• communism@lemmy.ml
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    2 hours ago

    They get trained. Think about humans for example. There’s lots of stuff we don’t think twice about doing that aren’t necessarily things we would naturally do; they’re taught to us socially and we get used to them as part of life. Horses were domesticated, firstly selectively bred to be friendlier to humans and faster, but secondly they still get trained to form a bond with humans and to do what humans want them to do. They get used to being ridden.

  • its_prolly_fine@sh.itjust.works
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    3 hours ago

    The same reasons dogs work for us. They are domesticated animals, selective breeding for thousands of years. Then training, teach them when they are young to do complex tasks. They then enjoy the tasks because it makes us happy. Think of sled dogs, or seeing eye dogs. Not exactly a natural thing for them, but once they are trained they really enjoy it.

  • lath@piefed.social
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    6 hours ago

    They usually don’t and have to be “broken in”.

    For those few that do so naturally, it’s more of a proto-symbiotic relationship where the rider helps provide food and safety, so they’re kept around as a pet or dumb kid.
    Also, if a predator wants to bite you, having something on your back to throw at them as a distraction can be pretty damn helpful.

      • TranquilTurbulence@lemmy.zip
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        2 hours ago

        The default setting in a horse’s mind is to not allow anything on its back. They will bite and kick you if you try. However, there is a clever way to change that setting, as ancient humans had discovered.

        Horses are different from many other animals, such as zebras. Horses are clearly more malleable. That default setting can be changed if you’re skilled and patient enough. With zebras though, the setting to bite and kick is pretty much hard coded.

        Some animals, such as camels and llamas can also be tamed and even ridden, but they will always know their position in the tier list of life i.e. way above all humans. They will tolerate humans up to a certain point, but once their patience runs out, the unfortunate human in their immediate vicinity will feel it in their skin. These animals are a bit like cats, but 10x more dangerous.

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
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    6 hours ago

    It is called breaking them.

    The traditional methods is to dominate the horse into accepting the various ropes and controls as well as a rider.

    There are more modern approaches which focus on making the horse trust it all.

  • BenderRodriguez@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    There’s the serious answers here, but it makes you think. What weight am I carrying that I could just toss off my back and run free?