How to read your horse by different parts of his body
Body language is so-called because your horse can ‘talk’ with the whole of his body. He might not be using his whole body every time but understanding what the different parts of his body can tell you is important to speak his language.
Head
As with so many parts of their body a horse’s head can say so many things depends on how he’s holding it and moving it.
- Dropped – When your horse lowers his head he’s feeling happy and relaxed. This will likely be accompanied by his ears drooping to the side too. If your horse is standing with his head like this then he may be so relaxed that he’s actually asleep! If this is the case be careful when you approach him as you don’t want to startle him.
- Raise – Horses raise their head to help them investigate something. They usually do this when a movement or sound in the distance as caught their attention. Rather than just running they’ll try to access what it is first and then whether they do actually need to run. If your horse does this repeated while being ridden though he could be trying to tell you he’s in pain. Check his tack to make sure that it all fits properly and there are no sharper parts that could be sticking into him, if his tack is okay then have the vet check him over.
- Snaking – Often seen in stallions, this is an act of aggression that is used to herd other horses (or people) around. It’s known as snaking because the horse will lower his head and then move his neck from side to side in a ‘snake’ like fashion.
Teeth
When horses show their teeth it can be for a few reasons and is often accompanied by other body signs.
- Anger or aggression – Horses that feel agitated or aggressive will bare their teeth as a warning. If they also have their ears pinned back and you can see the whites of their eyes then they’re probably just about to bit either you or another horse.
- Pain – If your horse is suffering some sort of pain in his mouth then he’ll likely have his mouth open, possibly with his teeth exposed. If he’s doing it when being ridden check the bridle and his teeth but if it happens while he’s eating make sure he’s not choking, especially if he just stops eat and stands there with his mouth open.
- Smelling – Known as flehmen response, this is when a horse raises his head, curls his top lip and breathes in then blows the air back out through his mouth. They do this as a way of smelling the air around them, all horses do this but it’s more common in stallions who are trying to pick up the scent of females in the area.
- Foals – If you see a foal (generally up to the age of around 3 years) curling his lips and clicking his teeth together this is known as ‘clacking teeth’ and what they’re doing is telling other horses that they’re young and pose no threat at all. They’re basically saying ‘I’m only a youngster, please don’t hurt me’.
Ears
Horses point their ears in the direction of sounds so the direction of your horse’s ears won’t necessarily tell you how he’s feeling, what you need to pay attention to is how they’re moving as well, sometimes, how the rest of their body is acting. For example:
- Forward and head upright – If your horse’s ears are pointing straight forward and his head is upright then he’s alert and interested. You might see your horse doing this is when you arrive at the yard, he’s doing this because he’s pleased and excited to see you.
- Turned outwards – When a horse if feeling relaxed and or sleepy he’ll relax his ears and stop paying attention to his surroundings. This will result in then turning outwards and drooping slightly.
- Moving back and forth – If your horse is moving his ear back and forth quickly then he’s likely to be scared or feeling anxious about something. His ears are moving like this because he’s trying to locate the source of his worries.
- Pinned back – Horses also use their ears as a warning to people and other horses. If your horse has his ears so far back that they’re almost touching his neck then he’s likely to be feeling angry or threatened. He’s telling you ‘I don’t like that so you’d better stop now’. He may also start aggressively swooshing his tail. It’s a bad idea to not listen to him at this point, if you don’t his next action could be a kick!
Muzzle
As well as using it to produce different sounds your horse’s muzzle can tell you a lot about how he’s feeling.
- Hanging lower lip – Horses that are feeling very relaxed or even asleep will relax a lot of their muscles, in their lower lip this is evident by it ‘drooping’. If your horse is dozing rather than actually being asleep you may be able to move this freely yourself – don’t do it though if your horse is asleep as you’ll likely startle him.
- Chewing – If your horse is chewing when he’s not actually eating it’s because he’s thinking and is responsive to what you’re asking him to do.
- Flared nostrils – While horses often flare their nostrils during exercise as a way of taking in more air they can also do it when they don’t need more air. In these cases, the horse is startled or nervous about something.
- Tension – Tension around the mouth is subtle but it’s a sign that your horse is scared or stressed about something. This is an early indication of his fear and ignoring it at this stage could lead to him biting or bolting in the future because his fear has not been dealt with so has escalated. The best thing to do is encourage him to get used to the source of his fear, it’ll take time but he’ll thank you for it.
Legs
We all know somebody who waves their arms about furiously when they’re talking (I know I certainly do) and while they don’t wave them about as frantically as us horses do still use their legs as a means of communication, okay I know that arms and legs are different but you get what I’m saying!
Forelegs
- Splayed forelegs – When a horse stands with his forelegs apart and leans back he’s scared and maybe about to bolt away from the source of his fear.
- Stomping – Like pawing but with more force, horses often stomp out of annoyance. He’s probably doing it to tell you to hurry up with his food or to get rid of flies but it can be a way of him letting you know he doesn’t like what you’re doing.
- Kicking– Not as powerful a kick as it would be if it came from a hind leg but still dangerous enough. It’s rare for a horse to kick with his front legs but when they do it’s usually as a sign of aggression or defence. I know you might think that they’re totally different but remember what they say about attack being the best form of defence.
- Pawing – Pawing is one of those behaviours horses have that can have multiple meanings. Rarely a sign of anger, horses can paw the ground out of boredom or because they’re impatient and anticipating being feed or turned out or they can do it because they’re feeling anxious or stressed. I know I said it’s rarely a sign of anger but if you see a loose horse doing it then he’s likely to charge, not at you but you don’t want to be in his way when he does!
Hind legs
- Cocked – Often accompanied by them lowering their head and ears as well as dropping their hips it means that they’re relaxed and resting. He may switch the resting leg from time to time but if he does this in quick succession then he can’t get comfortable and is probably in pain. If your horse cocks his leg but his head is raised and his ears are back then he feels threatened by something behind him.
- Raised – Most of the time horses raise their hind leg off of the ground because they irritated by something. They do this a lot when there’s a large number of flies but as with when they cock their leg pay attention to their head and ears because that will tell you if they’re just mildly irritated or likely to kick.
Tail
A horse’s tail isn’t just for getting rid of flies, like all animals with a tail, it’s used as a means of communication too. Of course, if he’s gently swooshing his tail from side to side then he’s probably just trying to get rid of flies but what are the other signs you should look out for.
- Raised – Most associated with Arabian horses although any horse can do this when they’re feeling excited or full of energy. When a horse does this they can be so ‘hyped up’ that they’re not paying attention to you.
- Clamped down – When they’re nervous or stressed about something horses tend to press their tail tight against their body, almost as if they’re trying to hide themselves as much a possible.
- Quick swishing – If your horse is aggressively moving his tail either up and down or from side to side then something has made him angry and he may kick or buck.
Page 1 – Understanding your horse
Page 3 – Interpreting sounds
