Understanding Basic Horse Behavior and Body Language
Posted: Tuesday, January 03, 2012
by The Old Gray Mare
www.DressYourHorse.com
Become knowledgeable about your horse’s behavior and study his body language. You’ll understand him much better.
It is possible to figure out your horse’s moods and upsets, when he’s happy or sad, if he is afraid. Knowing his disposition when you are working with him or grooming him will go a long way toward making you and your horse a better team.
Your horse speaks most often with his ears. They tell no lies. A horse’s ears are always in motion and readily give you glimpses and snippets of what he is thinking. He’ll move them forward and sideways, together or singly. They respond to sounds all around and even follow his line of vision; he frequently uses sight, sound and even smell in unison. You’ll notice when you ride your horse, if you speak or cluck to him, one ear moves back toward you while the other one follows his vision or another point of interest.
A horse in the pasture will often stop grazing, look up and stand very alert, and look off into the distance. He has heard sound and is attempting to identify it. He may only be alert, he may feel restless, he may be concerned or feel threatened. He’ll go through various body movements depending on how he feels. His ears point and his curiosity seeks out the direction. If he becomes scared, he’ll momentarily flick them, sometimes backwards and he’ll probably shift his weight or wheel around, take a different position and listen again. He may continue to look and listen, or join others, or continue grazing. His body posture might become alert and tense, his neck will arch, his nose flares, the tail elevates slightly and he will become poised to move. Every movement, twitch of the ears, and action portrays his mood.
top left: Angry or aggressive horse; top middle: Observe each ear as it points to the people with the horse; top right: horse is relaxed but paying attention to everything around him
bottom: Albert talks to Joey (War Horse). Observe alert, pointed ears as Joey pays close attention.
When your horse is content, comfortable and happy, he keeps his ears relaxed, moving them primarily to your motions and actions. His facial expression is soft, calm and undisturbed; mouth is closed. His eyes will follow your movements. His head carriage is also relaxed. He will probably stand on three legs, resting the fourth.
Your horse may be both happy and alert. With this behavior, he will show more interest in what you are doing, his surroundings, and his ears prick forward and around as he follows your every movement. He may point his ears to the front and even reach out to you with his head. He eyes are very much in play and he is busy watching everything including behind him. A talkative horse, such as my Patrick, will nicker or stand alert, showing every bit of his excitement. His body language will betray his happiness and he’ll be ready to go.
When your horse is angry, he doesn’t hold back. His ears go flat against his head. This is also a sign of aggression. He may be upset, get ready to bite, or even strike out to kick. A horse with a poor attitude or one that is in pain may exhibit flattened ears or laid back ears. Whenever you notice the display of flattened back ears, be wary and understand the severe warning the horse is giving. Flat ears accompanied by flaring nostrils or an open mouth means he is ready to blow.
A horse that is scared or frightened will try to get away or draw into himself. He points his ears in the direction of the source of his fright. His eyes become large, round and show the whites. If he is on the cross tie, be especially careful that he does not try to turn, rear, lose his footing or strike out. He will be momentarily crazed with fear so take great care. If he is loose, he will bolt away from the frightening object. If you are astride, get ready to hang on tight and get him under control as soon as possible.
Horses are honest animals with a great many sensitivities and intuitive emotions. They feel pain, sadness, happiness, and always try to please their human partner. To really get to know him takes much observation and time.
I’ve given only a few obvious observances. Many books on the market give detailed discussions and pictures. I’ve found, however, that closely watching your horse during grooming sessions, exercising, feeding, around other horses or at liberty in the ring or field gives you the best idea of your horse’s moods and body language.
Feel free to comment or ask additional questions in the comments section below.
The Old Gray Mare writes for www.DressYourHorse.com or her Blog sites.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Heidi.
I loved this!
Where I go to visit the horses, they have three dogs. One is a young German Shepherd who hasn't been with them all that long ... maybe a year. He has not learned to speak horse and we all fear for his safety. I translate for him from time to time. Mostly that entails yelling "no" or "quit" or "out" at him. He just can't seem to see that when "Terpsichore" lowers her head, pins back her ears and peels back her lips, that he should get out of the stall ... RIGHT NOW. He's knows he not supposed to get in the stalls but just can't seem to help himself.
The other day while I was grooming "Lucifer," his head went up and he pricked his ears very suddenly. I'd had him in a halter and tied with a slip knot because he had been "bad" and kept wandering off. I immediately unclipped the lead and stepped into a corner of the stall and out of his way. I knew what that might mean. But he calmed himself and we resumed our grooming. I guess I've learned to speak a little horse. :)
Don't you just love all the things they do!? There is one horse out there, "Earl," who will not let me groom him. We play this game. He loves attention and will come up to me asking for it. But mostly he wants treats or a good scratching on his rear end. Sometimes I try to groom him and that's the game.
I walk to his shoulder and hold out whatever grooming tool I have in my hand. He turns his head slightly and keeps one eye on me and one ear pointed right at me. I move my tool slowly toward his shoulder and his head comes further around as his ears both start to move back. I take my hand away and he goes back to just watching. We'll do this several times and then I will actually touch him with the tool. That's when his ears snap all the way back and he punches at me with his mouth. I laugh. He shakes his head and we go our separate ways. We both like the game.
I loved the pix in your article too. I can't decide whether or not I want to see "War Horse." On the one hand, it's HORSES. On the other, it's horses in PERIL.
Hugs,
DianneThanks for your great comment. Always love to hear your experiences. It's a good thing to have more than one horse to compare because each animal is so different. Some are very demonstrative and others are more blasee about everything. I have a big talker in my barn - Patrick is forever talking and nickering. I'm surprised that Earl doesn't want grooming. It's the one thing I have found that nearly every horse love almost as much as a piece of carrot or apple. Even Patrick who was very fearful at the beginning came around very quickly once he realized he had nothing to fear anymore. I found his worry spots - and they were all about his whiskers and ears - and all was good from then on. When I think about horse body language, they are so very expressive in everything they do.
Have to tell you though that yesterday the farrier came to trim the boys. Sebastian was a total idiot. My usual blacksmith has moved to Maine where he is taking care of 28 Shire horses and has an apartment right on the farm. So he secured the farrier that came yesterday. Good choice - I like him. Anyway, Sebastian is all of 29 inches tall and the monster of the group. He was in rare form yesterday. Since he tested the new blacksmith and found he was able to pull his stunt, it became impossible by the fourth foot to finish him. I told him to leave the last foot. I'm thinking that unless I can effect a working cure for this little monster, that we'll have to drop him the next time. How's that for body language. He doesn't any longer believe in giving a warning - he just Lippizzaner's away. Thing is, he makes no wrong movements for me. It's not a question of practice. He's also find for my granddaughter."Earl" does actually love to be groomed ... just not by me. He belongs to the young woman who is the daughter of the woman who owns most of the horses out there. He is absolutely besotted with her. :)
Obviously Sebastian does not respect the new farrier. :) Bet he wouldn't like being dropped at all. But it would sure teach him quick. Just stay away from his teeth! :)
Yesterday, I had a circus with one of the dogs that lives at the ranch. He's been chasing Lucifer and me whenever we ride. The walk isn't so bad, but once we've warmed up and start trotting and cantering, he's right on our heels. So the daughter recommenced I take a crop with me and get after him with it. Well, I couldn't reach him from Lucifer's back and so I got down and chased the dog all around the arena. I had Lucifer in tow while I was running at the dog and yelling and brandishing the crop at him. I was supposed to hit him with it, but I never could catch him. Lucifer thought it was great to chase the dog. He was running right along with me, staying perfectly at my shoulder and made all the proper changes of direction almost before I did. That dog probably thought I was crazy. But it only took two episodes to get him to go lie down. But in between, because I'm not all that good with the crop, I accidentally touched Lucifer with it. He absolutely hates crops and even though I had explained that it was for the dog and not for him, he was still kind of sensitive. He took off like a bolt of lightning and I had to use the one-rein ho to get him to whoa. So I threw away the crop. I made sure Lucifer saw me do it. :)
Oh! TCM showed National Velvet Wednesday night and we recorded it and watched it last night. Was a real treat!
i'm sorry but I have to chuckle. I can see you, the horse and the dog in my mind's eye and it sort of struck me funny. I'm surprised the horse didn't carry on when you had the crop while you were riding him. Also, I'm not at all surprised that he carried on when you accidentally struck him. How about talking to the neighbors and telling him about the dog harrassing the horses. Also, a crop won't do it. It's too short. You'll need something longer, almost a driving whip - something that's at least as long as a gaited whip. But you don't even need a whip. Find a tree branch like a willow or something like a lilac twig. Long and straight without any leaves or twigs on it. Have someone stand just inside the fence and sit your horse tight with the dog at his heels. Trot for safety. As you go by have them lash out at the dog. You could also use a water gun which would be much better. If you can avoid screwing up Lucifer, it'd be better so in retrospect, use a water gun. You could do that from the horse too. In fact, teach the horse that you will shoot a stream of water so he's not afraid. Then get that confounded dog with the water. Should work. After once or twice, the dog will become aware of what you're doing and if he's at all smart, just pointing at him should stop him. Even better is a rubber band shot off by someone outside the fence that hits its mark. Meanwhile, go back and forth instead of around the ring. That way you can immediately get better results. Good luck. Don't know if this is coming out clear cause I'm hurrying.It was definitely funny! No need to apologize. If I hadn't needed all my breath to chase the dog, I would have been laughing.
I decided to turn it into a story for WS and will probably send it in sometime today.
Oh! the dog belongs to the people who own the ranch. I've talked to them a lot about him and that's why I got the instruction to go after him with a whip. I do like the water gun idea though ... but Zepp really likes water so that might not work. I'd have to get him in the eye or the ear or the nose for it to make an impression and I just don't think I'd be that good firing from the saddle. I've watched those competitions and am always impressed by the skill it displays.
Mostly, I ride by myself and so I'll not be getting any help with this. My only other option is to lock him up in the house while I ride, but then he wouldn't learn anything.
Thanks though for all your thoughts. They are always helpful!
That head down, heading for ya body language speaks volumes even if I don't know exactly what it means. As usual a lovely and info filled piece.Thanks for your support. I appreciate your generous comments. The horse is an honest animal and is very communicative. All to often, people ignore that and bully them around and that can cause trouble in more ways than one.
How did I miss this great article, as I thought I had read all you had written recently. This is great information. Someone mentioned War Horse, and I saw a preview of the horse jumping, it looked great....the grace and presence of a beautiful horse cannot be beat! As always you write what we need to read on this great animal.Thanks for the vote of confidence on this article. I have a very demonstrative horse in Patrick and I notice it in many others too. Just like in this movie. The horse(s) used in War Horse are terrific. The animals are well trained. If ever I have seen hell portrayed in film, the battleground in this film is hell to me. Just dreadful that people ever get involved in wars. As horrible as war can be, there is an underlying thread of kindness and humanity by some in this film The sad reality is that horses were really just tools to an end. There were people that stood head and shoulders above the others and I think they were brilliantly portrayed in this movie in the most simple ways. Truly a wonderful movie with one caveat - it is important to remember that war was indeed brutal for man and beast. The good thing about movies is that state of the art film effects have vastly improved so computer generation can easily take the place of the torturous melee.
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