Body Language

On today's post, I will be explaining different types of body signs from horses, and what they mean. 

Body language is how horses communicate. It is their main language. Another language that they use is energy, but today I will focus more on body language. 

In everything a horse does, there will be body language. Whether they are eating, sleeping, running, or being ridden, you will always be able to see what they are saying. 

Different body signs include: pinned ears, flared nostrils, swishing tail, ears forward, showing of white in the eye, body direction, etc. 

Pinned ears - when a horse pins his ears, he is most likely telling another horse to "back off". It is very likely that you will see this behavior at feeding time. The most dominant horse will get the first choice of food, and will push around the others for more. Other behaviors associated with this include kicking and biting.

Here is an example of a horse pinning his/her  ears.

Forward ears - a horse with his ears forward is most likely alert, aware, or interested in something. It is like a human staring at something that is scary or weird with wide eyes. 

Here is an example of a horse with his/her ears forward. 

Yawning - many people make the mistake of saying that when a horse yawns, he is tired. This is not the case! When a horse yawns, it usually means that they are content and relaxed in a situation, or they are releasing stress, therefore, they would be stressed. If you are brushing a horse, and he yawns, he is most likely relaxed, and if you and the horse face a stressful situation, and he yawns, he is most likely stressed. 

Here is an example of a horse that is yawning.

Ears to the side - when a horse has his ears to the side, he is most likely relaxed. This ear position can easily be mistaken for pinned ears, but it really is the exact opposite. This ear position is a relaxed, content, or "happy" position. 

Here is an example of a relaxed horse with his/her ears to the side.

For more information on body language, here are a few websites:
http://www.equisearch.com/article/how-to-read-your-horses-body-language-8577
http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-keeping/horse-body-language.aspx
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10866/translating-equine-body-language

I will write more posts on body language in the future, but for now, this is it! Thanks for reading!