Horse have thinner skin than humans... Thoughts?

[Cheshire Chestnut]

Apologies if this has been posted a while ago as it was from a few weeks ago (couldn't find it in a quick search), but I find this article really interesting.

This a link to the facebook summery but there's further links to an article and a documentary. https://www.facebook.com/justine.ha...48272.126061020769221/897407946967854/?type=1

Does it make you feel different about using a whip? I often wonder if whips, even just flicks of schooling ones, cause bruising like they would on human skin.

 

[tallyho!]

No because I don't use a whip to inflict pain!

It's an extension of my hand, I use a whip to guide and touch to give aids. My horse understand that the whip is merely to show her what to do. She is not scared of it. None of my horses are.

 

[Gloi]

Watching our ponies playfighting for hours in the field they don't seem too bothered about the amount of pain they are inflicting on each other. Nothing I do would ever come close to that and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

 

[_GG_]

Watching our ponies playfighting for hours in the field they don't seem too bothered about the amount of pain they are inflicting on each other. Nothing I do would ever come close to that and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

Sikn thickness, sensitivity and pain are all independent of each other and very subjective.

Horses are far more sensitive to certain touch that humans are. A fly can land on me and I might not feel it until it moves or I see it. A fly lands on a horse and it is instantly detected. However...if I got nipped by one of the little ones in the same way they do it to each other, I'd be in tears with pain...they however think it's amazing fun and show no signs of even being bothered at being on the receiving end. So, their skin might me thinner, but I think it is highly erroneous to believe that the fact equates to them feeling more pain.

 

[Wagtail]

Horses' skin thickness varies depending on where on their body it is. They have very thick skin over their rumps, crest and withers but it is much thinner over their flanks (where a whip would be most likely used) so I think saying they play fight, groom roughly etc. is not really evidence of them not feeling much pain compared with humans, because it is those areas where the skin is thickest that they groom and most likely play bite. To a certain degree, however, their fur will protect them from small amounts of pain. Personally I wouldn't use a whip to hit a horse. It is an aid, not a tool of punishment.