It seems extraordinary to me that at one point in time perhaps not that long ago so-called experts in horse behaviour did not have the common sense to understand that when a horse behaves in a stereotypical way as seen in the video that they are bored and stressed (ruling out health issues). To me, …
I have seen quite a few videos of King’s Guard ceremonial horses, such as the horse carrying a Blues and Royals soldier, and another on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, London, gently biting tourists while they capture their precious selfies in front of the horse and guard. It appears to be happening enough to come to …
Are King’s Guard ceremonial horses trained to bite interfering tourists? Read More »
The video shows a mare who had lost her baby accepting almost immediately a foal who had lost his mother. It seemed a natural step to put the two together in the hope and expectation that the mare would be a foster mum to the foal. It worked out beautifully as the video shows. But …
Mare who lost her baby accepts an orphaned foal immediately (video) Read More »
Horses are obedient because they have a strong willingness to cooperate with their human companions. There will cooperate as best they can. This strong willingness to cooperate originates in their temperament which stems from their sociable lifestyle in the wild. The horse is naturally sociable and by nature a herd animal. They live in small …
Why are horses so obedient? It’s in their temperament. Read More »
The question sounds extraordinary, even ridiculous. However, a study concluded that free-living stallions in the USA preferred mares of a certain coat colour. For example, one stallion preferred buckskin mares while another chose bay mares. And a third favoured very pale-coloured mares. I tried to find this study on Google Scholar but failed. I am …
Horses walk the fence because they’ve been allowed out into a new paddock with which they are unfamiliar. Their first instinct is to set off on a territorial patrol which means walking all around the perimeter next to the fence to learn the scope of their home range. When they’ve completed this task, they might …
This TikTok video begs the question as to whether horses like being ridden. It seems to me that the average person almost automatically believes that horses like to be ridden because we see so much of it. Because we don’t see horses rejecting their riders or demonstrating a reluctance to be ridden, we assume that …
Horse does not want to be ridden and pretends to be dead. Why? Read More »
Yes, horses are one of a rare group of species who appear to have self-awareness and are able to recognise themselves in a mirror. The testing process is called mirror self-recognition (MSR). The degree of recognition appears to be variable and is not a black-and-white skill. Self-awareness or self-consciousness is an important concept as it …
The video tells you how you meet people if you have a dog with you. The trainer forbids anybody to touch their dog unless that person has permission to do so. It is disrespectful of the dog and the owner/human companion, to touch a dog without both the dog’s and the human’s permission. Some people …
How you should meet people if you have a dog with you (video) Read More »
Donkeys are sentient beings. They have feelings and if you don’t believe that I would respectfully suggest that you are badly mistaken. As they have feelings they have the potential to love although the word “love” is a very elastic word. It means to have strong affections, one for another. And they don’t regard their …
Like humans, horses can have facial expressions but they are not as elaborate as those of humans. Nonetheless, the expressions provide us with information about how a horse is feeling. Snapping Young foals can perform a snapping action with their mouths. They open their mouth and drawback its corners, expose their teeth and open and …
A horse’s leg movements carry messages to the recipients be they another horse or a person. Pawing on the ground This action originates in a horse scratching the surface of the ground to test its resistance or to understand what is beneath their feet. But it can also reflect an emotional state. A horse may …
I’ll describe 4 horse body signals and what they mean. General demeanour When a horse takes up a more elevated posture, standing tall and proudly with the head held high and the tail standing up it reflects an elevated and more excited mood. The opposite is a more submissive and bored mood in which the …
We know that the horse has a very strong and long neck. This allows the animal to signal its emotions via its neck and head. Head shake The head shake has its origins in the irritation caused by flies which buzz around a horse’s eyes, nose and face. They move their head to disturb the …
8 different horse head and neck actions and what they mean Read More »
Do horses understand that they are running in a race and that there is a winner or loser? Dr Desmond Morris in his book Horsewatching is very firm and clear with his advice, which is that horse racing is an entirely human construct and horses simply do not understand it. Horses understand that they need …
