Horse Behavior: How to read your horse's skin

It’s our final horse behavior blog for the “How To Read Your Horse” series. We will be discussing how to read your horse by their skin. Yes, by their skin! To read your horse by their skin, you must be very observant. The skin can be very sensitive or very thick. Horses skin can tell us a lot about their moods or overall personality by the sensitivity of their skin. Fine and thin skin usually indicates a sensitive horse. Thick and coarse skin usually indicates a horse that is more laid back. Twitching skin A horse with thin skin is generally very sensitive. This type of horse will be soft to the touch. They will twitch if a fly lands on their skin. When riding, a horse that twitches their skin can mean that they are overreacting or resisting something that the rider is asking them to do. Relaxed skin A horse with relaxed skin is fairly obvious. They are not on edge like a horse with thin, sensitive skin may be. This horse is very relaxed and accepting of what is going on around them. You can get a feel for what category your horse falls under by simply rubbing their bodies. This will give you an idea of how sensitive they are to your touch. You may even watch them in the pasture and see how they react to other horses in their herd, flies, tall grasses, etc. Now that we’ve discussed all the different ways your horse can talk to you, lets put it all together and look for a pattern. These patterns will show you how your horse expressive themselves. This behavior can be either positive or negative. If they are a negative pattern, you can create a plan to change your horse or your riding to improve the overall performance of your horse. For more information on reading your horse, visit: http://americashorsedaily.com/how-to-read-your-horse-part-2/#.VKdtAmRDtgq