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Do our Horses "Love" us?

Off Course
#21

I don’t think it’s “love” like we love our friends, family, etc. I akin it kind of to the way a horse might “buddy up” with another. They recognize and prefer the company of some people, horses, creatures. I think it is more interesting how some horses are very clearly one-person horses, while others will be tolerant and nonplussed by pretty much anyone.

My current two…well, the mare loves everyone :lol: My gelding is a bit of a character now, but he was kind of “vacant,” for lack of a better word, when I first got him. I attribute this to having changed hands a good bit as a racehorse. He doesn’t act like a horse that was ever mistreated and he doesn’t appear any more or less nervous around anyone in particular, but I can’t explain it any other way but to say he visibly “softened” after owning him a month or so. Like “oh, I guess you are sticking around.” :smiley:

I owned a super pony probably 15 years ago who was 100% a one-person horse, most particularly under saddle. It’s not like I was some phenomenal rider, but once he “knew” his rider he was a completely different horse than if some stranger just hopped up on him. He was the sweetest little guy, but so very sensitive.

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#22

Dude you so owe me a new keyboard. :lol::lol::lol:

7 Likes
#23

When I wonder just how much we anthropomophize, I think of two incidents in my lifetime:

  1. I had this warhorse of a TB gelding who I was given when he was coming off the track at 11 and I was 15. I had him through most of high school, all of college, and took him with me when I moved cross country after college. He was always reserved in his interactions with humans and put up a tough, aloof front. He was the kind of horse who would deliberately walk to the furthest corner of the field when he heard you coming.

When I moved cross country, the professional shipper couldn’t pick up him and my other horse for several weeks after I needed to start my new job.

Because of the new job, I also couldn’t be there when the horses unloaded at the new farm, but I rushed out straight after work. They were grazing in a paddock. I parked right by the paddock and jumped out of my car; my gelding lackadaisically looked in the direction of the noise, then did a double take when he realized it was me. He bee-lined straight over to greet me with the happiest look on his face. While it may not have been “love,” it was definitely more than just recognition. That gelding has since passed, but I still get choked up thinking about that moment.

  1. One day at my farm, the horses were grazing at the far end of the pasture by the woods. I had walked down and was sitting in the grass enjoying watching them on a pretty day. There was a noise in the woods that spooked them, and they all went galloping back up to the barn. So I stood up and started walking that way, too.

Suddenly my one broodmare, who’s not the brightest crayon in the box, turned around and started running back towards the “scary” woods. I’m thinking, “what’s this idiot doing now” as I watch her run right towards me. Then she gets behind me, lowers her head, and starts herding me with a low nicker, like she would with a foal. The mare actually came back to get me to safety.

So, it may not be “love,” but they certainly can accept us as part of their herd. With that comes caring and desire to be around us.

9 Likes
#24

I think horses are very capable of complex emotions. Love or not, I don’t think it’s any different than a dog. Like dogs (and humans), some horses are more fond of people in general and some form very strong bonds with specific people.

My horse might as well be a dog. She really enjoys the company of people and thinks anyone around her should be her friend. Social and expressive are words people quickly use when describing her. I just moved her to a new barn and my trainer said she “caught” one of the guys just hanging out with her over the door, petting her face and enjoying her company. I’m sure she was thrilled! She would get into my car and hang out in my living room if she could.

But she also builds very strong bonds with “her” people. She recognizes me, will leave her herd or food for me, and genuinely enjoys spending time with me. If I’m working around the farm, she will watch and follow me as I move around the property.

All of that being said, she reacts similarly to other horses. She is very social in a herd, but she also builds very strong bonds with 1 or 2 companions who she will protect and defend at all costs.

#25

My mare, after a day in dry lot turnout, will want to come to me, even when she has a full bin of hay ready and waiting for her. My farrier has long since decided that he needs to do her hooves when I’m not there, because she gets antsy, and won’t stand still if she thinks she can get my attention.

In this discussion, I think there are some things that need to be defined. First, how will the word “love” be defined? Is it how they behave? And which behaviors do we count? Or do we go deeper and try to determine if the actual feelings are like our own? Someone has done that for dogs. I found this book a while ago and it was very, very interesting – at least to me.

“How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain”

https://smile.amazon.com/How-Dogs-Love-Us-Neuroscientist/dp/0544114515/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524746917&sr=8-1&keywords=how+dogs+love+us

If you define love as: “The animal has the same things happen in in the same areas of his brain as we do when we feel love”, then it has been determined that at least in dogs, the same areas of the brain analogous to our own become active in the same way as ours do when we feel love/emotion. So, yes. Our dogs love us.

I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to think that if we could train a few horses to remain still in a running CT scanner, as they did the dogs (and THAT would be a neat trick!), we would find the same brain activity.

#26

Great point about the brain scans! I think it’s absolutely a function of a horse, and I also agree that they accept what they grow up with–like they say, you can tell by a horse’s eye whether he’s been used or whether he’s been loved.

My heart-horse has, on multiple occasions over our shared lifetime, done incredible gymnastics when he has felt me go to fall off. Fall off as in, I’m committed to the ground and am tucking my shoulder to roll, when suddenly I find myself still onboard the saddle and going in a different direction at a full out gallop. I have literally NEVER fallen off this horse, thanks to his efforts, in the 15 years we’ve been together (unless he has deliberately put me there ha ha). This is a horse that I rode for work, in excess of 8 hours a day, five days a week, so there were lots of opportunities. He was a confirmed bucker before I got him, who bucked efficiently–waited until his rider was off-balance, then bucked once to put them on their head. Why would he put the effort forward to put me back in the saddle, instead of helping me hit the ground like he did with his (many) previous owners? Why would he deliberately sacrifice himself to keep a predator on his back? How does that benefit him? He can run away a lot faster if I’m not up there… I’ve never had a horse that loves me fiercely like that one. The rest respect me, find me nice to be around, and enjoy our time together, but I think that horse really knows how to love, and shows that in the care he takes in every job we do together.

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#27

This is how I feel about the horse my daughter leases. on the ground I dont feel she shows my daughter any preference but i feel she does what she can to keep my daughter on her where several others have fallen off riding her. i remember my daughter dropping her reins and freaking out about a spider and moving around on the horses back and I swear that horse set her legs wider to make her stable.

2 Likes
#28

My cousin’s horse, King, was like that for him. G got King at auction and he had a big half-circle shot out of the left side of his neck, about maybe 5 inches or so at the outside of where the muscle should have been. Apparently a firearms accident? When you rode him, the rein would go right in the middle of the half-circle “cutout”. AND the auctioneer sold him as a bucker, so G got him really cheap. After they came to an agreement, G used him daily on the ranch and could do anything with him, and G told me how he would look after him that way. When we visited, King let me on him too and was wonderful. I couldn’t ever have imagined that horse as a bucker.

#29

I gave up riding years ago due to my disability causing numerous falls. I occasionally still got on my husband’s mare for a slow amble around our property, and when she felt me losing my balance, she would shift under me to keep me on board. However, I was not her human–it was clear that my husband was her human, and in her mind, I was just part of the staff who took care of feeding when my husband was away. So I would in no way call her feelings for me love, yet she took good care of me. Was it self preservation on her part, so I wouldn’t kick her or yank on her mouth on the way down? She was very smart, but I don’t know that horses can execute that kind of logic.

Rebecca

#30

Oh, yes. I think they “love” us, and each other, in their own horsey way. They are a social species after all, and the pleasure of others’ company is what holds herds together.

I don’t suppose animal love is exactly like human love, and I wouldn’t expect horses to express love in human terms, but, on the other hand, I think assuming humans have some kind of monopoly on affection would be pretty ridiculous too.

3 Likes
#31

I definitely think horses can come to love their people. They form emotional bonds with other horses, why not us?

The most interesting examples of this I’ve come across are when horses get jealous. I’ve known of horses who have gotten moody when a particular person stops riding them and starts spending the time with a different horse, despite the fact that they are still receiving the same amount of care and attention from other people.

One of my geldings, who I’ve owned since he was a foal, sometimes will come to me when he’s called but sometimes he won’t. If he doesn’t I’ll just go up to the nearest horse in the paddock and start giving them a scratch. Once my gelding notices he’ll race over, chase the other horse away and demand that I pat him instead! Works every time :lol:

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#32

I consider my relationship with my horse like a mom and teenager. She likes to push boundaries and want things her way but she would always 100% trust me and will do anything I ask. Especially, in cases of consistency, my horse had some time off when looking for a new saddle. She became quite upset that I wasn’t spending much time with her after a few days. Started to try to break out of the gate to follow me. As soon as we are back to consistent work, she likes to watch me come get her.
I also notice she also hides behind me when she is afraid of something on the ground. I think its because she knows if I am not afraid, she doesn’t have to be so she waits for my reaction.
To me, I think a horse loving you is equivalent to a horse trusting you. It is a phenomenal feeling when your horse is unsure of something but will bravely deal with it because they know and trust that you wouldn’t put them in a bad situation.

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#33

I certainly think that horses have a certain degree of positive feeling, affection, comfort, what ever you choose to call it, when it comes to their people.

I own a chestnut mare who is in many ways the stereotype. Mostly standoffish with people, not cuddly, opinionated, etc. She will call for me if I walk away and leave her with someone else. She also will put her head into my chest for ear scratches, something she won’t tolerate with any other person. She knows me and my car and comes to the gate when my car pulls in, and runs off anyone else who wants my attention. These behaviours are similar as she is with her favorite gelding- but I would say even more so, with me. She doesn’t call for him often, rarely do they groom each other, and she’ll lift her head and wait for him to join her but doesn’t go to meet him.

I pulled her out of a bad situation and she was a holy terror for them. Evidently I am now her person.

it’s interesting to think about, for sure.

#34

My big mare? Its a sort of standoffish love, but its love. I’m ‘her’ human that she enjoys pushing boundaries with while being far better for me than anyone else. Its a mischievous, secure of her place in the world kind of love. I find it very hard to describe, but we have a communication and understanding that I wouldn’t trade.

Our new gelding? He likes me but adores my husband. But they all adore him, with the exception of my mare who thinks he’s ok.

#35

On this topic, I went to see an Andrew MacClean seminar this past weekend. He’s the Australian who does a lot of research into horse behavior and learning, and co-ordinates international efforts in equine behavior.

He did a quick survey of the branches of animal psychology that contributed to his work: ethology, behaviorism, and attachment theory.

Ethology is studying behavior in the wild, or at least without human interaction (like a zooloigist).

Behaviorism investigates how you can create and change behavior through conditioning.

But the most recent contribution, attachment theory, looks at how animals form bonds with each other, paricularly their mothers, and by extension with people. For instance, they’ve found that (like human babies), foals weaned early (at the standard 3 months) grow up to be more nervous about new situations than foals that stay with their mother and the herd until they are ready to leave at 1 or 2 years old.

Attachment theory provides a way of thinking about bonds of affection in animals and even observing and analyzing them in ways that gets us past some of the limitations of the first wave of behaviorism.

So “do our horses love us?” becomes a question that you could perhaps think about in relation to some peer reviewed studies in attachment theory, not a question that is just so far off in left field that there are no terms to approach it.

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#36

I’ve definitely had horses that attached themselves to me. Most notable, my red-headed mare, who everyone was surprised when I rode her and she was well behaved (apparently she was difficult for most people). She would only take treats from me. Not from her trainer, not from her barn owner, not from my barn buddies, no one. Just me. I had the trainer ride her once after I bought her and she was a mess. When I brought her to a new barn, she weaved like mad until she saw me and then she relaxed and started eating. I couldn’t walk away otherwise she’d freak out.

My current horse, if he spots me coming will watch me the whole way to the paddock and he’ll watch me leave. I haven’t had him long, and haven’t ridden him yet, but he definitely knows who I am (he doesn’t do this to anyone else, even when they handle him - I do not feed him, he’s boarded).

Is it love? I don’t know whether it’s love, affection, or just a sense of safety, but I’d prefer to think of it as fondness and attachment.

#37

I am a firm believer that horses can love us and act lovingly towards us. My horses will nicker and “talk” to me even after they have been fed, so they obviously don’t need anything after they have been fed. They nuzzle me on my face and neck for kisses and attention.

I sold a horse because he messed up his hind end falling in the pasture and he was only good for very light trail riding. I could not afford to keep a horse that required a ton of chiropractic work to keep him sound for just that, I focus on showing and had two show horses. I found a lovely home for him that had kids, this gelding adored kids, and luckily they were friends with a chiropractor. The new owners came to pick him up and when they drove off the horse turned at looked at me with the saddest look while they were driving off, it was heart breaking.

Another horse, this was recently, came up with EVH-1 and a mess of other problems. He spent 5 months in the ICU of my local equine hospital. I went to visit him every day during that time except for 3 days where there was a couple feet of snow on the ground and it was impossible for me to get there due to the vehicle I had at the time. In those 3 days he took a severe down turn after making a lot of progress. The vets thought he was going to die due to how bad that down turn was. I made sure to never miss a day after that and thankfully he held on.

#38

Even though I’m just getting back into horses for the first time since I was a teenager, I’ve been around and owned animals my entire life. So many people think that animals (dogs, cats, horses, etc) don’t feel “love” – they just see you as a food source, etc.

Not true. It’s not true with dogs, it’s not true with cats, and it’s not true with horses, either.

I mean, of course they look to you for food…you’re their caretaker. But children look to their parents when they’re hungry, too…but it doesn’t mean they feel the same way toward the lunch lady at school as they do to their mom and dad.

Our yearling colt is already incredibly attached to me. I usually go see him once a day – sometimes twice – and I never skip more than one day.

We went out of town and didn’t see him for a week just recently, and the barn owner and my mom both told me Dallas acted differently. To be a yearling, he’s pretty lazy…he never runs. When I go see him, he usually throws his head up in recognition when he sees the car and starts walking toward the gate…WALKING. When we went to see him yesterday for the first time in eight days, he RAN to the gate, neighing at me along the way. He was all cuddles and snuggles…he couldn’t get close enough to me. Someone out there might have an explanation for all of that, but no one will ever convince me that my horse didn’t miss me.

Is it love? Aww hell, who knows…what is love anyway? You could ask 100 humans and probably get 100 different answers. But that reaction from my horse (who I never feed, because he’s fed by the barn staff), or the reaction that my dogs have when we come home after only being gone for a few hours (even though they have access to more food and water than they could eat or drink, can go in and out of the house when they want to) seem like love to me.

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