Horses feel both their own feelings and yours, too. Horses feel anger, jealousy, sadness, loss, joy, happiness, “the blues,” and are capable of developing very deep bonds with the right person.
Horses can read human emotions, too, often in uncannily accurate ways; alerting us to our sadness or nervousness, sometimes before we've even consciously registered it.
Researchers confirmed that horses can smell specific odors in human sweat that reflect emotions like fear and happiness, which could open doors to a whole new way of understanding emotion transfer from human to horse, they say.
You can spot depression in a horse if you look for the signs from the study described earlier: a level-neck “withdrawn” stance, dull stare, immobile head and ears, and reduced reactions to humans yet increased reactiveness to new stimuli.
In one study, the heart rhythms of horses and humans were analyzed over the course of various interactions with one another. The findings indicated that horses care capable of detecting when a human is expressing and projecting positive feelings towards them and is likely to reciprocate those positive feelings.
If a horse is grazing in a field and they come towards you when you are around you can be sure they like you. Horses that follow your movements in their presence show they are focused on and give you 100% of their attention. If your horse follows you around when they see you, they consider you as a friend.
Horses DON'T form attachment bonds with their owners despite what equine enthusiasts might think - but they do regard humans as 'safe havens' Horses think of humans as 'safe havens' but don't form attachment bonds with their owners - despite what equine enthusiasts might think, a new study reveals.
Horses may stare at you when they want your attention. If you are distracted or out of reach, your horse may stare at you to get you to focus on them. If there's a barrier such as a fence between you and your horse, they may stare at you since they can't reach you to nudge you.
“And when in a horses' presence, the human's nervous system automatically syncs up with the horse. They can sense everything that's going on in your body – your thoughts, your energy and the other most important amazing thing standing by a horse being in their presence can calm your entire body.”
A horse doesn't just grieve the death of his companion, he also mourns the loss of physical touch and comfort that his companion provided. Support your horse and reduce his feelings of loneliness through grooming. Regularly grooming your horse is one of the best ways you can offer your horse comfort.
Approaching a Horse
The key here is to make sure that you let the horse see you and smell you from as far away as possible as you approach. Making a noise, then moving in, then giving him your hand to smell, then moving in to touch the horse is the best course of action.
“Compared to the corn oil, horses sniffed anise more frequently before consuming oats. The horses ate the oats from the anise pan before the oats from the corn oil pan, and finished the anise ones first, too, showing a clear preference for anise aroma,” Whitehouse explained.
Not only is the research robust that horses will remember us, it is also the case that they probably like us and possibly miss us when we are not there. Horses, as herd animals, are evolutionarily designed to be social, to form bonds with herdmates, and to form particular attachments to specific others.
According to results of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, horses do seem to read some signals to indicate whether a nearby person is stressed or afraid, at least in certain circumstances.
Why do horses nudge you? Have you ever been nudged by a horse? Horses use body language to communicate with humans (and other horses), and one of the ways they do this is through touch. Nudging is a way for a horse to get your attention, which can signify affection or impatience.
“Horses generally neigh to attract attention of other horses or of people.” She adds that it can also be “a sign of separation anxiety or a sign of social isolation.
And then other trainers say you should avoid direct eye contact altogether as this will frighten the horse because it will make them think you are stalking them.
Horses stomp to indicate irritation. Usually, it's something minor, such as a fly they're trying to dislodge. However, stomping may also indicate your horse is frustrated with something you are doing, and if you don't address it, he may resort to stronger signals.
Antonio Lanatá and his colleagues at the University of Pisa, Italy, have found that horses can smell fear and happiness. While these are just two emotions the researchers identified, further studies may reveal horses can pick up additional emotions from the body odors humans emit.
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more.
They cannot verbalize “I love you” but they can communicate those sentiments through their actions. Not all horses show affection in the same ways though.
It is important to keep in mind that a horse can also grieve when one of his buddies is sold or otherwise moved, or if he is changing owners. Loneliness magnifies grief, and good company recovers the spirit, in humans and horses alike.