Horse Behaviour: A Comprehensive Guide to Horses' Body Language

When I decided to follow the equine clinical field in University, I had no idea what I was getting in to. Don’t get me wrong, it was one of the best decisions of my life! But I had to work twice as hard because I had to learn all the basics. Unlike my colleagues that also chose this clinical field, I had never handled a horse in my life, and it showed!

I don’t know if you have pets, but I always lived with pets. So, to me, interpretating a dog’s behaviour is completely intuitive. So much so that if you ask me how I know that a dog has some kind of problem or is going to attack, I will not be able to tell you. I just know it! This allows me to adapt my own attitude to the animal’s behaviour.

With a horse it was completely different. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know if it was happy, impatient, upset… I didn’t know anything. Luckily, I was always well accompanied, and I never got seriously hurt.

I was a complete twatt, but a determined twatt! With the help of a great teacher, a veterinarian that worked in the University (that I’m pretty sure felt sorry for me) and of two amazing friends, making a fool of myself WAY TOO MANY TIMES, I learned. And now, so will you!

Body language is the primary mode of communication for horses. Being prey animals, horses have evolved intricate body language to communicate with their herd members and navigate their surroundings almost entirely in silence. For equestrians, interpreting these signals is crucial for building trust, ensuring safety, and fostering a harmonious relationship. There are clues in the horse’s body language that indicate its “state of mind”. These clues are everywhere, from the tip of its nose to the tail, and they are very easy to spot when you know what to look for.

Nostrils

Nostrils are our friends! They show us how’s the horse’s breathing, which in turn gives us an indication of his state of mind. An anxious horse will have dilated nostrils and a fast breathing, while a relaxed horse will breathe more slowly and deeply. Of course, all depends on their environment. If it’s too hot, the horse might be breathing fast without being nervous, and we should use common sense.

Mouth

The horse’s muzzle is an extremely mobile and expressive area, and these mouth expressions can reveal a lot, from physiological responses, to social interactions, to his state of mind.

Eyes

Ok, this one is complicated. In general, if a horse is showing the white of the eye it’s because he’s anxious, and if the horse has its eyes partially closed it’s because he is relaxed. However, this is very subjective, because for some horses a constant alert state is their normal state of mind, and other horses are always showing the white of the eye. We don’t want to mistake a scared horse with a googgly eyed one! A focused, direct gaze usually expresses curiosity or assertiveness.

Ears

The ears are the easier way to check a horse’s state of mind. One of the first things I was taught about horses’ state of mind was that ears turned back equal aggressive behaviour. Of course, no one told me how much behind they had to be. I would see a horse turning its ears back and would immediately prepare for battle! Even if they were only listening for something. EVERYBODY would stare at me. Only with time I learned differentiate it. So, if the ears are pinned back, glued to the back of the head, then the horse is upset, and we should be careful because his next step might be to bite or kick.

Ears facing forward mean that the horse is alert and paying attention to the surrounding environment. There are several degrees of alertness and horses will go from focused to anxious in a heartbeat. If the ears start moving and turning around, it might mean that the horse is getting nervous, because he’s trying to pay attention to everything and might be concerned with a specific sound or be uncomfortable with whatever is happening around him.

Head and Neck Position

A horse in an alert state will hold his head up high, with a raised neck and arched back, so he can pay more attention to his surroundings. This is a sign of excitement or readiness for action. When the horse holds his head in a lower position and even smells the floor or eats, usually is relaxed. However, as you might have noticed, horses come in every shape and form and some have a neck shape (called upside-down) that might give the idea, to the most inexperienced, that he’s holding his head in an high position. In these cases, a good trick is to look at the neck muscles, because if the horse is tense, probably is nervous. A lowered head can indicate submission or stress.

Abdomen

As I mentioned before, one of the big differences between a relaxed and an alert horse is muscle tension. If you are not able to tell the muscle tension from the neck muscles, a good trick is to always check the belly. A relaxed horse will often drop his belly, which might give him a paunchy look, and, if he suddenly gets in an alert mode, he will tuck the belly in. Of course, some horses just have big bellies.

This is the same horse at the same age, the only thing different is the attitude

Limb Position

A kick from a horse can kill you and we should be very careful! Of course that if a horse has a leg up, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to kick you, it can even mean the contrary, that he is relaxed. Since, because of their size and physiology, horses rest one hind leg at a time when they are standing still. Some horses might also raise a leg during grooming which indicates pleasure.

A horse standing square on all four legs is also most likely relaxed. Unless they are alert, in that case they have the four limbs well planted in the ground, ready to escape. An uneven weight distribution may indicate discomfort or pain. Banging with their hands in the ground or scraping/pawing might mean that the horse is bored, inpatient or uncomfortable. However, banging hardly with the limbs in the ground is an aggressive behaviour that serves as a warning.

When they want to attack you, horses will look for you with their behind. But turning their backs at you not always mean that they want to strike you, they might just be trying to ignore you or turn away to run in another direction.

This is how a super muscled mare looks like relaxed

Tail

Although the head region is the most observed when we are trying to evaluate the horse’s state of mind, the position of the tail can also express horse behaviour. For example, an increase in tail movements, without the presence of flies, can be a sign of annoyance or anticipation. A high, swishing tail can indicate agitation, while a low, still tail suggests relaxation.

Still, when you are dealing with a horse, most times you are holding the head and, I don’t know about you, but I can’t be in two places at the same time!

Sounds

Horses also have vocal and non-vocal communication, and these sounds can also be indicative of their state of mind. For example, if a horse is blowing, this can mean that he is nervous or upset. Whinnying on the other hand can mean that the horse is relaxed or nervous, depending on how he does it. However, don’t worry about this right know, because we have an entire post ready to teach you all about this type of communication!

Although I organized this post in parts, each one of them separately mean nothing and it’s important to observe horses’ behaviour as an all. The key to understand an horse’s body language (I’ll say it again) is COMMON SENSE and repeated observation. You will see that, in time, it gets more and more intuitive.

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See you next week,

Isabel