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Equusite.com > Equine Behavior > What Is Your Horse Saying?
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What Is Your Horse Saying? WRITTEN BY: Cheryl Sutor [June 1999] |
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The Snort The horse usually holds his head high while exhaling through the nose with his mouth shut. The strong exhale creates a vibration or flutter sound in the nostrils. The snort lasts about 1 second. The snort can be heard up to 30 feet away. "There may be danger" or "Is this dangerous?" - The horse snorts, followed by an intense stare at the object his unsure about. Responses: The Blow The blow is much like the snort. The horse exhales through his nose with his mouth shut. The blow does not create the vibrating or fluttering noise that the snort does. It is usually used when a horse is curious, or when the horse meets another. The strength of the blow and body movements that follow will tell you what the horse is saying. "Are you a friend?" - Two horses meet nose to nose and blow on eachother. During this, the two horses will tell eachother if they are friends or foes. Responses:"What is this?" - The horse blows towards an object it is curious about, usually something new that he has never seen before. Responses: The Nicker The horse creates a vibrating sound with his mouth closed, from his vocal cords. The strength and tone of the nicker vary greatly, and will tell you what the horse is saying. "Hello, good to see you" - The horse nickers fairly quietly, and moves toward the other horse or person who he is nickering to. "Hi, beautiful!" or "Woo Hoo, you're sexy!" - Usually said by a stallion. This nicker is slightly more intense than the one above, with mating in mind, and accomodated by shaking of the head. "Come closer" - This sound is most usually made by a mare to her foal. It is much softer and quieter than the "hello" nicker. This nicker is usually accomodated by a nudge from the horse's nose (usually towards her flanks to protect her foal from danger). The Neigh or Whinny Click here to hear a neigh/whinny The Neigh starts out as a squeal, but ends up as a nicker. The neigh is the loudest and longest of the horse sounds. The neigh is not a sound of fear. It is used when a horse is being separated from others. "Is anyone else here?" - The horse neighs with his head high, looking around for other horses or people. The horse usually neighs several times (if the horse neighs after a companion has answered his neigh, he is usually saying "Where are you". Response: The Squeal The horse usually squeals with his mouth closed. The squeal can be short and quiet or loud and long. The squeal can be heard far away if the horse squeals loud enough. "Don't Push Me!" or "I don't want to!" - The horse squeals while backing off, or sometimes aggressively approaching the object that is pushing or forcing him. The Scream The scream sounds like a loud roar of rage. It is very rare to hear a domesticated horse scream. It is only used during a fight between two horses, usually only in the wild. "I will kill you" - The horse roars at another horse, moving towards the other horse aggresively, striking out and/or biting. Responses: |
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