If you stand and watch your horse, you will see she communicates with her body. By spending time with your horse, you will soon come to know what she is saying to you.
Most people want to saddle their horses up and go of on a ride and not really get to know their horse. I have seen this time after time. When the horse is telling them something the person is not interested, only riding the horse. This is where problems start for the horse and the rider.
Watch their heads and their hind quarters to know what they are telling you. This will stop you from being bitten or even kicked.
Ears forward
Usually the ears forward is a sign of interest, friendliness. If you are holding food and the horse usually knows and her ears will be forward with interest.
She is interested in what you are holding, even people walking past the field, they usually have their ears forward watching the people walk past. The ears will always point in the direction of her interest.
If the ears are forward and her nostrils are flared, this is a sign she is scared/nervousness.
If ears are back and the nostrils are flared, this is a sign she could attack you, be aware!
Ears to the side
Usually means they are relaxed. If you are riding the horse then they are also concentrating.
One Ear Back
This shows she is listening. They can have one ear facing one way listening and the other ear facing a different direction listening to something else.
Ears flat back
Be very careful when the ears are flat back. It is a sure sign they are angry. Normally their will swish their tail and could even kick out with their front or their hind legs. They will even bite when the ears are flat to their head.
If the ears are flat back when riding, check for ulcers or a back problem. It could even be the saddle hurting her. Call your vet to have her checked out and rule out kissing spine.
Tail swishing
If the horse swishes her tail, then this is a warning sign and to be careful. It is an aggressive sign. Look at the ears also and see if they are flat to the head, this could mean she will attack and even kick out at you. I always watch for the tail swishing from side to side.
If the tail is down and and going under the horse it is usually flies.
When a horse's tail is hold high the head is hold high also. The horse is showing off to other horses and is happy. When the my horses have sometimes been apart and then reunited, they do this and it is lovely to watch. They trot around looking grand with their head and tail hold high.
Lip curling
The photo of, Paris in the side colum is a classic example of this one. This is called the, Flehmen response, is a particular type of curling of the upper lip. Horse will do this when there is a scent or a smell around them in the air. If they taste something different they will do this. You will see stallions do this when the mares are in season.
Lower Lip
Their lower lip will drop when they are fully relaxed and contented. When grooming my horses they usually always drop their lower lip and then their eyes half close, sometimes fully close as they are sleepy.
They usually lower their head and if you look at their hind leg, it will be bent, resting.
Head down
If a horse as its head low most of the time, then it is a sign of depression.
Rear End
Be careful if the horse spins her rear end around to you. Look again at the ears (flat back) Tail (swishing) This is a sign she will kick. Normally they will kick out with both hind legs, 'double barrel' kick. This is very danerous. This is just one good reason to always wear a riding hat to protect your head.
Signs of Colic
Head turning to look at the stomach/ flanks or hind quarters
Pawing/stamping or scraping
Biting or nipping at the stomach
Pacing
Repeated flehmen response
Rolling
Laying down and thrashing around
Loss of appetite
Increased pulse rate
Decreased fecal
Trying hard to urinate
No stomach noises
I lost, Paris, to colic and it was the first time I had ever come across this. It really is horrendous. The first time you see your horse with any of these symptoms, please call your vet and speak to them. Ask them their advice, It could save your horses life. Try and walk your horse around untill the vet arrives and take note of how many times she passes facial and show the vet when they arrive so they can see the colour of it. When I arrive the morning to check the horse, Paris, was fine. I arrived again 4 hours later and she was laying flat out and kept lefting her head to look at her stomach. I called the vet straight away, but I had to let the vet put her to sleep. All her stomach noise had stopped and her pulse rate was very high. It still breaks my heart to talk about it. Please call your vet if you see any signs of colic.
Always be careful when introducing new food to your horse. Do it slowly to start with. It is the same with anything new. Always read up to see that it is safe to feed to your horse and check the amount of hard feed to give. Most people feed far to much when it comes to feeding horses. Check their weight and read what it says on the package. Keep apples to a minimum. I have stopped feeding apples to my horse now. It is fine for a treat but they can course colic. I never used to feed many at all but after losing, Paris, I have stopped feeding them. I have noticed people throw loads of bread over to the horses and I have put notices up to stop feeding. Still people throw feed over! I have now had to move the horses from the hedge row and the gate so they don't eat what is thrown over. I still don't know what caused, Paris, to have colic and I will never know. But please becareful what you do feed your horse.