READING HORSE BODY LANGUAGE & BEHAVIOR

Hey everyone! So today we're going to be talking about something that a lot of you have actually requested. And this is how to read horse behavior and body language. Before we get started, why don't you tell us one notable way your horse communicates with you. So Tucker here, I know I've mentioned this before, he can be kind of silly. If there's a bee or maybe something he doesn't like, he'll go like this with his head. And he does that over and over and over again and it's kind of funny. But that's his little quirky way of communicating with me. So let me know what your horse does in the comments down below. So maybe we can't sit down and have a conversation with our horse, but your horse will want to talk to you using their body language to communicate. Since horses are 1,000 pound animals that can't actually speak to you, it's important that you take the time to understand how they communicate with you in order to stay safe around them and have fun. So what we're going to do in this video is talk about certain ways your horses demonstrate certain behaviors. But before we do that, what I want to do is go over the important body parts to look at to understand what your horse is communicating to you. So horses will use many different parts of their body to communicate. I'm just going to cover some of the few common areas that you're going to see the most action with. So our first area is the horse's ears. So the horse's ears are going to tell you where their attention is. So Tucker's looking that way and his ears are pointing that way. So I can tell his attention is that way. So the horse's ears are kind of like the radar for danger. As herd animals, horses need to be able to sense wherever there's danger. So they're going to be listening really closely to see where the sounds are coming from. So another really important part you can look at of your horse is the horse's eyes. So we've all heard the saying that eyes are the window to the soul and this is true for your horse as well. So horses can be very expressive with their eyes and it can be easy to understand what they're communicating with their eyes because it's much like with humans. So if he's scared, his eyes may be wide. And so it's going to be a lot like a human's expressions and I find that that's the easiest place to look to see what my horse is thinking or trying to say to me. One thing I look at when I go to purchase a new horse is I look at their eyes and I look to see whether they have kind of a soft and kind eye or maybe their eye is a little bit more beady and looks kind of like a little troublemaker. And then I can tell what kind of horse I'm going to get. So that's a good place to look to see what your horse is thinking and their expression and even their personality. So another part we're going to look at is the horse's head and neck position. So what I mean by this is how high is the horse holding their head up. So a horse can use their neck for a number of things. First of all, the head and the neck are kind of used to counteract the hind end. So I can look at my horse's upper body to see how they're going to respond with their hind end. So if my horse is getting ready to take off or bolt, what they may look like is their head may be up and they're ready to make that motion and jump into that motion. Another thing the horse will do with its neck is try to protect itself. So if there's a predator that's coming to take down the horse, the predator is going to go for the neck. This is kind of the sensitive part of the horse and the vulnerable spot. So the horse is going to try and protect its neck by moving its head and blocking you or the predator, either way, from their neck. So this could be what an untrusting horse looks like. If I'm standing here and I want to walk to the side of the horse, the horse may put its head up and kind of block me from going over here because they don't trust me yet that I can go over here and be next to their vulnerable part. Another thing the horse may do with their neck is they may use their height to assert their dominance. I've seen this in the field watching Tucker play with other horses. What he'll do is he'll put his head up really tall and run into them with his chest. He may also, the horses will start nipping at each other and whoever can get their head up the highest is considered the alpha. So that's another way to look for it and to notice whether or not your horse is doing that with you. Because if they're using their head in that way, that could show that they're trying to be more dominant over you. So the next two body parts kind of go in conjunction with one another. We're going to talk about the tail right here and the horse's muzzle or their mouth. So both of these body parts can be used to communicate tension, whether it's tension with pain or it's tension like they're feeling nervous or anxious. So that's two body parts to be aware of. So the last body part we're going to be covering are the horse's legs and the horse's legs can be used to communicate a few different things. Number one, since horses are prey animals, their natural instinct is to flee from anything that they may find a danger. So we're going to be looking at the horse's feet and seeing if they're moving their feet. If a horse starts moving their feet, that means they're getting ready, they want to flee and they may be really suspicious of something. So a horse may also use their feet as weapons and so that's another important thing to note. So we can watch the horse's feet to start to see are they feeling safe around us or maybe they're a little less sure of who you are and what you're doing around them. So now that we've talked about the body parts to be aware of when your horse is communicating, now I want to go over certain behaviors your horse is going to try and communicate to you and how they may do that. So the first behavior we're going to cover today is a relaxed horse. So we'll just start with the head and work our way back as to what you can look for when your horse is communicating this. So a relaxed horse, they're going to have their ears relaxed. Tucker here thinks I have a treat. So his ears are going to probably be turned out like this and they're just going to be relaxed. So when his ears go forward, I can feel there's tension in them, but a relaxed horse will just have them, no tension, just kind of relaxed and sitting here. So when a horse is relaxed, their eye is going to look like they're enjoying themselves. See how his eye is kind of closed there? He's like, ah, this is a nice breeze. I'm standing in the shade and it's kind of hot out. And so their eye is going to look kind of sleepy, maybe half closed, and they'll just look like they're resting and they feel good. So I mentioned the muzzle earlier. So when your horse is relaxed, their muzzle is going to be relaxed. So you may notice that their bottom lip is really droopy and it looks like they're trying to catch flies with it. They'll be hanging down low and they may just be chewing. That's another way your horse may show that they're relaxed or enjoying themselves is by chewing. I hear a lot of horses do that. So that's another way your horse may demonstrate that they're relaxed. Another clear indicator that your horse is relaxed is where they carry their head. So a relaxed horse is probably going to carry their head pretty low and it's just going to kind of be even with their body. I see it usually like this and then they'll be half sleeping and they'll have their head just kind of like this. And that just shows that there's no tension throughout their top line. They're just relaxed and they're just enjoying wherever they are. When a horse is relaxed with their neck, that's another way to show that the horse trusts you. So especially if I'm standing right here and I'm near the neck, which is a vulnerable part of the horse's body, if a horse is willing to be relaxed and have their head low and just not really paying attention to me, that shows that they're fine with me right here next to this vital piece of equipment. So a horse that's relaxed is going to have a nice and relaxed tail. I should be able to grab it and it just moves easily and it will wave like that. And I can just easily go like this. I can feel that there's no tension in his tail. He's just letting me pick it up and be like this. So if I just look at it, I can see that it's more relaxed. A tucked tail will look like it's pressed right up against the rump, but this tail is nice and relaxed and he's just chilling. So as I mentioned earlier, since a horse is a herd animal and a prey animal, their first instinct is to flee if there's any sign of danger. So if your horse is relaxed, their feet aren't going to be moving. They're going to be relaxing their feet. So usually a relaxed horse will have a cocked back leg where they're standing like this. And that just shows that they're not worried. There's no tension in them. They're not have their feet planted or moving their feet like they're getting ready to bolt, but they're just standing and they're chillaxing. Nothing's going to bug them. If you're enjoying these tips so far, please be sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel. So now that we've talked about how to tell if your horse is relaxed, let's talk about how to tell if your horse is anxious. So if your horse's ears look like they're doing a beauty pageant wave, they may be anxious. So what I mean by that is that your horse's ears are just pointing everywhere. That radar is trying to find something. They're like, there's something out there that's going to get me. I need to be on high alert. And they're just looking for what may be a danger. So if your horse's ears are constantly moving, or maybe they're just really dead locked on one thing, that's a good sign that they're starting to get a little anxious. So Tucker here, I can always tell when he's starting to get anxious because his eyes get super big. So another way you can tell if your horse is starting to get a little nervous is that their eyes are going to be wide and you're probably going to be able to see the whites around their eyes a little bit. And so they may also look like they just had too many espressos and they have a ton of caffeine in them and they're getting ready to just bounce off the walls. So let's talk about this big muzzle here. What's this going to be doing if your horse is anxious? A good sign your horse is anxious is that their nostrils will be flared. And sometimes I've heard anxious or excited horses, they snort really loud through their nose and they kind of sound like a pig. So as soon as the horse starts doing that, I'm like, well, okay, better get ready to fall off. Another thing to look for is that the horse's bottom lip is going to be really tight. Like we mentioned earlier, horses tend to carry a lot of tension in their mouth and their tail. So the first place I'm going to see that tension when they're anxious is in their lip. It's going to look like they have that tight bottom lip. So let's talk about the horse's neck and head position. What is it going to be doing if your horse is anxious? So the first way I can tell a horse is starting to get a little anxious is that they carry their head very up high and that shows that they're alert. They're looking for things, but that also shows that they're about to bolt and they're about to push off with their hind end. It can also be used to protect them. So if I'm untrusting or if my horse is starting to get anxious, they may put their head up and start blocking me from getting to their neck. So that's another thing to look for. So if your horse is nervous, their tail may be doing a number of different things. First of all, I'll look to see if the horse's tail is tucked. A nervous horse may keep their tail tucked really close to their rump. Another thing to look for if your horse is getting really excited, they may raise their tail really high and so it'll look nice and flowy in the wind, but it also means that your horse is probably about to take off. What is an anxious horse going to be doing with their feet? The last thing they're going to want to do is stand still. So if a horse is starting to get anxious and they feel unsafe, they're going to want to bolt or be moving because that way they know they can escape the predator. So I've covered a horse that's calm and we've covered a horse that's anxious. So let's now cover a horse that's mad. Oh, that's a big yawn, buddy. He's like, I'm not mad. But if he were mad, what he would look like is his ear would be flat against his head like that. Like we've talked about tension in the ear, a mad horse is definitely going to have tension in that ear, but it's going to be tension like this to where their ear is pointed back and laying flat on their head. So as you can see, when his ears are back, his eyes kind of automatically get a perturbed look in them. So that's a good indicator that he's mad. So a mad horse may also have their nostrils flared and that really tight lip. And once again, that's going to tell us about tension in the body. It's kind of like the horse is kind of on edge and they're like, don't come closer to me. And so that's kind of how they're carrying that tension right in there. So if a horse is kind of mad, what they're going to do with their head is they're going to try and keep their head in between you and them. And this is kind of like a protective maneuver. They don't want you coming close to them. And so they're going to try really hard to keep you from getting close to their body or their vulnerable parts. So if I was to stand right here, Tucker is going to keep his head right here and he's not going to let me go to either side of him. So he would kind of try and block me from getting over here. So another thing a mad horse may do is try to establish their dominance with you. And the way they're going to do that is using their head and neck. So in the wild, if you watch horses, the more dominant horse will usually have their head up higher where they can push the other horses with their chest or they can get their head over the other horses. So the horse will do the exact same thing with you. They may put their head up and put it over you or they may put their neck up and kind of run into you with their chest. So if your horse is getting mad or perturbed, what they're going to do with their tail is they may swish it or flick it like that. So they'll even do this when you're riding. I can tell if a horse is mad or maybe in pain because they're flicking their tail and swishing it all over the place. So they're going to have a lot of tension up here as they do that. And that's just one thing to watch out if your horse is getting a little mad. Tail can also indicate that they really don't want you by their hind end. They may be flicking it at you. So that's just something to watch for. So what is a mad horse going to do with their feet? So if your horse is mad and maybe they want to kick out, they may be holding their feet up in the air like this, like they're about to try and reach out and kick you. So that's something to watch for. Another thing a mad horse may do is just plant their feet and refuse to move. I've seen this a lot, but it's kind of them trying to stand their ground and kind of be a little dominant. And so when that happens, you know that your horse is maybe getting a little perturbed or angry. Another behavior we're going to cover is a bored horse. So what would a bored horse communicate to you using their body language? So the next behavior we're going to go over is a horse that's bored. So what does a bored horse communicate to you using their body language? So we've talked about how the ears show where the horse's interest and focus are. So if your horse's ears are just kind of like hanging low and maybe a little flat, that means they don't really have any interest or focus in anything. So let's say you're out on the trail and your horse is having fun. Maybe you're jumping a log. The horse's ears will be pricked forward and looking at that log. That shows that they see where they're going. They're focused on what you're pointing them at. So if your horse is bored, they're not going to have that personality in their ears. So their ears will probably just be like this. So how many of you have been in school and you're daydreaming and you lose focus and you just find yourself suddenly just staring off into the middle of nowhere? I've definitely done that. So horses do the exact same thing if they're bored and not engaged. Their eyes will kind of look a little glazed over and they'll just maybe be looking off in the distance. But it doesn't look like they're actually seeing anything. So if your horse is bored, one thing they may do is carry tension in their mouth. What this may look like is them playing with their bit and that's just giving them something to do because they're not really interested in what you're asking them to. And so they may get tension up here and you may see them like chewing on the bit or sucking it up into their mouth. So when it comes to being bored, a horse isn't really going to do much with their neck. They're not going to exert any energy. They're not going to exert any stretch through here like you may see getting your horse to soften or on a frame. They're just going to kind of have their neck flat. They're not going to be carrying themselves properly. And so if you feel like if you're riding and you feel like your horse just doesn't have any momentum or any like energy to their stride, that may mean that they're bored. So a bored horse's tail may do one of two things. One it may just hang here loosely, kind of lifeless, just like, okay, come on. Or I've also seen bored horses kind of swish their tail too, kind of like they're mad, like they're kind of perturbed that they're doing the same thing over and over again. So that's something to watch for with the tail. So when it comes to a bored horse's feet, what you're really going to look for is if they have any energy to their stride. So a bored horse may be more willing to drag their feet and just kind of be like this. You know, they're not putting effort into their movements or their motions or even what you're asking them to do. So if your horse struggles with boredom, it may be time to change up your routine. So we just made an entire video about some fun and new interesting things you can do with your horse to make them have a little challenge and to maybe liven up their lives a little bit. So we'll put the link in the description to that video. So if you found this video helpful, please do me a huge favor and give it a thumbs up. This will get the video out to more people. And also you can subscribe to our channel to watch our weekly horse videos.