The answer is that horses are afraid of camels because they are unfamiliar with them, and their behavior towards camels is based on their natural instinct to be wary of any unfamiliar animal.

The most common explanation for this phenomenon is that horses are naturally afraid of anything that moves differently than they do (ie. walking on two legs). There are also some theories that explain why horses are afraid of camels specifically:

Horses have poor eyesight, but very good hearing. Camels have a distinctive gait, which makes them easy to identify from a distance. Horses hear the sound of the camel’s footsteps before they see it, and startle easily when they hear something unusual.

Camels have very large humps on their backs which can make it difficult for horses to see them when they’re close together. This creates confusion for the horse, which may cause it to behave defensively or aggressively towards the camel as it tries to protect itself from being attacked by something unknown.

Last modified: November 19, 2022