I’m curious to understand what taming a wild horse entails, and how it works, from a horse’s psychology pov, or at least how we understand things to be.
Also, what would be the differences in taming a domesticated horse raised on a farm vs one that’s born and raised in the wild?
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First and foremost, “breaking” a horse is a term that is falling out of favor, especially as horsemen are becoming increasingly educated about the ethicality of training and the understanding of horse behavior. Terms like “gentling” or “taming” are being increasingly used. Some of the best ways to watch this process are with trainers who work with mustangs captured by the Bureau of Land Management for rapid training and adoption programs (look up Extreme Mustang Makeover).
Early life experiences are very formative in the lives of all animals, horses included. Animals rely on being exposed to a variety of experiences, noises, sounds, sights, etc. in order to be comfortable with them. The first time your dog hears fireworks will be a scary experience, but the younger he is when he hears them the less scared he will be as he ages. This same principle applies to horses and how they grow accustomed to living and working with people. A captive-born horse will acclimate to living alongside humans rapidly while a wild-born horse will have a difficult time adjusting. This is because memories and experiences are most formative when an animal is young. Things like halters, stalls, and touch are seen as normal to a captive-born horse because it has learned that these things are not a threat to its survival, unlike the wild-born horse. A wild-born horse who has never worn a halter may freak out because the halter constrains their movements, triggering a fear response. A captive-born horse, who grew up wearing halters and being led by them, has learned that the pressure and touch on their face is normal. This process is called desensitization, you expose an animal to uncomfortable or stressful situations or experiences and they slowly learn to be less afraid of it. For horses, these experiences include but are not limited to touch, handling, trailer loading, tacking up (putting on the bridle, saddle, and other “tack”), standing for the farrier (someone who works with horses’ hooves), and of course, riding. The only difference between a feral and a tame horse is the amount of desensitization they have undergone and how comfortable they are along humans. A captive-born horse is simply more likely to receive this interaction earlier and more consistently and it is, therefore, less likely to see it as threatening.
Now, on to human psychology. A common misconception among people is that animals have premeditated thought. Horses are not capable of disrespect, “naughtiness”, or any other kind of intentional behavior because horses lack the parts of the brain for this higher thinking. Horses are biological machines, they learn a behavior and react in a cause-and-effect manner. If a horse bites or kicks it is because it is afraid, frustrated, or in pain, not because it doesn’t like you or because it wants to challenge you. If a horse nickers at you when you walk in the barn it’s because it wants something from you or has a positive association with you (food, scratches, etc), not because you’re its favorite person. Horses also have no concept of “alphas” within their own species or in relation to the human species. Horses guard their resources (food, water, shelter, etc.) against threats and will act in order to protect it. This does establish a pecking order within a group, but it is fluid social structure. The idea of “breaking” a horse isn’t ethical and misconstrued because it implies that the animal must “learn its place: and that the animal is consciously “resisting domestication”. Humans have created these myths in order to justify overworking, abusing, and rushing the training process of a terrified animal. When trainers and “horsemen” push a horse’s mental or physical boundaries, the horse acts in pure, instinctual self-preservation. Horses are not capable of being defiant, disrespectful, rude, or any other human emotion. The taming of a horse entails gaining the trust of an animal and showing it that the things you are doing (like riding it) are not going to hurt it. Taming a horse means establishing a relationship of trust, working within the mental and physical capabilities and pacing requirements of the animal, and resisting the temptation to personify its actions.
I hope this answers your question. If you have any additional questions, don’t be afraid to ask. 🙂
Edit:**Domestic/Domesticated** – Entire species, not individual animals are domesticated or undomesticated. Horses are domesticated, zebras are not.**Feral/Tame** – Feral and tame are terms applied within a species. Wild mustangs are domesticated and feral. The zebra at the petting zoo is undomesticated and tame. Your riding horse is domesticated and tame. Moose are undomesticated (and good luck taming one).
An animal from an undomesticated species is very unlikely to be successfully tamed. Animal collaboration with humans is difficult and has been thousands of years in the making for a reason.
The process of taming varies by the trainer. This includes getting the animal used to touch (both human and object), pressure and giving in to pressure (you want the horse to move with the pressure, not pull or push against it), desensitization (plastic bags, tarps, music, dancing, kids, dogs, traffic, anything you can think of), and learning groundwork/mounted work (steering, learning correct cues, muscle building, etc).I recommend watching trainers who participate in Extreme Mustang Makeover challenges. They are expert horsemen who adopt feral mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management and turn them into riding horses in ~100 days, Sam VanFleet’s does a wonderful job of showing her process on her youtube channel.
My understanding is that breaking is just the first step of the taming process just like taming is the first step of the domestication process. (I’m not a farmer or a ranch hand so this is all based on reading done for other purposes and could easily be partly incorrect)
In the example of horses they have a pecking order with the alpha male at the top and they all follow the alpha. You come along and lasso one of the horses to bring back home. You now need to break it or more accurately show it that yiu are now the alpha. What goes into this I’m not sure and there are probably several different methods of varying degrees of humane or inhumane. Further taming involves getting it used to people and being in captivity and doing whatever it is you caught it to do.
In contrast a horse that is bread from domestic stock does not need to be broken or tamed, it grows up from birth with humans and other horses that are comfortable around humans. The only things that need to be done are training for it’s specific job.
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