It is a sign of great affection when animals "blow" at each other, the same is true for humans. It is comparable to a kiss and in fact a horse understands it as such when you also "blow" at it as a human. Also, when horses are surprised, blowing through the nose is not uncommon.
One cause of noisy breathing is known as roaring (laryngeal paralysis). Horses have two arytenoid cartilages, one on either side of the larynx. If one or both of these structures becomes paralyzed, they can't be pulled out of the way to widen the airway each time the horse breathes.
When your horse inhales quickly, then puffs the breath out through his nostrils so they vibrate with a loud purring sound, he's excited and hoping that something will happen.
The researchers conducting the study found that snorts were most common during calm and relaxing activities, and that the horse usually exhibited other positive signs while snorting, like forward-pointing ears. Overall, snorting horses showed low levels of stress.
Listen for a snort.
This causes a loud fluttering sound in the nostrils which lasts for about a second. Snorting indicates your horse has identified a potential danger, and is investigating it. If your horse shies away from something after snorting, this indicates fear.
Snorts — non-vocal signals produced by the air expiration through the nostrils — are associated with more positive contexts and states in horses, according to a new study published online in the journal PLoS ONE. Horses produce more snorts in favorable situations.
The sound that a horse makes is called a neigh. A happy neigh of a horse is a greeting to other horses. A horse's neigh is also known as a whinny or a bray. A loud neigh means that a horse is saying "I am here, where are you?".
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. Striking.
In short, horses' neighs are meant to reflect their emotions. They may neigh to communicate anxiety or confidence. Horses also neigh to locate other horses. Finally, many horses neigh to greet their owner or other horses.
When a horse is angry, he pins his ears back to his neck. He may have his ears turned back, but not fully pinned. While this could be a signal he is listening to something behind him, if turned back ears are accompanied by tension in his body or a swishing tail, this also could indicate anger.
A common puffing, blowing sound is heard at each stride of the canter in some horses. This is known in the horse world as "High Blowing" and usually refers to vibration of the nostril or false nostril during exhalation. It is generally not considered a problem.
In the resting horse breathing is virtually inaudible, but at exercise it isn't unusual to hear snorting or blowing sounds as the horse exhales. This noise is termed "high blowing" and is considered to be normal. It's caused by vibration of the nostrils and is most common at the canter.
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.
The act you're describing is commonly known as "lip-flapping." It's not a specific term used for humans or horses specif.
They may rest their head on you when you're near them or give you a nudge to get your attention. Horses also blow air on each other through their nostrils. If your horse breathes on your face, this is a sign of affection and that they consider you part of their family. Horses also use vocalizations to show affection.
Breathing on you, licking, and kissing are all ways a horse may be trying to tell you how much you mean to them. They also may grasp you with their lips to pull you in, and then lick. Don't be afraid if a horse lays a wet one on you, it's just because you are greatly appreciated!
A horse may also be very happy to see you if they trot over to you from the pasture when they see you coming. These are two common ways that horses show they are excited and eager to see you. Horses will become very relaxed when they are in the company of someone they love and trust.
Affection in Horse Terms Kissing and hugging are human ideas of affection. Horses do "spar" (play fight) and bite at the lips, but that's even more of a reason not to kiss them there. Keep your horse's lips away from your lips. You don't want him to think you're playing and be bitten.
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. As Herman Melville wrote in Redburn, "No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses."
Horses prefer to be rubbed and stroked over being tickled or slapped, and they often don't want rubbing on sensitive areas like the flank, girth, belly, nose, ears, and legs. Several studies observed horses acting calmer during rubbing or stroking compared to patting.
It is hard to say that a horse has a 'mind'. Most don't relate that A + B = C. They don't think about things; they follow patterns. This makes them very trainable.
Fear not–there's guidance in science. Researchers have found that horses react more to yellow, white, black, and blue floors, as compared to floors that are green, red, brown, or gray. Horses don't seem to mind these “less favorite” colors on walls rather than floors.