INSTRUCTIONAL OUTLINE - NC FFA

e. Touch – The horse has a well developed sense of touch, particularly aroundthe eyes, ears, and nose, but also feet, ribs, flank, neck, withers, andshoulders.1. Touch is the most important sense that a horse uses in responding to cuesand signals from a rider.2. Horses are particularly fearful of anything touching or holding their legsand regular handling is required to overcome that fear.3. Implications touch has for horse behavior include:a. Improper reigning with a heavy hand can result in the horsedeveloping a hard mouth that has lost sensitivity.b. Riders need to be aware of a horse’s sensitivity in the flank area toavoid unnecessary bucking.c. Care needs to be taken when saddling a horse if there is anyindication that the horse is sensitive to the process.f. Hearing – Horses have a very good sense of hearing and therefore, theeyes and ears must work together.1. Horses hear sounds that are not heard by human ears.2. Loud noises such as gun shots, parade bands, and fox horns may actuallyhurt the horse’s ears.3. Implications hearing has for horse behavior include:a. Soft voice commands may be used in conjunction with leg cues, lighthands, and shifts in the rider’s weight to get the horse to respond.b. Riders need to be aware that the horse may respond to sounds thatthey have not heard and loud sounds to the rider will certainly havemore affect on the horse.g. Smell – Horses have a very good sense of smell and often times smell is thefirst sense that mares use in accepting their foal.1. Smell is the first sense that mares use in accepting their foal and thisbecomes critical in the case of orphaned or foals that are pulled.2. Stallions can identify mares in heat for great distances downwind.3. Colts should be allowed to smell the saddle and blanket when beingsaddled for the first few times to reassure them that the saddle andblanket has been used by other horses and that they are not dangerous.Summer 2003466825 Equine Science I