While horses rely most on body language to communicate, the noises they make are also meaningful. There are four types of horse vocalizations: whinny, nicker, snort, and squeal. Each equine vocal communication has a precise meaning, and the sounds...
Use this step-by-step approach to make a spooky horse more confident or handle an unexpected scary scenario.Spooking isn’t fun for either horse or human. We’ve all experienced this scenario: You’re enjoying a nice, relaxing ride when your horse suddenly...
Read the full article about equine behavior in Horse Illustrated’s July 2024 issue! Below is some great content we couldn’t fit in the print article, featuring insight from animal behaviorist and equine welfare expert Emily Weiss, Ph.D., on the...
If asked what type of personality your horse has, you might say he’s an alpha, stubborn, people-pleasing, nervous, difficult, easy-going, bold, bombproof, or some other personality trait. You may also believe your assessment is accurate because you know your...
A horse communicates how it is feeling at any given moment through his body language. A horse's mood is evident through various signs expressed, so as long as you know what you're looking for, you can determine how your...
"Happiness — it’s something that we see in horses,” says Esther Kuhlmann of Northland Equine Lessons and Training near Kansas City, Mo. “When you work with horses, they speak to you and tell you how they’re feeling. They get...
All horse owners dream of beautiful barns, arenas, and paddocks, but equine behavior and welfare leaders are urging them to open up their barns, rethink time spent in box stalls, link their paddocks, and let horses be horses—together.
Building a...
You’ve heard horse owners evaluate rides and their horse's behavior as they hop off, maybe something like: “He was such a goof today.”This judgment may be a saccharine version of what was actually said when a horse is blamed...
We have all seen the behaviors that are commonly associated with “hot” horses: the endless energy they have running and playing out in pastures, the overexcitability they have under saddle and even the jittery anxiousness they maintain in cross-ties...
The tried-and-true school horses spoil us. Have the bomb-proof, solid-citizen horses inadvertently taught us that it’s OK to skip some safety steps? If you’ve only been around well-trained horses, it’s easy to forget what can happen.You know what your...
