Can you train the "flight instinct" out of horses?

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oldie48

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Some years ago when in his mid 20's my old TB bolted whilst being ridden by a friend. We never knew what frightened him, he was on a lane we rode regularly and nothing was seen or heard but he was in a blind panic and cared nothing for his own safety or that of his rider. We are rumoured to have a "black cat" in the area and another rider on an extremely sensible cob, had a similar issue in the same area a little later in the day. This horse had never bolted before and never did it again, a completely isolated case of the flight instinct taking over completely. Sadly it wrecked my friend's confidence as it was pretty terrifying. So, the question is can you train this instinct out of every horse and if you can, how do you do it?
 
Horses are flight/prey animals and instinctively flee if they feel they are in danger from a potential predator, and IMO in a word, NO you cannot "train it out of them".

Ever since the dawn of time when man decided to use the horse for riding and/or driving, this instinct has been there, and always will be. Through the ages there has been "wisdom" of all sorts to try and tame the natural instinct of the horse to flee when he/she perceives a predator is in existence.

This flight instinct can be tempered, it can be harnessed even for the rider/handler's own ends - e.g. racehorses run because the herd is running, and the herd runs because they have a highly refined flight reaction, which is why horses win races! That is where humans use this innate flight reaction and use it to achieve what they want to.

But you can as much take the flight instinct out of a horse, as you can for e.g. take the predatory instinct out of a dog or cat. It is in their DNA - and cannot be changed.

Having said all this, horses actually do incredibly well in this modern world with all the scary stuff there is around. There are ways of "spookbusting" and building confidence (and plenty of "experts" with methods where you can spend a fortune as well), who seem to be coming to the fore currently. Some of their methods are good, some not. The marketing of "natural horsemanship" seems to attract its own following, but IMO the good old-fashioned horsemen of old who'd turn out good, well-mannered horses who'd do the job they were asked to do without arguing and were nicely produced, are a dying breed, alas :(

But to go back to the original point. No you can't IMO "train this instinct" out of a horse, but you can do a lot, with good groundwork, and the rider being a good and bold herd leader, to give the horse confidence and condition its responses to listening to the rider rather than acting out of the instinctive reaction to flee at the sound of danger - but even the ploddiest old horse can be spooked by something and react uncharacteristically. I'd say that if the horses in the area are reacting like this to something, then you may well have a Big Cat in the area (just don't tell my cob LOL).
 
No, it is hard wired into them. What you can do is desensitise them to otherwise scary stuff though, by getting them used to it at a distance and gradually increasing intensity etc. It seems to generalise too - the more they learn to cope with known stimuli, the more they are able to cope with the unknown or unfamiliar
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Horses are flight/prey animals and instinctively flee if they feel they are in danger from a potential predator, and IMO in a word, NO you cannot "train it out of them".

Ever since the dawn of time when man decided to use the horse for riding and/or driving, this instinct has been there, and always will be. Through the ages there has been "wisdom" of all sorts to try and tame the natural instinct of the horse to flee when he/she perceives a predator is in existence.

This flight instinct can be tempered, it can be harnessed even for the rider/handler's own ends - e.g. racehorses run because the herd is running, and the herd runs because they have a highly refined flight reaction, which is why horses win races! That is where humans use this innate flight reaction and use it to achieve what they want to.

But you can as much take the flight instinct out of a horse, as you can for e.g. take the predatory instinct out of a dog or cat. It is in their DNA - and cannot be changed.

Having said all this, horses actually do incredibly well in this modern world with all the scary stuff there is around. There are ways of "spookbusting" and building confidence (and plenty of "experts" with methods where you can spend a fortune as well), who seem to be coming to the fore currently. Some of their methods are good, some not. The marketing of "natural horsemanship" seems to attract its own following, but IMO the good old-fashioned horsemen of old who'd turn out good, well-mannered horses who'd do the job they were asked to do without arguing and were nicely produced, are a dying breed, alas :(

But to go back to the original point. No you can't IMO "train this instinct" out of a horse, but you can do a lot, with good groundwork, and the rider being a good and bold herd leader, to give the horse confidence and condition its responses to listening to the rider rather than acting out of the instinctive reaction to flee at the sound of danger - but even the ploddiest old horse can be spooked by something and react uncharacteristically. I'd say that if the horses in the area are reacting like this to something, then you may well have a Big Cat in the area (just don't tell my cob LOL).
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Great reply.
 
So, what animals are NOT prey animals? At various stages in their lives, most animals will be prey to another or even the same prey species. Lion cubs are in serious danger of being eaten by lions. And so on! But lions are not generally considered to be a prey species.

I think the truth is probably that an animal in flight is faster and better equipped to overcome the pain and fatigue barriers than one that is just being asked to run. That is a quality that Man has selected for. Or not selected against. It has not been bred out as a characteristic because it is something that we humans have found useful.

Weren't there some genetic experiments on Russian foxes? They bred out the natural feral instincts to be "wild" in a relatively few generations and ended up with foxes that behaved just like domestic dogs. Presumably the instinct to run is so inbred into horses that the instinct not to run is now almost non-existent. But some breeds of horses really are naturally very laid back (plodders and weight carriers?) and those bred for speed much less so.

Interestingly, some of the Continetal breeds of cattle that were formerly used as draught animals (oxen) can be quite flighty and are well known for it! But I don't know a lot about cattle, except that I've seen some jump as well and better than a lot of horses!

Would a horse bred with no flight instinct ever move at all? With modern genetic engineering, I am sure it could be done -- or will be soon.<sigh>
 
Without doing some kind of brain surgery, finding the right area for flight response and zapping it so it doesn't trigger... no you can't. Or as dry rot said genetic engineering could maybe work but probably not a good idea.
 
I fell off my trusty mare a few weeks ago. We were having a sedate trot down a stubble field. No pheasants, pigeons, rabbits or any objects of a scary nature. She just suddenly shied violently to the right and off I came. So no, that flight instinct will win everytime. Whatever it was neither myself of my daughter could work that one out. Now for the long recovery and the decision to ride again or not. PS Elderly rider who didnt want to fall off.
 
You can't take the instinct away but you can most definitely modify their response by virtue of training. So a spooky horse will always spook but you can turn it from a full blown bolting time-warp into a moderate
'oops' reaction and teach the horse to channel a big scare into a less dangerous behavior. Dessnsitizing being the keyword. There are a variety of methods. I love starting out young as young as foal age. When I first teach ours to lead I will make them stop and think intead of just running away so they adapt a more wait and see kind of approach later on in working life. It works with adults as well but it may take them a bit longer depending how set they already are in their flighty ways. Also makes a ton of a difference how they are brought up and what they have become accustomed to. e.g. horses that are used to being fed roundbales by tractor will very likely show no fear towards tractors etc.
And lastly you want to mind what your horse does when it's not working. Horses on 24/7 turnout who have a social life by means of being in a proper herd situation where 'someone' always knows what to do tend to be a lot less jumpy and insecure than those being confined all day with little or only individual turnout.
Just my two cts.
 
Absolutely agree - No you cannot train the instinct out of them. However some breeds of horse have a greater flight instinct then others - TB probably at the top of the scale and some native types much more placid. Add to a placid type some good training (not natural horsemanship), a bit of age and experience and you should arrive at a pretty steady ride that will give most people confidence.
 
My sister had a pacer and his flight instinct had been suppressed by years on a tether (prior to sister buying him). If he saw something that bothered him, he would stand still, or he'd revert back to pacing if he got his knickers in a twist whilst trotting or cantering. Can't say I'd recommend it as a training aid... poor little guy had many psychological issues and was very aggressive to handle, but needless to say a dream to ride (apart from the pacing :-))
 
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