August 18, 2024, 6:22 am | Read time: 8 minutes

As a horse lover, there is probably nothing worse than feeling that your animal doesn’t like you. But how do horses show their affection? What do I have to do to make a horse like me? PETBOOK offers tips for a harmonious horse-human relationship.

How horses read us

Horses are incredibly attuned to our moods and respond accordingly. Numerous studies have shown just how sensitive their antennae are to human feelings. Scientist Agnieszka Sabiniewicz from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Wrocław in Poland, for example, collected human body samples on cosmetic pads. These were placed under the armpits of the participants in both anxious and happy states. Horses were then allowed to smell them individually, and it was found that they raised their heads vigilantly during the fear tests. They also touched the familiar person more frequently and for longer than the unknown research assistant. Conversely, when exposed to the scent of happiness, they lowered their heads, displaying a more relaxed demeanor¹.

It is not only our smell that gives horses insights into our emotional world. Researchers suspect that they even perceive human actions better than we do. They found out: If we approach the horse in the meadow in a direct way, looking at it and holding a lead rope in our hand, it moves further away. An indirect approach, on the other hand, reduces its flight distance.

Horses, therefore, read us in many ways. They sense whether we are in a negative or positive mood, they pay attention to our body language, facial expressions, voice, and how we smell. Therefore, it is quite difficult to fool a horse. Every rider who has ever thought in the saddle that the horse is about to get spooked knows that this is exactly what happens the next moment.

So it is probably not so easy for them, as flight animals, to live together with a human who is always stressed. Horses love balance. Security is a basic need for them.

Can horses love people?

Despite all the stress that horses are exposed to by their owners in various ways, they are generally willing to cooperate. What they feel for their caregiver, however, has not yet been fully researched scientifically. Horse behavior expert Dr. Vivian Gabor does not want to talk about love. “Love is something very abstract,” she tells PETBOOK. “People should look for it in other people rather than humanizing the horse.” In her training courses for horse behavior trainers, the feelings of horse to human and animal to animal are a recurring theme. One participant, for example, justified affection between horses by saying that they cuddled each other. Dr. Gabor: “A horse scratches a fellow horse because it itches itself. Horses are like us humans — they don’t do anything altruistically. When they react in a certain way, they expect it to satisfy a need. That’s the scientific way of looking at it.”

Animal filmmaker and author Marc Lubetzki sees things from a different perspective. He has been observing herds of wild horses in Europe for more than ten years. He has managed to become part of a herd himself on his expeditions. In his book „Im Gespräch mit wilden Pferden“ (“In conversation with wild horses”), Lubetzki reports on his experiences. The author is certain: “Yes, horses can feel affection for humans.” From his point of view, it is very easy to recognize what this looks like.

How does a horse show affection?

“Horses show their affection by seeking closeness to humans”, the wild horse expert tells PETBOOK. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they stand close to us. Mares, for example, usually keep their distance. They are less pushy than stallions, and they often don’t want direct contact. But they are still close by.” This means that they may stand parallel to humans, comparable to grazing together in a herd. Horses in a herd also stand next to each other. Shared “grooming” is another indication of affection. “Horses can show us where they want to be groomed. Or they nibble lightly on us. That doesn’t hurt, and you can let them do it.” But what should you do if you haven’t observed any of these behaviors that can indicate affection in your horse, or you’re not sure whether it actually likes you?

What should you do to make your horse love you?

These steps will help you and your horse feel comfortable and trust each other:

Calm down

Every day, we find ourselves on a hamster wheel of obligations. We are constantly thinking about what we still have to do. This causes inner tension, which gets in the way when dealing with such a sensitive creature as a horse and leads to undesirable behavior on the part of the animal. They may run away from us, snap, become restless, and lack motivation because they sense the human conflict. The following applies to time together in the stable:

• Find your inner ‘off’ switch and settle into calmness
• Step back and give yourself space
• Focus on the present moment

Observe

Horses are constantly communicating with us through body language. If you take the time to pay attention to their signals, you will learn a lot about their character, feelings, and needs over time. You learn the most about the horse from them. Developing an understanding of the horse’s language and responding to it strengthens the bond and creates trust. “It’s important to familiarize yourself with how horses learn”, explains horse behavior expert Dr. Vivian Gabor.

“We should also be able to recognize when the horse is stressed. For example, when it has worry lines over its eyes, the corners of its mouth are tense, or it bites other horses when it returns to the herd. Horses can be stressed even if they actually appear calm, have the corners of their mouth hanging down, and have their eyes slightly closed. Such horses appear relaxed on the outside, but have perhaps already given up inside due to learned helplessness — often equated with depression. Being able to recognize such things involves a lifetime of learning. But this helps the horse more than a new saddle pad.”

Train correctly

Instead of immediately jumping into the saddle and heading out into the field, the first step should be to work from the ground in a safe environment. “With the help of groundwork, we can develop an understanding of how best to use our body language,” explains Dr. Vivian Gabor. The behavioral expert uses her experience and observations of horses, as well as her scientific findings in the form of learning theory, for her own training. “If we have a target image in mind and manage to communicate clearly and repeat this exercise in exactly the same way, the horse gains confidence.”

Confidence means nothing more than being able to assess what the next action will be, i.e., being able to predict a reaction. She emphasizes varied training with free work, lead training, and small exercises such as lowering the head so that the horse learns to relax quickly in stressful situations. She also uses clicker training from time to time. “It’s important to have a plan that the horse can follow.”

Marc Lubetzki also values varied training because it should always be a give and take: “Of course you can also do something that you enjoy yourself. But then you can also do something that the horse enjoys, such as simply letting it run.”

Take breaks

“Horses can only concentrate for a few minutes. That’s why it’s so important to take lots of breaks,” says Lubetzki. It’s all about the timing. As soon as the horse has had the right idea during an exercise, it should be given a short breather before the session continues again.

Enjoying the rest together

“Sharing moments of rest with your horse is crucial,” says Marc Lubetzki, “some like to be cuddled.” The basic idea is to create a relationship between a horse and a human. “This works if you get involved with the horse and its way of communicating. Even 40 years ago, children spent time in the pasture and sometimes slept there. It should be like that again today. We should join the herd, spend time with the horses in the pasture, and develop a feeling for them. Exude calm, avoid overloading them with chatter, and offer commands only when needed. Then there will be a harmonious coexistence.”

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Sources

• 1 Agnieszka Sabiniewicz, Karolina Tarnowska, Robert Świątek, Piotr Sorokowski, Matthias Laska. Olfactory-based interspecific recognition of human emotions: Horses (Equus ferus caballus) can recognize fear and happiness body odour from humans (Homo sapiens), Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 230, 2020, 105072, ISSN 0168-1591.