The whole of the Universe and everything in it is going from order to disorder. From the largest structures of the galaxies to the smallest molecules, chaos is the predetermined end. We see this law play out when working with horses time and time again: the session starts out calm, quiet and orderly, but as more is asked of the horse and/or human, the momentum toward chaos builds. We fight that chaos to keep from getting ourselves or the horse hurt. The successful session ends when we’ve broken the universe’s inclination for entropy. Less successful sessions end when entropy has won and chaos rules the day. Below are some examples of the latter—sessions with horses that show the gradual decline into disorder, or what not to do in the collective battle against entropy.

As we strive to understand horse and prey-animal behavior, it’s important to know that we will always be fighting the universe’s compulsion toward entropy. It takes time and patience to combat the need of the universe to disorder itself, but the payoff of taking the time and having the patience is well worth it in the end.