by Rebecca K.

Created on: July 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 28, 2009

Based upon 14 current years of experience with horses, I can say with confidence that yes, horses indeed have and convey emotion. Some are simply more expressive than others, just like people can be. Obviously, a horse isn't going to sit down and have a good cry on a bad day, but they display attitudes and feelings in other ways, with body language.

A horse's range of emotion is similar to humans with anger/rage, boredom, fear, contentment, and interest. But how do we know how our horse is feeling? Look at him. An angry horse will move in a quick jerking motion (when he wants another horse to move away). His ears will be plastered flat against his head and his mouth will be open as if to bite- which he may just do. Anger can be anywhere from slightly peeved to highly irate. Also look at your horses eyes, they will narrow into a glare (yes a horse can glare, I've been glared at many times by my mare.)

A bored horse will stand in a droopy stance. He will rest one of his hind legs, his ears will lop and his lower chin will hang slack. Much like a kid spending too much time in front of the TV, boredom on a horse looks kind of the same. Once my mare became extremely bored while practicing grooming/showmanship at a 4-H meeting. She let out a dramatic sigh for emphasis.

When your horse is fearful, it's hard to mistake. He will become very tense, you may feel the heartbeat and respiration increase. The ears will prick sharply forward at whatever is scaring him and he will either freeze in fear or spook, and try to bolt. A horse with good discipline and confidence in the rider will pause and wait for the rider's cue before continuing on. A bossy horse, like my mare will simply react now and think about you later.

The content horse will have perkish ears and a soft look in the eye. His chin may be relaxed or even flap if you are riding. This is a sign of calmness. An interested horse will have a perky look in the eye, not fearful, but almost a raised eyebrow. You can see wrinkles above the eye. His ears will be nicely perked forward at whatever has his attention and he will be easier to work with in this state.

Those are a few emotions I have experienced many times from horses I've owned, trained and ridden at shows and on the trail. While a horse shows emotion differently than humans, if you look closely, you will see that there are feelings there. Also, a horse is like an elephant, they never forget. So, I suspect they can also hold grudges.

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