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Horse Communication Essay

524 Words3 Pages

New research has revealed more information about communication among horses. Understanding how horses communicate helps with training, handling and care. Because horses most commonly communicate through posture, gestures and expressions, horse owners should be able to read their horse’s body language. If a horse has a droopy lip, ears resting back, cocked back leg, and a lowered tail, the horse is relaxed. Other signs such as flared nostrils, bulging eyes, and tense muscles can indicate that the horse is anxious or scared. Horses’ ears alone can express a lot. If they are pinned back, the horse is angry and ready to kick out. If they are turned to the side, the horse is asleep and relaxed. If they are positioned backwards, the horse is listening …show more content…

Horses are able to use their voice, eyes, as wells as ears to converse. They are also able to communicate by using facial and bodily expressions (Arnold 2014; Connor 2014; Griffin 2014; “Horses talk” 2014; “How do” n.d.; McFarland 2012; Morell 2014; Viegas 2014; Williams n.d.;). It is easiest for horses to communicate silently because in the wild, they do not want to attract nearby predators (Arnold 2014; “How do” n.d.; McFarland 2012). New research reveals that horses communicate with each other using their ears and eyes. Horses are able to distinguish where another horse is focusing by looking at their eyes, and the position of their ears and head. One experiment involved photographs of horses looking at one of two buckets filled with feed. The observers were able to determine which bucket the horse was looking at, by the direction in which the horse positioned its eyes and ears. The other horses were then able to determine which bucket to focus on. However, when the scientists covered the horse’s head (including the ears and eyes) with a mask, the other horses were not able to distinguish where the horse was directing its attention (Connor 2014; Griffin 2014; “Horses talk” 2014; “How do” n.d.; McFarland 2012; Morell 2014; Viegas

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