Horses are natural herd animals and very insecure, uncomfortable, even unhappy, when not in the presence of other horses. There are many communication signals used by horses to understand each other’s intentions. Understanding horse communication is important for horse training, as most techniques try to closely simulate a horse’s natural communication skills.
Lead (dominant) Mare: There is always one dominant horse in a pasture. In the absence of a stallion it will usually be a mare.
The lead horse in a pasture is not hard to identify. He/she will be in first position at the gate, at the trough, at the round bale. She will greet a visitor to the pasture first. Because she is used to intimidating the other horses, she should never be allowed to push her way into your space in a free environment or she will infer that she is the lead horse in your herd as well. YOU must ALWAYS retain the position of dominant horse in the pasture herd.
Watch for her to lay her ears very flat back against her head at the other horses as they push their way to her goal. If they have learned horse communication fluently, they will move away without any actual aggressioin. If they are too slow to respond to her signal, she will turn quickly and bite at them. If they are pressuring her space too severely, she may even let fly with both back feet. Most underlings never get caught by the feet unless another horse is in the way of their retreat and they can’t avoid the blow.
Frequently, the scuffle goes down a line of the pecking order: Lead mare kicks or bites horse near her. That horse kicks or bites the next horse down or nearest that is not above his station. The 3rd horse chooses an underling of his own to bite or run off. And so the dominance game goes until they reach the bottom of the order.
Unshod horses seldom cause real damage to each other during skirmishes. But horses wearing shoes can cause gashes, scars, even broken legs if they connect.
Stallions: Breeding herds on ranches do not usually include a stallion. However, in the wild, a stallion is often the leader of a herd to the exclusion of other mature male horses who will roam separately from the mare group in a bachelor herd. The head stallion calls the shots except when introducing a new mare. A lead mare has a lot of say about who joins and who does not.
Stallions are naturally competitive and will fight for dominance. Although not usual, two or more stallions can sometimes be kept together in an enclosure if they are young with old or have had a chance to establish a pecking order in a non-dangerous environment such as a round arena. However, if expected to get along, they should not share an enclosure with mares at all.
Young foals will show submission to stallions by running near them, heads low and opening their mouths wide to show teeth while hinging and unhinging their jaws or by clacking their teeth.
Bachelor Herds: These are the stallions who are not being bred to mares at the time. In the wild, they roam in their own group, away from the mare groups with their lead stallion. On large ranches, they often pasture together after being introduced and establishing their own pecking order.
Head Position: During skirmishes, each horse will try to gain the highest head position, snaking down only to gain advantage while biting. However, in a placid pasture, horses often stand with one’s head across the withers of another in a position of tactile comeraderie. (see Withers)
Ear Position: Horses who are alert to danger or extremely curious may stand with head high and ears erect. This head-up forward look concentrates their binocular vision on a distant object.
Horses who are irritated put their ears flat back against their head to communicate to all around to move away.
When a horse is just listenting, his ears may be relaxed-but-up or even in two different positions – one listening on the right or behind (such as to a rider on his back) and the other ear listening ahead. This is frequently seen on trail horses who are alert to the upcoming terrain and to their rider’s signals at the same time.
A horse who is relaxed may stand with ears semi-flopped.
Biting: Biting can be aggressive or submissive. An aggressive horse will swing around and take a big chunk of the rump, side, or other part of a horse that is in a more dominant horse’s space. It often preceeds kicking.
However, horses seem to enjoy gentle biting of each other’s withers (about where the saddle gullet sits) and necks in a kind of affectionate comeraderie. It seems to be soothing. Some trainers advocate squeezing these areas when near the horse as a sign of mutual respect and care.
Kicking: Kicking is a second level comunication. It is rarely indiscriminate and usually preceeded by another signal such as flat-back ears or open-mouthed biting.
Mutual Grooming:
Nibbling: If you stand near a horse and squeeze his withers and neck in a firm, massaging way, many horses will flex their neck around to start to bite you. This is not aggressive action, but an offer to return the massaging action. However, it is not to be encouraged, as it is much too painful to a human.
Horses that are fed treats can become pushy, biting in anticipation and demand. Treat training is discouraged by most trainers unless you understand the rules and stop demand-biting… DEFINITIVELY!