09/06/2025
ARE WE BLAMING HORSES FOR BEING HORSES?
If a horse is difficult to lead, bites someone, stops at a fence, bucks under saddle or refuses to load, the explanation you’ll hear most often is that they’re being naughty, stubborn or difficult. This culture of blame runs deep in the equestrian world. But why do riders and handlers so often blame the horse. Why is it the horse’s fault?
Human psychology gives us some clues. Humans are prone to the fundamental attribution error. That means we’re quick to assume a behaviour is caused by what the horse is like (‘he’s lazy,’ ‘she’s always moody’) instead of looking at what’s happening to the horse.
In practice, that means we often jump to the idea that a horse is being awkward on purpose, rather than considering external factors like pain, inappropriate management, unclear training, or fear. We assume intention when, in reality, the horse is usually just responding to their circumstances. We don’t consider what’s really driving the behaviour and motivating the horse to behave that way.
Add to this the traditions of equestrian culture, where riders are often told from an early age that horses ‘test you’ or ‘take advantage if you let them.’ This narrative becomes normalised — and so blaming the horse feels natural, even when the science tells us otherwise.
Research shows a very different story:
• Studies by Dyson and colleagues (2018–2020) demonstrate that many so-called 'naughty' behaviours are actually signs of pain under saddle
• Hausberger et al. (2008, 2020) found that poor housing and pain are strongly linked to so-called ’problem behaviours.'
• Cheung, Mills & Ventura (2025) show how riders often rationalise practices that compromise welfare in order to reduce their own cognitive dissonance.
Blaming the horse is easier than admitting our tack doesn’t fit, our training wasn’t clear, our horse may be in pain or that we did the wrong thing. It protects us from uncomfortable truths. But it also prevents us from seeing behaviour for what it really is: communication.
Horses don’t plan or plot to punish us. They respond. And they can suffer.
So next time something goes wrong, rather than asking ‘Why is he being naughty?’ consider asking “what is my horse trying to tell me?’ instead.
