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Equine Behaviour
- Module
- Animal Welfare
- Institution
- AQA
This document provides information on equine-specific behaviour, and conspecific social behaviours that are exhibited by horses.
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Horse body language in depthA horse which is in a relaxed state will express this with facial expressions featuring droopiness of
the lips allowing the lower lip to hang, accompanied by a slack mouth with no tension around the
chin or upper lip with oval-shaped nostrils.
The eyes will be open supporting a soft focus occasionally blinking, showing no white of the eye, be
partially open with droopiness, and no tension of the muscles found above the eye itself.
The ears are turned to the side adjacent to each other, they can also be positioned slightly forward
sustaining relaxed muscles surrounding the poll.
The body language of a relaxed horse entails even-leveled body posture presenting no tension held
within the top-line, low head, and neck carriage, one of the two hind legs in a cocked resting position
resting the leading edge of the hoof on the ground whilst the opposite hind leg bearing full weight
with a dropped hip, often alternating the cocked and resting limbs, and slow swishing of the tail
resting against the rear hindquarters.
A horse which is curious/alert will express this with facial expressions featuring widened eyes with
tense muscles located above the eye forming a ‘V’ shape due to a wrinkled upper eyelid and
tightness at the corners of the eyes, with dilated pupils focused on the stimuli/external stimuli, and
frequent blinking.
The ears are pointed forward or in the direction the horse is looking, occasionally flickering back and
forth, or rapidly swiveling within 180-degrees listening to sounds in the surrounding environment,
they could be trying to locate the source of a stimuli.
The lips are held together, and the horse may on occasion chew which represents thought process
and learning towards the external stimulus.
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