Horses are very social and affectionate animals. They cannot verbalize “I love you” but they can communicate those sentiments through their actions. Not all horses show affection in the same ways though. Here are some things to look for in your horse's behavior to know he loves you.
Breathing on you, licking, and kissing are all ways a horse may be trying to tell you how much you mean to them. They also may grasp you with their lips to pull you in, and then lick. Don't be afraid if a horse lays a wet one on you, it's just because you are greatly appreciated!
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.
But you have to show your affection and bond with your horse in a safe way and in a way that your horse appreciates. Horses don't think like we do—especially when it comes to bonding and showing affection. Human affection behaviors—such as kissing on the lips—don't hold the same meaning for horses.
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. As Herman Melville wrote in Redburn, "No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses."
In some cases, such as with a fearful horse, they may stare at you to try and assess whether you will hurt them or if you are a predator that will eat them. A horse that's being defensive may turn their face to you, raise their head, and stare at you to try and intimidate you.
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.
Unless they trust you to keep them safe in dangerous situations, they'll be nervous and anxious until they return. If your horse trusts you, they will willingly leave their herd. They'll be relaxed around you, stand still as you brush them, lower their heads, and lick and chew.
The findings indicated that horses care capable of detecting when a human is expressing and projecting positive feelings towards them and is likely to reciprocate those positive feelings.
Apples and carrots are traditional favorites. You can safely offer your horse raisins, grapes, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe or other melons, celery, pumpkin, and snow peas. Most horses will chew these treats before swallowing, but horses that gulp large pieces of a fruit or vegetable have a risk of choking.
Sometimes they may even follow you around. Sometimes horses will blow air in your face through their nostrils to show you they love you, like they do with other horses. The love our horses show us is based on their feelings of trust toward us. In order to develop that trust you must spend quality time with your horse.
So how do you get your horse's respect? A horse's respect is earned by moving his feet forward, backward, left, and right, and always rewarding the slightest try. Think about respect from your horse's point of view. When horses are thrown together out in a pasture, it's natural for them to establish a pecking order.
While there are horses who seem to lick as a sign of affection, this is not the primary reason a horse will lick you. Your horse could be licking you because their sodium levels are low, indicating a potential health problem. It could also be a sign of boredom or a lack of mental stimulation.
With time and training, many horses have excellent memories and a strong bond with their human friends. This means they will remember you even when you've been apart for a long time. Horses can also hold negative memories of a person when they've experienced abuse or trauma.
Horses are considered to be one of the most intelligent animals on Earth, due to their ability to learn quickly and remember things. They can also solve problems, figure out how to get something, and even understand human language.
One of the best ways to say thanks to your horse is to give him a nice, long grooming session. Think lots of currying and finding those itchy spots! During your grooming session, condition your horse's coat and tail; it's never too early to start thinking about the next competition season.
Dogs often seem more loyal and protective of their owners than horses. One reason for this that according to history, dogs have been domesticated much longer than horses. Dogs will also willingly defend themselves and their “pack” from danger by standing their ground and even attacking.
Horses exhibit higher heart rates when separated from a human, but don't show any preference for their owners over complete strangers, the team discovered. Swedish researchers started their work with the theory that positive reinforcement training on a horse was more likely to lead to them forming a strong attachment.
A study in 2010 concluded what equestrians already knew: yes, a horse does recognize “their” person and they can differentiate them from other humans. They do that based on olfactory as well as auditory and visual cues, which means by seeing and smelling us as well as by hearing our voice.
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.
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.