Horses have several ways of communicating amongst each other and here is a basic guide on how to interpret what your horse is telling you!
Ear movements
Horses have the capability of swivelling their ears around to show their emotions. Here is a list of the most common positions:
- Pricked forwards: attentive, listening, awake
- Facing the side: Relaxed, contented
- Flattened on the side: afraid, feels aggressed
- Ears flattened backwards: annoyed, angry-it is best to leave this horse alone
- Both ears swivelling: giving their divided attention
- One ear swivelling: curious, taking in surroundings
Tail movements
Tail movement is far less observed and can be misleading but it is useful to know if the horse is not facing you.
- Tail in usual position: relaxed
- Tail rigid: startled
- Tail raised: excited, happy
- Tail between legs: afraid
- Tail almost horizontal: about to kick or bite
Vocal communication
- Nicker (soft neigh): “I am here; where are you?”, “Come here”
- Squeal (shrill nicker): “Hey!”, “Stop it!”
- Snort: nervous, challenging another horse/human
- Short, sharp nicker (sounds like a scream): “That hurts!”
- Snort through nose: angry, afraid
- Low nicker: “Hello, I am glad to see you”
If you have any questions or suggestions, please post a comment 😉
How did you become such a horse communication expert?
Are there any particular things humans can do to help horses feel relaxed and contented?
My main suggestions to relax a horse are: talk to them in a calm, quiet voice to reassure them and put them through an everyday routine to bring back a sense of normality if something has startled them (example: a car horn, an animal, a loud noise, etc)
Thank you! Do you know how to insert a picture to your post?
Dear Horselover29,
You received the following comment via Twitter from this organisation:
http://www.strengthandlearningthroughhorses.org
‘This is fabulous! Part of our work teaches young people how to interpret horse ‘language’ and how they can apply this understanding in other areas of their lives 🐴 #healinghorses.’
Thank you so much for that information 🙂
Would it be the same with dog and puppies