A Horses fears

Question
I am doing a project to design an equestrian facility and was curious to find out what animals or elements horses are afraid of? Any information that you have about their fears will assist my studio and me in this project.

Answer
Aleitha,

I cannot imagine what fear of other kinds of animals has to do with an equestrian facility but I'll answer as best I can.  Horses are naturally afraid of predator-type animals.  This can include dogs but that is more horse-specific than anything.  Most horses don't care one way or the other about dogs as long as the dogs stay out from under their feet.  Ones who have had bad experiences with dogs in the past are the ones who are usually scared around dogs.  Others can be very aggressive towards the animals.  While most horses will be afraid at first of animals with which they have no experience - cows, pigs, llamas, emus, sheep chickens - they accept them quickly.  We used to ride past the lower border of Safari Land at Great Adventure Park in Jackson, NJ and the horses were taken aback at the giraffes, various elk, antelope, etc. and the zebras really threw them but after 2 or 3 trips past there they pretty much ignored them.  

Biggest concerns you have with other animals around an equestrian facility are more commonly related to controlling the feral cat population that will spring up to keep the inevitable mice and/or rats under control.  There are health issues involved with some species of animals.  Chickens and other birds should not be around the horses.  The only birds actually welcome in our barn are barn swallows and owls again for bug and rodent control.  Cattle, sheep, goats, llamas can all co-exist with few problems with horses.  Many farms rotate cattle and horses in the pastures.  Horses are more selective grazers than cows and can crop the grass more closely.  Plus, there's no parasite cross-over.  

If deer roam the property you do have to worry about tape worms but simply using a wormer that is effective against tape worms will take care of that.  Possum have been implicated in the spread of EPM (Equine Protozoal Myolosis) through their droppings.  Horses are generally too big and active to experience problems from other small animal predators like fox or raccoon.  You need to keep the animals vaccinated for EPM, Rabies and West Nile (if in an area where that is a problem).  Naturally, if the facility is in an area where bear, cougar, wolves or coyote (in large numbers) then that needs to be taken into consideration.  

Elements, well, some horses do not like thunder and lightning storms.  Horses can be extremely varied in this area depending upon what they have been exposed to in their past.  I've seen some get restless when there is a heavy storm going on especially with high winds, hail, driving rain, etc.  I have seen horses that won't miss a bite of hay in a hurricane while others are nervous and unhappy.  Sort of like people.  

I hope this has answered your question, at least in part.  It's a good idea to contact the local County Extension Agent for the area of the proposed facility.  They can provide you with a lot of help and information about specifics for the selected local. Everything from health-related problems, recommendations on soil quality and what's needed for planting pastures, wild animal issues in the area, etc.  

Lyn