Back from the Brink: Managing Emotional Meltdowns in Horses

No doubt about it—horses are emotional animals; perhaps more emotional than humans. As prey and herd animals, horses are programmed to adopt the emotions of the animals around them (herd mentality) and react appropriately. It is a life and death matter to a prey animal.

When one horse in the herd becomes frightened, generally all the horses will respond in kind. This tendency of horses to adopt the emotions of others applies to the humans around them as well, emphasizing the importance of controlling our own reactions when working with a horse that’s on emotional overload.