horses are beautiful, graceful creatures. They can be unpredictable and strong, making them a sought-after companion.
However, what makes horses unique is their language. While they don’t all speak English, there are signs that horses do understand each other’s signals.
Some signals are called signals and they come in many forms such as head turns, lowered ears, and changes in posture. Some signals are called hand signs and these can be rings or dots placed on the horse’s body to represent a signal.
When riding a horse, you must learn how to recognize some of the signals that horses use.
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Snorting
When a horse is especially hungry, he can snort. This is a sign that he is about to get something tasty.
Snorting comes in many forms. There can be a full-fledged snort between a horse and rider, at a fence, or in an area where horses congregate.
A horse can also snort when he feels threatened, such as when a car passes by at speed. When this happens to a driver, the driver leaves the car parked until it passes by!
It is important to know what kinds of snorts horses make when they are hungry.
Nudging
Nudging is a hand-held gesture that horses make to get your attention. Nudging can be done with the front or rear feet, but the most common way is with the back foot.
The back foot nudge can be combined with the walk, walk away, and walk away gestures. When combined, these gestures can mean many things including asking for something else of putting your feet up on the ground or a pillow if you’re comfortable with that.
A simple nudge is just your thumb and middle finger meeting together and then being lightly pressed onto the horse’s nose. If you are more comfortable doing it without any hands at all, you can just sit down as if to pass out and then do it!
If horses nudge at you when they want something, it is important to understand what they are asking for.
Tail Position
The position of a horse’s tail is very important in horse language. When a rider wants a horse to turn around, they pay attention to how the horse turns its tail.
If the horse turns its tail up when asked to walk, it means you can leave the pasture now! This is called a lift back. A lift back indicates good leg strength and well-being.
When a horse is browsing or drinking, he or she will sometimes nudge his or her tail in motion. This is called spreading the legs and obtaining water. When this happens with both horses, it means they are getting their fill and should be comfortable with each other before trying sex next season any other horses.
Head Position
In terms of horse posture, the head position is one of the most subtle. There are two main ways a horse maintains its head position.
The first is by placing its nose in a position where it can feel the ground beneath its feet. The second is by maintaining an upright body posture with the tail tip up.
Both methods can make a horse look different than what it is thinking. For example, if a horse was facing left before, it can now turn right!
When a horse is standing or riding, it must be able to maintain an upright body posture. This includes not only having enough weight on the front legs and back legs, but also keeping enough tension in the muscles around the body.
Upright body posture keeps the muscles working properly to support the weight on board and in sticking out the leg to ride or stand. When feet are down ground, reins can be adjusted to adjust thickness of foot and rein length.
Eye Contact
Making eye contact is one of the most important things a horse knows. It can be difficult enough when you are already aware of this horse behavior, but if you have been away from your family for a while, then you can also learn this behavior from them.
When a horse is looking at you, they are feeling very happy and excited. This is a sign of trust so they should be treated with care. They can look back and forth quickly which is another way to communicate.
They use several body movements when trying to get your attention. A quick roll of the eyes, an arched neck, a forward expression and even a stand can all mean get ready to go!
It is important to get my horse’s attention when we are training so they can learn how to control their behavior in traffic or during shows.
Blinking
A horse’s blinking can be confusing at first. Most of the time, it is a signal to start walking or running away.
If a horse is already running, it may appear that he or she is not blinking as fast as usual. A regular blink takes about one second to complete.
That time between a regular blink and a hackle flip is called the refreshment period. When a horse is bored, either physically or mentally, the blink can occur more frequently.
The blink is not a short lived action; it takes some time for the horse to take a full course of it into their body. Once it does happen, you may be able to tell by the change in breathing and reflexive movement of the legs. They must be quivering rather than steady.
Sweating
As horses are naturally warm-blooded animals, most horse neighs are in part a display of muscle and heat production. When a horse is stressed, he/she may foam or shake its coat in an attempt to let others know how distressed they are.
Foam is one of the fastest ways a horse expresses emotion. When a stallion mounts a mare, she may discharge her hormones and Rewinder antlers. These antlers can last for several weeks, making it one way for a horse to express his interest in the mare.
Sniffing is another way horses communicate. When checking out a new friend, they can smell them and approach with confidence. Nodding is also very important in communicating.
Paw Position
While galloping, horses need to keep ahold of the ground with their front legs. This allows them control and stability while they are running.
When a horse is running, he or she is also shifting the weight of the body. When a horse is charging, this charging movement can be seen as they galloping.
When running, there are four paw positions: foot-down, foot-up, paw-down, and hands-on-hip. Each of these positions has different movements and times for getting up and playing.
In the foot-up position, the horse is most likely asleep or stabled up overnight. In the other three positions, horses may be asleep or stabled up if they are out at night looking for food or riding buddies.