't mean she is disdainful, its just when faced with such as a combine passing a few feet away, she sighs cos she's relaxed & totally unconcerned about that type of thing, then turns her head to see what else is going on, or back to her grub etc. It's just that her facial expression so resembles 'yeah, whatever' it can be amusingly (& incorrectly) referred to as disdain.
I don't particularly think its a new thing. Anyone remember trixi-woo from James herriot? Just more widespread now more animals are pets rather than working animals.
 
kerilli said:
Really? Usually laminitics are overweight, and an unrugged pony or horse is using calories to keep warm, no? I realise that this is very simplistic but it does make me wonder. Natives in particular are pretty much designed to cope with winter weather (as long as they haven't been clipped, obviously). When I see Shetland ponies heavily rugged up it makes me want to weep with vexation.
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I think the correlation is probably in the management of many native ponies, which includes over-rugging. They are designed to walk miles in a day, get cold and wet, and pick at whatever (already eaten down by sheep) grass they can find. Modern pasture, cosy rugs and stabling are pretty far away from what they have evolved to survive on, and keeping a native in this way, which is convenient for us, does IMO require a commitment to getting it fit, working it regularly, and understanding its dietary requirements properly. 'Good doer' shouldn't necessarily equal 'little effort required'.

As for anthropomorphism - I think jealousy is a particularly interesting emotion to see (or think we see?) in horses, as it must require an ability to compare what they have and the position they are in, with that of another.
 
I think jealousy and greed go hand in hand. The horse which isn't being petted (and kicks the stable door for attention, say) wants the food (or whatever it thinks the person might be about to give the other horse).
Having witnessed no less a person than Monty Roberts working with a very difficult horse, safely get it past a specific ingrained behaviour, and then say, when it went to repeat the behaviour afterwards then it thought better of it half way through and behaved well (almost contritely, v odd to see), 'that's a horse with a guilty conscience', I think the emotions horses can feel and display are very complex.
But imho a horse does NOT have a tantrum! ;) ;)
 
Very interesting and a good idea, I'm doing a PhD on the relationship between humans and horses at the moment so have written about anthropomorphism extensively. I'm happy to help and to email you journal articles etc, I'm on my phone now so can't write much but feel free to pm me.
 
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