tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340539766687929164.post8667265386743238428..comments2023-06-04T01:23:26.694-07:00Comments on A Girl and Her Horse: The horse and his emotionsKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747884891043451384noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340539766687929164.post-68443201510927396382009-01-16T21:13:00.000-08:002009-01-16T21:13:00.000-08:00Wow this was a bit more of a discussion then I ant...Wow this was a bit more of a discussion then I anticipated. For some reason my brain is refusing to concentrate and I can't process all this information properly so I'm going to have to get back to this once my mind gets back to normal.Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747884891043451384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340539766687929164.post-3438243460536951032009-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:002009-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:00At uni we had a discussion about emotions versus f...At uni we had a discussion about emotions versus feelings. Feelings are things like love, melancholy that sort of thing versus emotions being things like fear, excitement- feelings that are not only in the head by cause a physical response as well. <BR/><BR/>I think horses have emotions but not feelings. Most things horses do can be explained by drive to survive and reproduce, and herd instinct. The only exception I can think is that we had two horses that had been seperated for years and then when they saw each other from a distance they went nuts until they were next to each other again. I was surprised how long their bond has lasted especially because they had other company.Beckzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09114970876099684280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340539766687929164.post-34421166625951355872009-01-16T12:52:00.000-08:002009-01-16T12:52:00.000-08:00I started writing this comment at first by saying ...I started writing this comment at first by saying Absolutely! My horse definitely has emotions....but as I started thinking about it...it seems that everything I can think of...somehow...can be related to a horse's survival instinct. Let's take your experiences for example. When Red was grazing by himself and not with a herd, he could have felt vulnerable to predators since horses have an instinct to stay in herds to better their chances of survival if they are attacked. Your horse could have recognized your voice and came running because he associated you with being secure and he trusts you....therefore including you in his "herd" which creates a safer environment for him should he be attacked. At the Pony Club, he already had a herd to protect him, so he wasn't that inclined to join you immediately because doing so would jeopardize the herd and make him more vulnerable. <BR/><BR/>So, when I started to think about this....I thought about things my horse does that at first seem like emotions. For instance, on some rides he's playful, on some rides he's moody, and some rides he's serious. Well, these could be explained by his energy level and/or focus that day not really his feelings towards me. <BR/><BR/>But it would be HIS emotions, right? Because HE is feeling moody or excited or playful or nervous so those are HIS emotions. What about how one horse gets attached to another. I had a TB mare that was VERY attached to another TB gelding. It seemed like she loved him soooo much....but really, couldn't that be just her instinct to be close to another horse....the same herd mentality? <BR/><BR/>HAHA! I'm a little torn between this! I think horses act a lot of the times because of their natural instincts but ultimately, I do believe that horses have emotions. They can love humans just like they can love another horse. They can be sad, moody, excited, nervous, playful, etc. just like we can. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure about embarrassed....have you ever had an instance where you thought your horse might be embarrassed?Colsten Farmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08390746183508263379noreply@blogger.com