How horses communicate
Horses are herd animals in nature. In the wild they live in groups within a herd. Each group consists of a stallion, a few mares with foals, sometimes 1-2-year old. Depending on the strength of a stallion, a "family" consists of about a dozen animals. Young timid stallions and the old ones that have no mares often live in bachelor groups. Animals love to clean each other skins, play, sleep and rest.
Horses are herbivores, they eat plants. In the wild animals are nomadic and spend up to twenty hours a day on searching food. When food is available in excess, a wild horse feels wonderful and gets fat, if the food is scarce or the weather conditions are severe, the animal loses weight.
Communication between horses is going using voice and body language. A loud laugh allows to communicate at a distance, stallions “talk” to mares in a low voice, as well as mares to foals and friends greeting each other. Yelps are a sign of excitement and happen in close contact. During the fights the adults can produce loud roars and screams, mares can thereby show their displeasure with a stallion.
Another way of communication is body language (posture). A resting horse usually stands relaxed, having picked up the rear hoof and lowered its head, with closed eyes. A horny stallion dances around mares: head proudly lifted up, tail raised. A frightened horse looks tense and cautious, signaling to the rest of the companions of a possible danger.
Smell is no less important for horses. Mares and foals recognize each other based on it. When meeting, the animals who are friends can touch noses blowing air through the nostrils with an effort.
The position of the ears on a horse’s head may say a lot about the condition and mood of the horse. Ears pressed to the head show fear or anger; hung, dangling ears are an indication that the animal is asleep; alert ears - wary attention to something, and ears turned back is a sign that an object of attention is behind.
Due to the fact that the eyes are located on the sides of horse’s head, it has almost all-round view. The only blind spots are located directly behind and in front of the nose. One of the organs of sense are the hairs on the muzzle of a horse which allow it to judge how far the subject is from the nose.
Long legs allow a horse to move quickly which is particularly important for the animal whose natural form of protection against various threats is fast running.
Author: Edition
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