Horses that are experiencing stress may offer many signs to its owner. For example, they may appear to be frightened and/or nervous. We may see this in the form of running or in some cases they develop vices such as cribbing and stall weaving. Abnormal sweating can also signal a stressful situation for your horse.
Poor behavior: If you notice your horse practicing new behaviors like spooking easily, bucking, biting, rearing or pawing, then they may be reacting to a stressor. Excessive sweating: Just as humans get sweaty palms during anxious situations, horses sweat when they're nervous, too.
A lot of equine stress can be relieved by providing your horse a consistent schedule, frequent turnout time, ample access to food and water, and other horses for companionship.
Calming supplements for horses use specialized formulas that can include ingredients such as magnesium, theanine, thiamine, valerian, chamomile, and vervain. These ingredients may help support your horse's nervous system, contributing to a calmer and happier horse.
Calming signals in horses are somewhat similar and include looking away, having lateral ears, yawning, stretching down, licking lips or eating to calm themselves. Can you recognize them? Calming cues communicate stress, and at the same time, release stress.
The Face, Forehead and TMJ
Tension around the head can be present in horses that are anxious and worry over even small changes to routine or those that are in a constant state of alert. Stress dips over the eye can be present in horses from a very young age and have little or nothing to do with age.
Electricity, whether in the form of electric fence, stray electricity around fences or waterers, or the sound of machinery may all affect horses, even those that are typically calm. Human-horse interaction, when changed, can negatively affect how a horse feels.
A nervous or stressed horse will press his tail down, and he may tuck in his hindquarters. This is a good time to reassure him and try to build his confidence. If your horse clamps his tail when you are riding, he may be in discomfort or pain; you need to make sure he's sound and his tack fits well.
Horses that are uncomfortable may seem dull or unresponsive. In the pasture, they may keep their distance from other horses. They may stand facing a back corner of the stall and may not respond when someone walks through the barn or enters the stall. They might be reluctant to lift a hoof or move around.
Speaking to the horse slowly, in a tone that is a few octaves lower than your normal speaking voice can also assuage your companion. Have your voice mimic your calm and relaxed body language. Supplements such as Finish Line's Quia-cal can also aid in calming an anxious horse.
A variety of behavior problems occur in horses. Some of the most common are those associated with aggression (including aggression towards people), fear and phobias, sexual behavioral problems, performance problems (such as bucking), abnormal eating habits, and undesirable stall behaviors.
Whinny/Neigh
A horse whinny is a sound that starts as a squeal, projects like a bugle, and settles into a nicker. It requires more wind from the horse's lungs than the other sounds, and can convey either confidence or anxiety.
That is the tail, legs, flank, and belly of the horse. These areas are particularly sensitive to most horses and they usually don't like strangers touching them in these places.
At rest or at work, unridden or ridden, signs of agitation might include vocalization (whinnying) pacing, pawing, head tossing, among others. A "pinched" facial expression, teeth grinding and elevated heart rate are examples of more subtle signs of a stressed horse.
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.
Nudging is a way for a horse to get your attention, which can signify affection or impatience.
Some report you should use soft eye contact when dealing with horses, meaning you can look at the horse but also keep a wide field of view. Other trainers indicate hard contact is preferred to establish your dominance over the herd.
Sometimes horses will physically shake out of fear or chew their bit to help ease their anxiety. Another way horses demonstrate fear is by trying to stay as far away from something as they can. A horse that is afraid will have a hard time standing still and calm.
If they encounter an aggressive or fearful situation, their “fight or flight” response includes a bump in adrenaline, which dries their mouth and nose. Once the situation resolves and adrenaline levels drop, secretions like saliva and mucus start flowing again, Dr. McDonnell said.
Although the function of yawning remains debated, more often than not, yawning is simply a normal part of daily life, just as it is for us human beings. Horses relaxing in herds often yawn when relaxing with their pals, and studies show that social contact could be a positive trigger of yawning.