How do you know if a horse likes you?

Lol sidesaddlelady!! :D

Sometimes I can't tell if Cahramana likes me or not...when i'm petting her she just looks away (not always though) and if I stop she turns to me as if she's saying "Why'd you stop?!" :rolleyes:

Plus, sometimes when I go over to her stall and say her name she comes at once..and sometimes she just doesn't even care that I'm there and ignores me...she then "feels sorry" for me and comes over, always taking her time...lol...What does all this mean?..Moody mare? :p
 
I guess some mares are just quite aloof by nature. It doesn't necessarily mean that they don't like you personally, only that they don't feel like talking right now, thank you very much. And if your horse acts like this most of the time, it also makes those occasional flashes of affection feel even more special!
 
It all depends on the individual horse really. For example, some horses are very affectionate towards ceratain people, others are very well behaved for some people, some follow certain people everywhere, and some just don't attack certain people ;)

I know a horse at my RS who is well behaved on the ground for me, doesn't bite me (or kick me), and will follow me everywhere, whereas other people are lucky to actually get her tacked up without being bitten or kicked at least once. She is rarely affectionate towards me (although is slightly when in a good mood), but when comparing how she trusts me and treats me differently to other people on the yard, it is obvious to most people that she likes me.

There also used to be a horse on the same yard who was a nightmare to handle in her stable, she would spin, kick out, pull the best evil faces you've ever seen, and bite as soon as you got within a metre of her. She was impossible in her stable. There were a few people on the yard that she particularly liked, she still spun in her stable with them, ocaasionally kicked out, pulled faces etc, but it wasn't quite as extreme with them as everyone else.

Depends entirely on the horse :)
 
i do wonder sometimes if the Mare just doesnt like me, but then she'll nuzzle up or wrap her neck around me. That might be after a few days worth of 'no I don't wish to look at you' or the 'p-off' face when she comes in at night! Suppose they have their good days and bad days and hormone days just like the rest of us :rolleyes: .
 
When I give my horse a good groom with my fingers on his wither, neck etc he will sometimes groom me back! :rolleyes: is this a sign of affection? and in what other ways do they show their affection?
 
I can always tell if Pink in a bad moods with me. She becomes aloof and no longer the happy bouncy horse she usually is. She doesn't want a cuddle or for me to spend time with her. When I call her up from the feild, she'll just look at me and then carry on eating.

She's usually like that with other people she doesn't know or like. Never nasty or even bad tempered, just not a happy bunny. :rolleyes:
 
Don't mean to deviate from the original thread, but do you think it is true that mares are less affectionate than geldings? They say it about cats and that's definitely true.
 
My mare is the most affectionate horse, she puts her head on me and wants to be close to me. When I pick her feet out she turns round and looks at me and nuzzles me when I have finished - she knows that she has been good when she picks her feet up for me and expects a reward!

She watches me when I go round the yard - even when it isn't feed time. When I have tacked her up and am milling around getting ready, her eyes follow me and say "hurry up I wan't to go now". When she is in one of the stalls, her ears prick up when I walk by, and they don't when someone else does.

When i groom her, she stops eating her hay and stands there totally relaxed. If I move away, she will start eating but will stop when I start to brush her again, she often starts to shut her eyes.

She has been a riding school horse for years and has never had this one to one attention that I give her, so I think that our bond is closer as a result. I have had loan horses before who I have moved on from, but I could never leave her.
 
Buttercup said:
do you think it is true that mares are less affectionate than geldings? They say it about cats and that's definitely true.
Click to expand...

I have a tb mare and she is very affectionate, she comes to the gate when called from the field, she stands still when i groom her, she picks her feet up for me to clean them , she stops if i stop when walking/trotting (me on ground), she stands patiently while i get on, she nuzzles me for treats and best of all she won't leave the gate to the field til i'm out of sight (awwwww). If i go back to the gate she comes back. If she's in the stable she whinny's whenever she see's me 2.

I had a female cat once, and she 2 was very affectionate, she used to keep my chair warm if i left it for a minute and when i wanted to sit back down she would jump onto the back of the chair, wait for me to get comfy and rest her head on my head/shoulder, whatever was comfiest. She always used to brush herself past me, feeding time or not and she used to love her cuddles.

I think animals/humans if female can be both, everything female can have hormonal problems whether its a horse, cat, dog or human, but geldings can be just as bad and sometimes worse
 
My gelding is pretty sweet and has a very gentle nature but if he had to choose between food and me then food would always come first! of course! :rolleyes: but he can be a real sweetie sometimes as he will groom me back and whinnie sometimes when he see's me, but his field companion who is a mare is much more affectionate, I suppose all horses are different
 
Neppy used to rest his head on my shoulder when I was brushing his face. Sometimes we'd stand like that for a while...well, until his head got too heavy for me to support!

Sometimes this other girl used to ride him, who wasn't a great rider. I don't know if it was my imagination but the next time I got on him I always felt that he went better for me...as if he appreciated not being jabbed in the ribs or whatever.
 
I constantly think my gelding HATES me. Since I've started feeding him hay in the evenings he likes me alot more. I often get the little rumbling noise when I appear now which makes my heart melt. He also tells me when he's hungry by nodding his head up and down and sticking his tongue out. The other morning I got him in to take his rug off and then went to take him back out and in a state of shock that I hadn't fed him he proceeded to tell me ALL the way to the field that he was hungry. Very cute.
On the other hand he sulks if I bring his tack out. He turns his bum on me and walks to the back of the stable putting his nose against the wall so I obviously can't get the bridal over on.
So I don't know how you know if a horse likes you. I think mine does when I have food. I'm sure as our relationship develops I'll grow on him, and vice versa some days I don't like him much either.
 
I have a mare and a gelding and I think that the mare is a lot less affectionate than my gelding - but again io think it depends on the horse. I think some mares are just a bit more independant whereas geldings can;t fend for themselves lol.

My gelding rests his head on my shoulder while i brush his head, and when i groom him, he turns aroung and grooms me back - and sometimes walks backwards so i can carry on brushing his head for him. He'll whinny when he sees me, and follow me around aoevr jumps and stuff. He loves being groomed, and being played games with. My mare on the other hand, is all abotu the food! She'll let you do anything and be sweet after she's had her food - but she can be really grumpy before she;s had it.
 
do you think it is true that mares are less affectionate than geldings? They say it about cats and that's definitely true.
Click to expand...

My dad has five queens at home and they're all incredibly affectionate :D . I found my male cats a lot less affectionate and not bothered whether they got a fuss or not.

Jacob is very affectionate with everyone. He loves a fuss and is definately a "people horse" - he greatly prefers people to other horses, probably due to being a gypsy horse and being tethered, rather than loose with others. I think they all have their own personalities, just the same as we do.
 
Well, in general, if a horse seems either interested in my presence or very relaxed, I take that as a compliment. :D However, my gelding would be the exception. If his ears aren't plastered down, then I know he's unhappy. Yes, seems very backwards, but that's the way he is. In fact, if he lets me love on him for more than a few seconds at a time, then I cal the vet cause he is ill (and that's the truth! I've been right twice now!).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back