In a horse race, does the horse know it has to be first to win?

Question

would it be disappointed if it didn't get 1st place ?

Answer 1

they love to be faster than the other horse

disappointed yes

Answer 2

Well... When they are being told faster faster! And they are going faster and once they are told to stop... If they start getting praised and given snacks or something and this horse is not new to the game of racing.. I suppose that it would know. Because if it lost, it would feel a bit of a sad atmosphere but if it won... it would feel a happy type of atmosphere.

Just a matter of how new they are to the concept and if they are feeling the "mood" after the race.

Answer 3

Competition is instinctive.

Answer 4

No - horses aren't that bright.  They just like to run.  They don't know what a race is, and could care less if they win.  There will be all sorts of horse lovers who say horses are smart and love to "win" etc, but they are kidding themselves.

Answer 5

Yes they do, at least most do.

I had one that after he took the picture and was unsaddled he would rear up looking at the grandstands. He would rear up once like the horse in the beer commercial and then off we went. At first it surprised me but after a few wins it was a ritual. He was only a $5000.00 claimer but he knew when he won. He only did it when he won.

You could also tell if he lost that he was disaapointed.

Answer 6

Horses know they have to jump without knocking down poles, so I assume they also know that they have to be 1st to win.  Did someone have to tell you that you had to be 1st to win?  It's a pretty instinctual thing. especially for a flight creature like a horse.

I guess Flatstick wandered over here from the golf category to tell us that horses are stupid.  I'd fall over dead if he's ever seen a horse, let alone ridden one.

Answer 7

Well its up to the trainer and exercise rider to teach the horse that,

Some horses get it fast others do not.

I have worked out so many that we would have to hold the others back so the other would understand that he should pass them

At our farm we teach the babies to become competitive, by egging them on, when there is tow or 3 together.

We might hole them back just a bit, and smooch to them so they get an idea of what it means

Its really in training.  I have seen and been on horses that will bite the other horse just to get ahead,

Some horses that finish 2nd all the time will think thats where they belong,

If a trainer and rider is not paying attention to some horses they will, get their heart taken out of them

Yes we do need to teach some horse whats it like to be first

Yes a seasoned horse will get upset if he does Not win,

Answer 8

I have a feeling some horses do know. The great Affirmed and Alydar match ups were classic. In the Belmont Stakes Affirmed Would not let Alydar go by him.Everytime Alydar got next to him Affirmeb found a little more to hold him off

Answer 9

Horses love to run in packs and some even stop when they get to the front of the pack, so the jockey has to have the skill and judgement to time the race just right.  A horse in the UK called Geordieland is a prime example of this.

Others love to front run and lead all the way and yes I think those types can get disappointed when they are overtaken.

For more interesting facts try Desmond Morris's book Horsewatching.

Answer 10

Yes, most horses "get it."  They're herd animals and even when they're playing in the field, they like to play around to see who can be first.  If you've ever seen yearlings running together in a field, they run as a pack and some individuals will run out to the front.

A horse named Gander lost his rider at the start of the race, but ran the race himself... he weaved through the other horses, made the lead, then crossed the line first before going over to the winners circle!  He knew the game.

Ruffian understood the game so well that she would never let anyone pass her, even in morning workouts.  There was one occassion when she was finished with her workout, but a loose horse was running by and she took off and her rider couldn't get her to slow down because she was so determined to beat the other horse.

Cigar and DaHoss have stalls and paddocks right next to each other at Kentucky Horse Park... they often will race each other... side by side separated by their fence, they'll run away from the barns, then turn around and race back to the barns... back and forth.

A lot of horses understand the game.  There's some that don't of course or who don't really care to be first... those ones usually don't make very good racehorses.  Look at Imawildandcrazyguy who ran in the Derby last year.  He was always a 4th through 10th horse.  Even against allowance horses later in the year, he didn't win.