According to results of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, horses do seem to read some signals to indicate whether a nearby person is stressed or afraid, at least in certain circumstances.
Research shows that horses recognize and react to human emotions expressed by facial cues alone. We've all been taught that horses can readily pick up on our anxiety, anger and other emotions from our body language. Now, research from England suggests that they can read our facial expressions as well.
Recent studies have demonstrated that horses can recognize humans based simply on visual information.
Horse's read your energy before you even are near them. If you are nervous physically, yet you put a smile on your face and pretend all is well, your horse will know by your body language that you are not calm. Horse's react to your energy and states more than your feelings.
Horses can read human emotions, too, often in uncannily accurate ways; alerting us to our sadness or nervousness, sometimes before we've even consciously registered it.
Moreover, it has been reported that horses are sensitive to emotional human vocal expressions and they notably show a freeze posture for significantly longer periods of time immediately following negative human vocalizations [23].
Researchers confirmed that horses can smell specific odors in human sweat that reflect emotions like fear and happiness, which could open doors to a whole new way of understanding emotion transfer from human to horse, they say.
Yes, they do. Very much so. And they have long memories for both the humans they've bonded with in a positive way and the ones who have damaged or abused or frightened them. The depth of the connection depends greatly on several things, not the least of which is the amount of time the human spends with the animal.
Prey animals identify predators by smell and sight—including their view of eye position. One look at a human face, and the evolutionary equine brain knows we are predators. Because horses see us as natural predators, human eye contact has a warning effect.
Horses read humans in various ways, such as through our body posture, facial expressions, and attentiveness. Small actions such as a happy facial expression when approaching the horse can allow for a positive experience with the horse.
Horses do bond with humans and their relationship with soldiers was likely stronger than those developed prior, considering the highly emotional environment. Currently, most horses are companion and therapy animals, meaning humans greatly value their relationships.
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more.
Do horses smile? They sure do. Recent study results suggest horses have specific facial expressions that reveal positive emotions akin to “happiness,” in a sense. And while those expressions might not be the cheesy cartoon grin or the human ear-to-ear, they do represent the “equine happy face.”
Horses have incredible hearing, with the ability to hear the heartbeat of a human from four feet away. In the wild, horses will synchronize their heartbeats to the other horses in the herd in order to sense danger more quickly, and recent studies have shown that they use those tactics in domesticated life as well.
Coming to You
If a horse comes to you when you walk out into the pasture, not because they expect food but because they recognize you, then they are showing affection.
Horses Trust You When They're At Ease Around You
Their bottom lip is tight. Their nostrils are tense. Their tail is moving quickly or not at all. Their ears are pinned back on their head, or alert and facing you.
Like primates, horses share many of the social and ethological characteristics believed to favor an ability to experience empathy.
Many experts agree that horses do, in fact, remember their owners. Studies performed over the years suggest that horses do remember their owners similar to the way they would remember another horse. Past experiences, memories, and auditory cues provide the horse with information as to who an individual is.
Of 69 horse owners, 79 per cent of them reported that horses felt jealous, although the specific contexts in which this jealousy occurred, or whether a horse or human relationship was being threatened, was not explored.
Some report you should use soft eye contact when dealing with horses, meaning you can look at the horse but also keep a wide field of view. Other trainers indicate hard contact is preferred to establish your dominance over the herd.
“Horses generally neigh to attract attention of other horses or of people.” She adds that it can also be “a sign of separation anxiety or a sign of social isolation.
Your horse's nostrils are soft, round, and relaxed and breathing is even on both sides. Your horse's tail will swing freely, evenly, and loosely when happy and relaxed. A sign of deep relaxation is that your horse's jaw may hang loosely with a soft eye. Your horse may rear up with its front leg or paw at the ground.
Are horses friendly to humans? Most people who have to ask this question has obviously never been around a horse before. Assuming that the horse hasn't been mistreated, horses are incredibly friendly towards humans. This is most likely an extension of their behaviour that can be seen in the wild.