What does it mean when horses groom each other?
Social or mutual grooming, or allogrooming to give it its proper name, is one of the most important social behaviors horses have. While they are of course grooming each other that is more of an added bonus, what they’re really doing is bonding with each other. It acts as a way of reaffirming their bond as well as a way of relieving stress and tension. Horses do groom other horses but you’ll probably find that your horse is grooming one particular horse more than others, this is his closest companion, the one that he really misses when they’re separated.
Studies have shown that while females and geldings groom both males and females in equal amounts, stallions (and colts) tend to groom mainly mares (or fillies in the case of colts). It’s believed that this is part of their ‘courting’ process rather than for bonding.
When a new horse is introduced into the herd, horses will use social grooming as a way of not only bonding but to also establish their position with the hierarchy of the herd.
Conclusion
Horses are as different as people are and while you can apply rules to their behavior each horse will be different. It’s important to know what they’re saying but you have to know your horse to fully understand the subtleties in their actions. For example, if your horse reaches out to touch you with his nose he could be doing any number of things. He could be trying to boss you about, nip you, or is just looking for reassurance. He could just be saying hello which is why knowing your horse is so important.
Page 3 – Interpreting sounds
