Horsing Around
Horses have been assisting humans for thousands of years. In 2500-2000 BCE, humans domesticated horses to work the farms and later used for transportation. Over time, humans were able to study the horse much closer. Horses are very similar in comparison to the human species. These similarities range from their physical makeup and genetics, mental and psychological analysis, and epidemiology.
A horse’s skeletal structure and organ function are much like a human’s anatomy with different features to enhance their survival needs. A human’s appearance is very different from a horse. We stand in an upright position with two legs and two arms. A horse stands prone with 4 legs. Humans have knees, ankles, toes, and toenails. Horses have stifles, hocks, cannons, fetlocks, and hooves. The limb parts have different names, but their purpose is much the same. Although, the horse’s skeletal structure functions much like a human, the horse does not have a clavicle. A horse’s lungs are like ours. We have 12 pairs of ribs and they have 18 pairs. The Arabian breed has 1 less set of ribs than the other breeds of horses.
Horse’s hooves are like fingernails. Regular hoof trimming is necessary or they will crack, chip, pan out, or curl under. The horse has a frog on the underside of the hoof that is often called the “heart” of the horse. If the frog is injured, the heart suffers. Humans, on the other hand, wait for their “frog” only to have their heart’s broken.
Horses and humans have very different diets. Humans are omnivores and eat both meat and plant-like material. Horses are herbivores that eat grass and plant-like materials. Since the horse’s diet is much different, their gastrointestinal system is much more complex. The horse’s stomach divides into two sections, glandular and non-glandular. They have a muscular valve from the esophagus to the stomach that prevents them from vomiting. Horses who eat too fast can suffer from choke. Food gets trapped in the esophagus and becomes impacted. The muscle valve prevents them from being able to vomit to release the impaction. Horses only breathe through their nose, so this does not affect their breathing. A human has a uniform stomach that is much like a pig. Humans experience sensations of choking, which causes the stomach to contract and vomit. Humans can learn to vomit symptomatically when necessary.
The intestines are much the same in both the horse and human. The intestines divide into the small intestines, duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The horse is an herbivore and eats plant-like materials. Parasites are often ingested during grazing. The gastrointestinal tract can often get impacted with bots or infested with tapeworms that can cause severe problems for the horse. Control of parasites with deworming products is a necessity. Humans can get parasites like pinworms from ingesting bacteria, but it is not as typical since they eat in a cleaner environment.
A horse’s eye and a human’s eyes may appear the same, but function very differently. Horses are prey animals that have a “fight or flight” response that causes them to make a quick get away if they are in danger. A horse’s vision is almost a complete arc, except for a minimal blind spot directly in front and in back of them. The blind spot in front is in the shape of a triangle. This area is not really blind, but it is missing part of the image or really blurry. This area is right between his eyes about 4 feet in front of the horse. Horses may spook or throw their head up when being approached too quickly from the front. Humans have peripheral vision that allows us only to see in front and from side to side. Horses were once thought to only see black and white, but studies show they can see some color.
Horses are often said to see with their ears. Horses do not perceive a visual picture with their ears, but a mental focus of their surroundings. Their ears are like radars that point in the direction sounds are coming from. The radar reception helps to alert them of danger. Humans can wiggle their ears, but it does not increase their sound perception.
Horses are nasal breathers and do not breathe through their mouths. They have a long nasal passage that is responsible for purifying, humidifying, filtering, and warming the air. Increased nasal breathing will cool down the horse’s system. Humans switch to mouth breathing to cool their system’s down or just go in an air-conditioned room.
The horse’s lungs function much like a human. They both have a right and left lobe. The lungs have tiny sacs called alveoli where oxygen and carbon monoxide exchange. The alveoli can lose its elasticity over time and cause emphysema. The difference in infectious insults is gravitation. Humans stand upright and infection gravitates to our lower backs. Horses stand in a prone position causing the infection to gravitate to the chest near the elbows. Horses spend most of their time grazing with their long necks extending towards the ground. Gravity aids in eliminating the infection and nasal secretions down their long trachea to their head. This clearance mechanism protects the horse from getting ill. Humans would have to stand on their heads to experience the same results.
Horses and humans relatively have thin skin compared to other species. Humans who have a fair complexion and spend a lot of time in the sun suffer from skin damage that later result in melanoma and other skin cancer. Equine melanoma is sometimes fatal and other times will run a benign course (Bates). Horses that have a white or grey coat with pink skin are also at high risk for skin cancers. They will actually get sunburn on their face and body if they get too much direct sun exposure. Humans need to wear sunscreen or cover up to protect their fair skin. Horses also need to wear a mask covering their face or wear sunscreen to cover the nose and other areas of the face and body where the fur coat is thin.
Humans and horses have a fight or flight response controlled by their autonomic system that protects them from danger. The horse’s spleen reserves 20% to 30% of the horse’s red blood cells. When the horse finds itself in danger and acts quickly, these stored red blood cells of oxygenated blood releases into the system giving the horse a burst of energy. In humans, the adrenal medulla releases epinephrine into the body that causes humans to protect, act quickly, or fight off a predator.
Horses and humans are prone to very similar diseases. Vaccinations are given to both horses and humans to protect them from contracting rabies, tetanus, influenza, and West Nile. Some infectious diseases are zoonotic causing transfer between horses and humans. It is important to follow safety measures such as wearing gloves, washing hands, sterilizing horse accessories after use, and keeping the horse isolated if the horse shows signs of illness.
Horses can suffer from different types of cancer, especially tumors and melanoma due to too much sun exposure. Horses tend to have many of the same ailments such as arrhythmia, strep, herpes, influenza, ulcers, anemia, liver disease, anorexia, Tourette syndrome, vesicular stomatitis, and hemorrhoids.
Horses suffer from a disease called laminitis that causes inflammation of the laminae and the coffin bone to sink through the bottom of the hoof wall. Carbohydrate overload, gram negative bacterial infections with endotoxemia, excessive concussion to the feet, obesity, ingesting or standing on black walnut shavings, or a hot horse drinking too much cold water too fast can cause laminitis (Kane). However, humans do not have hooves, but suffer a similar disease called diabetes. Obesity, improper diet, or a compromised immune system often causes diabetes. Humans with diabetes can also suffer from a diabetic foot. This condition is caused from poor circulation and impaired resistance to infection. A diabetic foot can cause peripheral neuropathy, vascular compromise, ulceration, and infection.
Just like Olympic athletes, horses suffer from tendon tears from overuse. These injuries cause significant damage to the tendons if they are not given ample time to rest and recover. Over time these injuries tend to worsen, as lesions form on the tendon. Researchers are studying the use of stem cells to repair and strengthen the tendons (Gade).
Horses and humans get a skin disease that is familiar to one contracted by humans. Horses get a fungal infection called rain rot. Rain rot occurs from moisture, humidity, or dampness of the skin. The pores become blocked and fungus begins to grow. The skin begins to flake and slough off. Along with the skin sloughing, patches of hair sloughs off as well. If the rain rot is left untreated, the horse will develop pink, fleshy blisters. This disease is contagious and will spread over the body. Humans suffer from athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot is also a fungal disease caused by moisture and humidity. Humans often get this disease from living in hot climates and sweating in their shoes. Athlete’s foot causes the skin to itch, crack, flake, and slough off. Underneath the skin is pink, tender flesh that often gets infected or bleeds. Antifungal medication for both rain rot and athlete’s foot applied to the skin and repeated until the fungal disease disappears.
Horses mimic many facial expressions and body language as humans. Horses appear to laugh from time to time. The facial expression is not a grin. The sound of a herd of horses nickering after a mishap in the barn clearly shows a humorous giggle. Some folks may tell you they have seen a horse grin when the horse curls its upper lip and bares its teeth. As clear as this appears as a big, cheesy grin, this is the flehmen response. The lip-curling and the slight tilting of the head help the animal to waft these smells toward these glands. The horse is not laughing at you. He or she is trying to decide whether you smell bad. The flehmen response normally occurs when a mare is in heat. The male picks up a scent from her urine. After analyzing the scent, a message is quickly sent to the brain to determine whether it is safe to mount the mare. If a stud has bad judgment, he is liable to get kicked in the teeth. Laughing and smiling are a part of human nature. These happy feelings inside set off endorphins in our system that make us feel good. Smiling and laughing can allure the opposite sex by sending a signal of being confident and inviting.
Humans get angry and mad and it shows both in their body language with arm crossing, crossed eyebrows, clinched jaws, angry glare, and flared nostrils. Horses also mimic our behavior through body language. When horses are angry, they snort air through their flaring nostrils. Horses stomp their feet like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. They pin their ears back and give a piercing stare much like an angry father scolding their child. Horses might turn their backside to a human or swing their head high mimicking a rebellious teenager who wants their way. Stubborn horses can lock their legs refusing to move, like a child refusing to go to bed. Horses will test their boundaries to see whose boss. If a headmaster is not established, the human will quickly lose control of the horse and could be placed in a dangerous, life-threatening position.
Horses are very intelligent. Some are thinkers and problem solvers like the ones that figure out how to open stall doors and gates. Horses can share some of the same mental disorders such as depression resulting in anorexia. However, they do not suffer from bulimia since they have a muscular valve in their esophagus that prevents vomiting. Horses also grieve, but they don’t live in the past, they move on. An abused human can empathize with an abused horse that leads to an unspoken understanding. A damaged horse seems to stare deeply into the soul of a damaged person.
Horses can have similar nervous habits as humans. Horses chew or suck on their tongues. They grind their teeth. They also pick up bad habits like chewing on wood, a lot like humans chewing on the end of a pencil. They suck in air called cribbing that gives them a high. Humans get a high from huffing aerosol cans.
Horses are a lot like kids, which helps explain their draw to them. They live with no agendas and have no ulterior motives that allows them to bond and trust humans. Above all else, a horse remembers his or her best friend. A horse treated with kindness will remember the person as a friend for as long as it lives. A horse will instantly resume friendship when it sees them again, regardless of how long they have been apart.
Horses are like humans with gazillion different personalities, both likes and dislikes. Some are boring and content to stand and stare at a flower. Some horses are a little slow and seem to have learning disorders and others tend to suffer from ADHD. Some want to play all the time and others have problems playing nice. Some are annoying to their horsey friends and other horses are admired by all. Some horses are happy left completely alone by everyone and everything and others will panic and go into a deep depression if they lose their best friend. Some horses are paranoid and think everything will kill them including the leaf blowing across the field.
As you see, horses and humans come in many sizes, colors, and breeds. There are many similarities with their skeletal structure, internal organs, and physique with added features that make us unique. Although, horses do not speak our language, their body language speaks to us loud and clear. Their inner feelings reveal themselves to us through their outward movements. A human’s most valuable experiences with a horse are in complete silence. The most profound thing about a horse that is different from a human is that horses don’t lie.
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