The expressions that reveal how a horse is feeling

Telegraph

29-05-2025

There is more to horseplay than meets the eye, scientists have found after discovering a wide range of equine facial expressions and their meanings.
A total of 22 facial behaviours were identified, falling into one of four categories – playing, friendly, alert or aggression.
Scientists gathered videos of 36 horses at an equine centre in Winchester, Hampshire, and used a computer system to track precise muscle movements in the face.
Each facial change was linked to specific muscle actions to allow for precise matching of behaviour to expression.
When horses were in a jolly mood and playing around, they tended to open their mouths, the scientists found.
This, they said, was similar to how carnivores and primates are agape when playing with a friend or family member, suggesting a universal origin of horseplay among mammals.
Other telltale signs of playfulness were lots of eye white being visible, rotated and flattened ears, and a raised chin.
In contrast, signs of agonistic behaviour that foreshadowed aggression were a lowered head, flared nostrils and raised eyebrows.
When on alert, or in a high attentional state, horses had their ears facing forward and blinked more, often raising or lowering their heads to see or smell better.
Friendliness was harder to identify, the scientists found, with neutral expressions often meaning the horse was in a good mood. Pushing noses forward was the only big indicator, according to the study.
Dr Leanne Proops, the study's author and an associate professor in animal behaviour and welfare at the University of Portsmouth, said: 'This work is a game-changer for anyone working with horses.
'It gives us a new lens through which to view and interpret their behaviour, ultimately leading to better care and stronger human-animal relationships.'
Horses have a more limited range of facial expressions than humans or dogs, the scientists wrote in their study, and as a result many facial movements are seen across different behaviours.
'Based on the systematic measurement of individual muscle movements, we have provided the first comprehensive ethogram showing that the domestic horse is capable of producing a wide range of distinct facial behaviours,' the scientists wrote.
'While this is a comprehensive ethogram of captive horses, the full range of horse facial behaviours is likely to be wider when we consider sexual interactions, male herding behaviours, adult-young interactions and rarer/lesser performed behavioural interactions.'
Conventional wisdom in horse care has stated that if a horse has its ears forwards it is happy, and if they are back it is upset or in pain, but this study has challenged this.
Its authors wrote: 'We therefore recommend that care is taken to not automatically attribute ears back or flattened to aggressive intent or pain.'