Why pat?

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Dry Rot

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Can you explain to me why you pat your horses?

Patting a dog simulates the sensation of being tapped by a wagging tail. That is entirely logical. But why pat horses? I just don't get it! Patting is totally alien to a horse! I am not a hugger, but if I decided to indulge in social bodily contact (I won't!), what would be the reaction to my patting people? How would they react?

Yes, I pat my ponies but only to prepare them for the 'patters' (which most horsey people seem to be!). The first time one of my ponies got patted by a visitor, it shot up into the air with a shocked look on it's face, as if wondering what it had done wrong to deserve a smacking! I tapped a foal on the nose with my finger the other day for nipping. She didn't like it and still hasn't forgiven me. But if I'd patted?<shock! horror!>.

Explanations please. Now, don't be shy. Just own up to your horse abusing fetishes!! :)
 
I'll pat youngsters, just so that they learn that humans do weird things, and it's ok. I'm a scratcher by nature though. My lot get lots of head rubs and base of ear/neck/wither/bum scratches. Alf gets a friendly pat on the backside as I walk past him - but I wouldn't do it to any other horse! I value my teeth too highly.
 
When Daisy arrived from Ireland as a 5yr old she thought a pat on the neck was some sort of punishment. I think that's quite sad myself! Now she knows it's praise and she likes praise. We do lots of alien things to horses, patting has to be the least of it!
 
FfionWinnie said:
When Daisy arrived from Ireland as a 5yr old she thought a pat on the neck was some sort of punishment. I think that's quite sad myself! Now she knows it's praise and she likes praise. We do lots of alien things to horses, patting has to be the least of it!
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And what are you doing up at 4am, young lady? You should be tucked up in bed! :)
 
I'm not a patter, but I do briefly touch the horse's neck as a signal when they do something very well. It's a sensory signal (reward, if you like), and makes as much sense as speaking english to a horse: they learn what it means by association.
 
The thing is - most people do pat. Many horses are habituated to patting meaning praise. Yes we know now that scratching is a more natural means of communicating and that patting is not ideal. But most people pat. Horses learn that humans do all sorts of things they don't understand naturally. Patting is just one of them.

Wasn't there a study recently that showed patting raised stress levels in dogs? And some cat breeds actually like being patted at the base of the tail. Some don't!
 
I stroke and scratch both our ponies and dogs, always have. They appear to like it - so I give a little wither scratch as a 'thank you, well done' when riding. Perhaps it's the way we were taught as young kids?

Not sure where the patting comes from, to me it looks a bit odd - nearest we come to it is a slap to kill a horse fly. Come to think of it - the ponies easily differentiate between fly-swatting and a 'no' tap.
 
Always done it, always scratched and rubbed too, none of mine have ever thought of it as a punishment, never rode a horse that thought a pat was a punishment either...............
 
Dry Rot said:
And what are you doing up at 4am, young lady? You should be tucked up in bed! :)
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Tell me about it. Spent all day yesterday working with ponies then went to my Dad's birthday party. Got home at 11pm and woke up at 4am. What's that about! (and no I don't drink so it wasn't about that!).

Another thing is that she used to get a fright if someone else enthusiastically patted their horse so really it's best she got used to it. I remember just after I got her I patted her after a jump as I was so pleased she jumped it and she took off into the middle of next week.
 
I tend to rub/scratch just above with withers or at the base of the mane as signal of praise or affection. I suppose somewhere in my mind I relate it to when horses groom each other.

I pat to make them aware of my presence; to warn them that I'm about to tighten something, touch their tail, pick up a foot, look at leg etc.

I really don't like watching people wallop their horse on the neck at shows. It's so silly, the horse may not be upset by it, but it cannot enjoy it either.
 
Patting is the least of the weird things I do to horses! Currently backing a 4yo, hopefully to be a leadrein pony. I do all kinds of weird things around him to get him used to them in case kids do anything strange and general bombproofing, we're still working on star jumps (me, not him) :D
 
I pat all of mine on the neck and the backside. And one of the ones at work I pat on the forehead - he has a big, flat, square head that you can't help but pat! He doesn't object.

My reason for patting is so that if they ever need injections then they aren't going to get a fright and tense up - especially if you end up doing anti biotics into the backside. A tense but muscle is no fun to work with! So theu are used to varying degrees of pats from gentle ones to pretty much thumps - again more so on the backside as it takes a hell of a lot to get a needle in there!

Under saddle I tend to scratch the neck more so than pat.
 
I scritch and a quick scritch when ridden for well done is a gentle poke in the neck with a knuckle - also encourages you as a rider to give with the inside rein as a reward.
 
Is there something instinctive about patting? I introduced a one year old child who can't yet talk to my mini (the first pony she has ever met) and she patted her without any prompting. Adults seem drawn to pat children on the head and adults on the back or shoulder. Maybe we are hard wired to do it, but for what reason?
 
Patting slowly mimics a heart beat and calms a screaming baby so I imagine it's something to do with that. Most (all?) baby mammals are comforted by a heart beat.
 
ycbm said:
Is there something instinctive about patting? I introduced a one year old child who can't yet talk to my mini (the first pony she has ever met) and she patted her without any prompting. Adults seem drawn to pat children on the head and adults on the back or shoulder. Maybe we are hard wired to do it, but for what reason?
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I'd love to know if there's a reason why we seem to do this?

I usually do a little scratch/pat my horses when riding when they've done something that I've asked of them. For me it's almost a way of releasing the contact for a second so that they learn to carry on doing what I've asked without a constant reminder (if that makes any sense).
 
I've always patted horses instinctively. That is, until I starting taking on young foster ponies from a big rescue charity. Poor things leapt about 10 feet up in the air when I did it with them, so I now have reprogrammed my brain to stroke, not pat.

The latest foster pony is off to her forever home soon, and I have though carefully introduced 'considered patting' as part of her training to deal with the big wide world.
 
I scratch and tend to just move my fingers without changing the position of my hand so the pony can move it's head around to direct the scratching to where it wants it.

But I do pat dogs and they mostly seem to enjoy it. But if you want to reward a dog a really vigorous scratching at the base of the ears will send them into ecstacies! There was a long and animated discussion on an American gundog forum about the use of electric collars which are standard in American gundog training circles. I argued that the ear scratch was far more effective than electricity. Quite a few went off and tried it and I am glad to be able to say I was proved right. Positive reinforcement every time.

I think the cavalry almost pat by numbers (!). "Make much of your horse". Pat, pat, pat. Or that's what I've been told. Does anyone know?

Yes, I agree, patting and praise are learned associations. But what happens when there is a change of languages? English rider on (say) a Spanish horse? Do they have to relearn praise?
 
Dry Rot said:
But what happens when there is a change of languages? English rider on (say) a Spanish horse? Do they have to relearn praise?
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My ponies are bilingual, though I tend to give commands in French and babble on at them in English. I've found that most horses will transition over time to a new language, just as with learning everything from scratch. Initially there can be a few teething problems, especially with lunging (French/English) as the intonation for the transitions is different, but I've found that they soon catch on :)

And to actually answer your question (lol!), no, I don't think they need to "relearn" praise. Mind you, as I already mentioned, mine are bilingual, so the increasing bridge (oui, oui, bien, SUPER!) followed by a stroke downthe inside neck is something I've always done. They usually get a big pat and a fuss at the end of the session.
 
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Dry Rot said:
Can you explain to me why you pat your horses?

Patting a dog simulates the sensation of being tapped by a wagging tail. That is entirely logical. But why pat horses? I just don't get it! Patting is totally alien to a horse! I am not a hugger, but if I decided to indulge in social bodily contact (I won't!), what would be the reaction to my patting people? How would they react?

Yes, I pat my ponies but only to prepare them for the 'patters' (which most horsey people seem to be!). The first time one of my ponies got patted by a visitor, it shot up into the air with a shocked look on it's face, as if wondering what it had done wrong to deserve a smacking! I tapped a foal on the nose with my finger the other day for nipping. She didn't like it and still hasn't forgiven me. But if I'd patted?<shock! horror!>.

Explanations please. Now, don't be shy. Just own up to your horse abusing fetishes!! :)
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I try not to pat, I wouldn't want to be patted on the neck so I don't do it to my horses, they both love a scatch so I do that instead but there does seem to be something instictive about it as I do sometimes find myself patting them without thinking
 
Ridden i've always done it, was taught to do it to praise the pony at lessons, I pat at end of a schooling session/competition to let her know she's done well, if we're out and about and I think she's nervous about something I scratch her withers just to reassure her everything's ok and on the ground I don't pat but do scratch/rub ears/face/neck/withers etc, all her favourite itchy places!
 
Why pat? Why not?
I'm not a great one for slapping my horses hard on the neck but they seem to like a gentle pat on the neck and shoulder, showing them they have done well. I also think it helps the humans feel connected to their horse. I also stroke, hug and kiss and verbalise to them. However , I love my horses and they are my pets, hardened veteran, horse riding pros might have different views but then they have different aims. If I have something I love, I want to touch it, hug it and squeeze it. ;)
 
turkana said:
I try not to pat, I wouldn't want to be patted on the neck so I don't do it to my horses
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But if you work on that logic then would you be happy wearing tack?!

Most things we do with horses aren't natural, I can't think patting is worse than being ridden, wearing shoes etc :)
 
Habit! I mostly use my voice but sometimes, e.g. dressage test, that's not allowed - so I might give a quick pat on side of wither. He knows what it means.
 
Like most others, I don't often pat, I tend to rub or scratch instead. There is the odd time when I'll pat but never on board, always from the ground. I couldn't tell you why and it's not a "rule" as such, it's just instinct.
 
i tend to scratch on mine's withers as she gets really itchy there so its definitely something she enjoys! she never relaxes or seems to particularly enjoy a pat so i don't do it.
 
I mostly scratch or rub. I do gently pat as I know others will do it to him.
but I'm always gobsmacked at how very hard some people 'pat' (wallop) their horses, I've even seen some visibly tense when it's done
 
I pat, scratch, rub and stroke and effuse praise when they are good or try for me and say expletives and express disappointment when they don't. I always treat all of mine too and why not I want them to know I appreciate them and they get rewarded warmly for trying and also for just being horses.
I also use a leather pad for strapping and they love being strapped.
 
I was taught that patting a horse on the neck released endorphins which relax the horse & to do so to slow & calm a speedy horse. Not sure how much truth is in it but it was definitely taught at the riding school where I learned to ride :)
 
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