Understanding Horse Behavior

by Sue McDonnell, Dickson D Varner (Foreword)

Learn how a horse thinks, perceives its environment, develops vices, and learns. You will also learn about bonding among horses and humans, as well as what is appropriate mare and stallion behavior. Dr. McDonnell is known for her scientific approach to the study of horse behavior. She has conducted research for the National Institute of Health on the physiology and pharmacology of sexual behavior in horses.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Heather Herring · Rating 3 out of 5]

true rating - 3.5
short summary: questionable advice but good facts

I like the facts, there's tons of good information I didn't know about horses in the wild and the natural instincts of horses. for the facts alone, I reccomend this book. however, the advice is outdated and a bit rough for horses. the scientist that wrote this book denies any idea that horses can have higher thinking similar to that of a human. however, I counteract that because WE are animal to. So how is it humans and animals and not simply, animals. I highly reccomend the book "are we smart enough to know how smart animals are" written by Frans De Well which brings the idea of anthropomorphic animals which is heavily denied in "Understanding Horse Behavior" and brings real studies to the table to prove that animals can (and in my opinion do) have a higher thinking. in the authors opinion, horses rely solely on instict and there is no thinking or spiritual idea that they could converse with each other. This black box thinking, that horses CANT think, only act on instict alone. as I stated, the facts are good but some information is outdated.

this leads to advice, and while I agree some is good the advice on teaching an animal to catch made me feel sick. her idea is to lock them in a paddock with no grass, hay, food, or water, and every 12 hours you hand feed and water them. the idea is that if they realize the only way to get food and water is by approaching you, they will eventually catch easier. however, I don't agree with restricting food or water and I believe their are more humane ways to train this found in many different training books.

[SteFF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative (even of the unusual) The pictures of "managed breeding" I could have done without. Most of the pictures in the book were of odd or sexual related references. Most of the book was about free-ranging horses. I'd pass

[Belle Meade School]

636.1