Equine Behavior

Horse's head carriage

Emotional state or alertness

Head position comparison

To determine if the horse is balanced

Ear position

By indicating focus, calmness, or agitation

Independent ear movement

It helps detect multiple sounds or stimuli

Wide eyes with whites showing

Fear or anxiety

Nostrils signaling emotions

Flared = arousal or fear; Neutral = calm

Open mouth with bared teeth

Aggression or defensive behavior

Tail position and movement

Neutral = calm; Swishing = irritation; Clamped = stress

Main vocalizations of horses

Neigh, snort, nicker, squeal

Neigh or whinny communication

Greeting or separation call

Snort or blow indication

Relaxation or clearing airways

Nicker vs. squeal

Nicker = friendly greeting; Squeal = defensive/aggressive

Teeth grinding

Pain or stress

Lip licking or chewing

Relaxation after stress

Flehmen behavior

Lip curl to enhance scent detection

Yawning indication

Tiredness

Yawning as displacement activity

It relieves tension or stress

Maintenance behaviors in horses

Rolling, grooming, stomping

Mutual grooming vs. self-grooming

Mutual = with another horse; Self = alone

Pawing indication

Impatience or frustration

Lips use in browsing forage

To move forage side to side

Exploratory behaviors with muzzle

Licking, sniffing, touching

Environmental exploration & protection

Balance while running

Social signaling

Digestive health

Trimming whiskers

It reduces sensory perception

Horse's blind spots

Directly in front/beneath muzzle and behind

Flight responses in horses

They are prey animals

Fear's effect on perception

Narrows focus, reducing awareness of other stimuli

Calm horse appearance

Neutral head, relaxed ears, neutral tail

Fearful horse characteristics

Raised head, flicking ears, triangular eyes, flared nostrils

Triangular eye in horses

Whites showing with wrinkled corners

Common flight responses

Freeze, bolt, spook, rear

Fearful horse behavior

Decreased perception during flight

Bite threat appearance

Open mouth, teeth bared without contact

Pushing or bumping in aggression

To assert dominance

Chasing or rearing signal

Attempt to intimidate or assert dominance

Actual biting vs. bite threat

Physical contact is made

3 F's for welfare

Forage, Friends, Freedom = reduce stress

Stereotypies in stalled horses

Lack of stimulation and restricted freedom

Examples of locomotor stereotypies

Pacing, weaving, stall walking

Examples of oral stereotypies

Cribbing, wind sucking, wood chewing

Examples of self-injurious stereotypies

Self-biting

Stereotypies development in captivity

Stress and unmet needs

Anthropomorphism in horse behavior

Attributing human traits to horses

Misleading labels for horses

It ignores underlying causes of behavior

Effect of anthropomorphism

May lead to punishment instead of understanding