32. Anthropomorphism...

The attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures...

As humans i can't help but think that we have an overwhelming tendancy to only ever see things from our own points of view.

A perfect example of this was when i was riding back one day after a long hack with a couple of other riders. It was a hot summers day and there were plenty of horse flies around which had been pestering our horses for most of the ride.

About a 100 or so yards away from our stables (on our way home) i noticed that Spice started to reach her neck around towards her girth area.

Having never experienced her doing this before i immediately thought that she must be uncomfortable somewhere so after a few more attempts and also noticing that the poly pad i'd been using had slipped over to one side i decided to dismount to see if i could ease her discomfort.

Upon dismounting the girls i was with both gave each other a smirky look which i noticed and asked them to explain. One of the girls replied: 'you've got to learn that horses are clever and will try it on' - i was surprised by how sure these girls were that my horse having never before 'tried anything on' would devise a plan so cunning as this. Did she really think that whilst hacking out my horse had thought that if she made it look as though she was in pain or uncomfortable by reaching her neck around to her girth area that i would take pity on her and get off?

Needless to say, Spice never attempted to swing her head around in an effort to make me dismount ever again. So if she was intelligent enough to devise the plan - she certainly wasn't intelligent enough to remember to use it!

This experience along with many other similar experiences has led me to believe that as humans we are guilty of attaching our own thoughts and emotions to situations and have a strong tendancy to only look at things from our own points of view. I would employ horse owners to look at things from the horses point of view in order to gain a better understanding of your horses feelings.

From ALL of my experiences so far with Spice - i can honestly say that she has always been 100% genuine, a horse in my opinion never 'lies', never 'takes the piss' and certainly never concocts plans.