How do horses adapt to riders firing guns?

A guy rents a horse to go elk hunting.The wrangler told him what ever you do make sure you shoot off the horse. The hunter rides into a meadow and sees a nice bull. He carefully takes aim, fires and wakes up in the hospital. The wrangler sitting at his bedside asks the hunter what happened. The hunters tells him he had shot an elk off the horse just like he had told him, and the horse had bucked him off then proceed to stomp on him. The wrangler told the hunter, No, I said shoot off the horse.

Much like dogs or any other animal, it just takes time for them to get used to it.
During re-enactments, with other horses around, it seems to make them more comfortable.
I still have to catch myself what distance from his ear I fire from, more than once he’s gotten mad and I’ve ended up on the ground.

DocRock said:

As mentioned above, it’s very, very similar to training a dog to the gun.

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I'm guessing dogs are easier because you ain't shooting right by their ear. Most of my gun dogs love the sound of the gun because they relate that to something they love to do....hunt. Had a few gun shy when they were pups, but once they figured out that a gun shot maybe meant a bird down for them to find.......they were all over it.

Steel Hayes said:

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Much like dogs or any other animal, it just takes time for them to get used to it.
During re-enactments, with other horses around, it seems to make them more comfortable.
I still have to catch myself what distance from his ear I fire from, more than once he’s gotten mad and I’ve ended up on the ground.

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In the past, horses have ran into battle despite the fact that their rider was already long dead. Just because all of the other horses were.

So yeah, they like to herd up and stick together.

I’ve done a bit of Civil War re-enacting and some of the Cavalry horses were impressive. I’ve seen horses that, when they heard gunfire, their ears would go forward and they’d start toward the sounds. The riders would have to hold them back because they wanted to go!

At Cherokee Rod and Gun Club we often have to call a cease fire in the black powder cartridge or military matches because the resident deer and/or turkey have decided to walk across the range foraging for food. They have learned gunfire does not equal danger and are used to it.

Horses are smarter than deer or turkeys and learn faster. But even I get startled at an unexpected gunshot.

Howland937 said:

Probably in much the same way dogs are trained. They either get used to it or they're deemed "gun shy" in which case they become someone's pet instead.

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Roger that. I grew up ranching and hunting, and some horses handle it some don't. The last horse I took hunting could handle gun fire if I was in the saddle, but if I was dismounted she would go nuts. Everyone of them is different, just like us!!!

460Shooter said:

I know a horse ownin woman who packs a 41 mag. I’ll ask her if she’s ever tried it.

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Hey gents, I asked my friend/coworker about this question and specifically if there is a technique, and thoughts about hearing protection for horses. Her response was as follows.

"While I’m not an expert, I have done a little research since I have an interest in mounted shooting (which is an actual sport… youtube it). I’ve wanted to get into it for a while, maybe someday.

I haven’t shot from the back of a horse yet. Although, my horses are somewhat desensitized to gun shots since their pasture is next to the gun range. I’ve hunted using my horses for transportation, so they’ve been close by when taking a shot. Most mounted shooters I’ve talked to start with a bull whip and once a horse is used to the popping they transition to small caliber guns and work up from there. That being said, not all horses will make a good “shooting” horse. Some just won’t get used to it.

Hearing protection is a concern. If a person is planning to do a lot of shooting on or around their critters, it’s a must. Believe it or not, they do actually make ear plugs for horses, but a lot of people use tampons (for real, I’m not even joking) and put them in the horses ears. Professional cowboys at rodeos use this trick too.

Horses are truly amazing animals in what they will tolerate. I just imagine what they were exposed to in many of the wars throughout history, and essentially, where the term “bomb” proof came from in describing a very gentle horse. Pretty crazy when you stop and think about it."

Hope her feedback is helpful to the question at hand.

What's with the fear or owning a silencer or NFA?
If you have:
A social security number
A driver's license
Filled out a W-4
Filed taxes
Ever been in the military
The government already has all your information. They know where you live, where you work, what car you drive, how much money you make, if you will be able to retire, what bank you use, what gets sent to you in the mail.
I got my first NFA item in 2007 and never had any interactions with the ATF besides sending them form 1s and form 4s and them cutting tax stamps.
Now silencer ownership is around 0.1%, if people stopped being afraid of the government and bought what they wanted and ownership was more like 1% or 3% then most gun people will know someone who has silencers and will have tried them out, thus removing the mystery around them.
Because the problem is Hollywood spreading fantastic lies about them.
Do people fear owning their own business because they have to fill out government forms with all their personal info or fear getting a driver's license because the government collects all your info and takes your picture?

Howland937 said:

Probably in much the same way dogs are trained. They either get used to it or they're deemed "gun shy" in which case they become someone's pet instead.

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daniel craig said:

They go deaf.

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Pretty much, in my experience. We deer hunted with high powered rifles from horses who had been acclimated to it. They can still hear but I'm pretty sure they cant hear as well as the others. They are 20+ years old now though. Some never stopped jumping just like some will never be gaited and some never stop bugger hunting or biting. Some never cared to begin with if you shot from them.

DRJ1911 said:

I tried firing a 22 once from horse back when I was a kid. It did not end well.

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I was riding one of our walking horses that was actually a good horse to shoot from as a kid (had a fat rear like a clydesdale and rode about as smooth as one too). I was riding up to one of our locked gates and pulled my keys out of my pocket.....about a mile down the road I finally gave up and threw the keys...another mile down the road I got her to stop running. Lol. She wasn't gunshy but she was key-shy

Mounted troops and Cavalry trained constantly with their horses.
Enough that the horse would often respond to bugle calls (like "Boot and Saddles" or "Assembly" beyond the more obvious marching orders).
The manuals of the day suggest acclimatizing the horses slowly. So, you'd picket them behind the line at the range. They'd shuttle back and for with the Relays, too. So, it was about the group activity.
The manuals also suggested finding that combination of horse and rider which seemed to "work" best. To be observant if a horse preferred a specific trooper.

There was more to it, naturally. The manuals suggested that, during training, you'd start by holding back an ear of the horse (hacking your horse's ear in a saber charge being considered poor form). The right ear being back was also good fro introducing the horse to pistol fire, which, at the gallop is going to be very close to the horse's ear. A carbine or rifle was easier as shooting from the gallop was not particularly effective. The length of the barrel also put the muzzle further in front of the horse.

Now, the most complicated thing was for Mounted Infantry. The horse was their personnel carrier, and you dismounted for combat. So, one dude in four was stuck having to hold four horses by the curb chains while everyone else was off Doing Things! This too meant training, since the horse wanted to be part of the group activities, too.

Aim1 said:

That would be a long heavy pistol to fire from a horse and attempt to draw and holster while riding I'd think.

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Can’t be bigger than a Walker or a Dragoon!!!


I have no serious input. I got dragged by a horse and “never got back on”

CapnMac said:

Mounted troops and Cavalry trained constantly with their horses.
Enough that the horse would often respond to bugle calls (like "Boot and Saddles" or "Assembly" beyond the more obvious marching orders).
The manuals of the day suggest acclimatizing the horses slowly. So, you'd picket them behind the line at the range. They'd shuttle back and for with the Relays, too. So, it was about the group activity.
The manuals also suggested finding that combination of horse and rider which seemed to "work" best. To be observant if a horse preferred a specific trooper.

There was more to it, naturally. The manuals suggested that, during training, you'd start by holding back an ear of the horse (hacking your horse's ear in a saber charge being considered poor form). The right ear being back was also good fro introducing the horse to pistol fire, which, at the gallop is going to be very close to the horse's ear. A carbine or rifle was easier as shooting from the gallop was not particularly effective. The length of the barrel also put the muzzle further in front of the horse.

Now, the most complicated thing was for Mounted Infantry. The horse was their personnel carrier, and you dismounted for combat. So, one dude in four was stuck having to hold four horses by the curb chains while everyone else was off Doing Things! This too meant training, since the horse wanted to be part of the group activities, too.

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There is a lot of information in there.
I think my horse was trained to hunt. Every time I start target shooting. She comes running. Last week I tried shooting from her back and she acted like a totally different horse when I had the rifle on my hand.
They definitely are smart and want to do a job.

I'm not horse master, but there do seem to be two camps when it comes to training horses.... one is calm and gentle, but firm.... the other seems to be more about dominance.

I was once told:

You can shoot from atop any horse... once...

SSN Vet said:

I'm not horse master, but there do seem to be two camps when it comes to training horses.... one is calm and gentle, but firm.... the other seems to be more about dominance.

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And one gets a calm horse that trusts you in everything. The other gets you a horse that may or may not try to buck at any moment.

A guy rents a horse to go elk hunting.The wrangler told him what ever you do make sure you shoot off the horse. The hunter rides into a meadow and sees a nice bull. He carefully takes aim, fires and wakes up in the hospital. The wrangler sitting at his bedside asks the hunter what happened. The hunters tells him he had shot an elk off the horse just like he had told him, and the horse had bucked him off then proceed to stomp on him. The wrangler told the hunter, No, I said shoot off the horse.

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A high school buddy of mine went to Colorado to elk hunt as a high school graduation present from his dad in 1976. They pulled a trailer with 2 horses all the way. Thirty minutes into opening day my friend saw a legal bull. He dismounted and tried to hold the reins while taking the shot. He missed and spent the rest of the day trying to catch his horse. At least he got off and wasn't hurt.

First I would have to imagine a circumstance that I would need to shoot while mounted. Quite frankly neither of my horses would make a good weapon platform.

748: "Do people fear owning their own business because they have to fill out government forms with all their personal info or fear getting a driver's license because the government collects all your info and takes your picture?"

Only extreme radicals propose using business forms to crush capitalism, or use restrictions on DL to eliminate the demon car. It's hard to find, but it is there.

Use of over regulation of arms to eliminate legal guns is almost mainstream for a third of the political public. It is easy to find.

I have followed gun control propaganda since 1959. I was eleven. A lot of their rhetoric has been to use gun regulations, restrictions and taxation to make gun ownership as onerous as possible, using the cover of crime control as an excuse to limit gun ownership to government entitities and eliminate not criminal possession of firearms but civilian possession of firearms. The 19 May 1986 freezing of the NFA MG registry by the Hughes Amendment (with no citable crimes by a civilian with a registerd MG) gives me no confidence that the gun control crowd will not eventually pull a Hughes Amendment on the NFA silencer registry, because bad guys in movies use silencers. The rhetoric of the gun control crowd makes the prospect of signing up for a gun owner registry as attractive as being enrolled in sex offender registry. Their rhetoric is their call to action.

Virginia State Police will do a non-dealer seller-buyer private transaction NICS background check at a gun show for $5. Background check for private used gun transactions run $39 in Tennessee, $55 to $65 elsewhere. It's sin tax designed not to regulate private transactions but to restrict them.

Carl N. Brown said:

CapnMac: "Do people fear owning their own business because they have to fill out government forms with all their personal info or fear getting a driver's license because the government collects all your info and takes your picture?"

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Uhm, I'm pretty sure I did not say that, and certainly not in this thread.
Can we presume this is an erroneous posting?

^ I am pretty sure (after checking) you didn't say that either, and it was an erroneous attribution which has been corrected.
My bad. My apologies.

I use foam ear plugs on my horse but i trained him with a 22 blank and with other horses that were not gun shy .If they see the other horses scatter they will also.Some horses will not let you put ear plugs in.

birdshot8's said:

A guy rents a horse to go elk hunting.The wrangler told him what ever you do make sure you shoot off the horse. The hunter rides into a meadow and sees a nice bull. He carefully takes aim, fires and wakes up in the hospital. The wrangler sitting at his bedside asks the hunter what happened. The hunters tells him he had shot an elk off the horse just like he had told him, and the horse had bucked him off then proceed to stomp on him. The wrangler told the hunter, No, I said shoot off the horse.

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I don't get it?

CapnMac said:

Now, the most complicated thing was for Mounted Infantry. The horse was their personnel carrier, and you dismounted for combat. So, one dude in four was stuck having to hold four horses by the curb chains while everyone else was off Doing Things!

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All the early U.S. cavalry was in fact Mounted Infantry. That included the 1st and 2nd Dragoons and the regiment of Mounted Rifles. The first designated "cavalry" didn't come until 1855, with the 1st and 2nd Cavalry regiments. The 3rd Cavalry was organized in early 1861.Then later in 1861, all these regiments were redesignated and renumbered, in the order of seniority, becoming the 1st through 6th Cavalry. The 7th and later regiments were post-Civil War.

Mounted Infantry tactics still persisted after the redesignation.