Is this a horse hug?

[Ganesha]

If I’m hanging in out in the stall with my gelding doing tasks (picking the stall, cleaning feed bucket or waterer, etc) my horse will follow me around and sometimes put his head over my shoulder and pull me to him/squeeze me closer with his head.

I think he’s just happy (he loves his stall and likes people hanging around) and being affectionate, but sometimes I wonder if it is the prelude to to some silly gelding wrestling game (he has a seriously high play drive), and I always gently extract myself from the ‘hug’/discourage it. I don’t know how to read it because I haven’t had a horse do this.

Do you think this is ok? It is cute, but some part of me just things it might not be a good idea for any horse to put its head over you, even if it is a friendly gesture.

[Scribbler]

The standard answer would probably be: don’t let him do this :).

But I like to hand out with my horse, and like to pay a lot of attention to “reading” her moods and intention. Similar gestures made at different times or in different moods can have very different meanings. Also, it is interesting to watch how horses behave with other horses.

First, it is fine to tell a horse that he doesn’t need to interact with you like he does with another horse. You don’t have to let him do all the things that he does to be affectionate with another horse.

That said, if you are interested in what he’s trying to do, you could let him rest there a minute or so. Does he just sigh and relax and doze off hugging you? Or does he start pushing and tugging at you? Then you have your answer.

[RPM]

I don’t know what the horse considers it. I consider it a horse hug, a sign of affection. After all, they can’t creep into our laps and our beds!

I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to let them do it, but when I have, nothing harmful has ever come of it. It never went from a horse hug to a scary bear hug. But then I don’t get that close to any horses but the ones I know really well and have worked closely around.

Don’t mares do their foals this way sometimes, as some birds gather their young under their wings? Shelter?

[MaryC]

My mare is pretty stoic, but she will wrap her head around me and guide me to an itchy spot or a boo boo. There is never anything playful about it, I wouldn’t ever consider it a thing to be avoided. She can’t point, so it’s the next best thing and she knows it works!

[cayuse]

My pony and minis wrap their head and neck around us. My DH will come in at night sometimes from checking them and mention that his pony “gave him a hug tonight”. One of the minis gets a little pushy with it once in awhile so with him I am very watchful. His hug can be followed by a shove with the nose. I guess he has a love/hate relationship with us.

[Magicboy]

Cute but makes me nervous! Just be careful!

[danacat]

What Scribbler said.

I have a gelding – OTTB very recently adopted-- who ‘hugged’ me exactly as you described. Cute at first – but it began to escalated into the kind of play he would do with another horse or an ‘object’ he wanted to amuse himself with.

Not so cute. He grabbed the back of my jacket and didn’t want to let go. All in good fun on his part – but I am not a horse or plaything. No more hugs!

[Pennywell_Bay]

OP- at the risk of being COTH Scrooge- try not to anthropomorphize the horse’s actions. He is treating you like a member of the herd (and not the leader of the herd) and it could escalate to dangerous behavior.

A past boarder of mine came to me with a horse who did “tricks”. Oh look- he’s so cute he picks up the broom/pitchfork/muck bucket. Oh look- he hugs me. Oops - Poopsie (encroached on my space) and stepped on my foot for the 50 millionth time… How cute.

Until he grabbed her teenage daughter by the back of her jacked and lifted her off the ground (ripping the jacket in the process). Not funny. Not cute. Dangerous.

[Ganesha]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys are right. Boo hoo. I kinda knew that, but I was hoping for someone to give me a really good reason to let him “hug” me.

He is so darn cute. I will stick with scratching his butt and rubbing his ears as my show of affection. He is super playful and I think I just gotta keep those boundaries so things don’t escalate into some insane gelding sparring game.

[Ganesha]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys are right. Boo hoo. I kinda knew that, but I was hoping for someone to give me a really good reason to let him “hug” me.

He is so darn cute. I will stick with scratching his butt and rubbing his ears as my show of affection. He is super playful and I think I just gotta keep those boundaries so things don’t escalate into some insane gelding sparring game.

Sometimes I need COTH to tell me “no.”

[Equibrit]

My mares “hugs” are usually accompanied with that low mare nicker.

[MissAriel]

Ganesha,
I am in the same boat. My 3 yo will do this, and while it seems cute (really, crazily adorably cute), I know that I can’t anthropomorphize his actions, and this can be something more dangerous later. It is hard to say “no” when I know he is not being outright naughty, but is still learning some boundaries. And right now the weather is making it harder to keep him busy with work, so he has energy to burn and fewer outlets. I am going to try doing some work on stretching exercises from the ground, and some trick training to engage his brain more.

He also loves to play and will take the chance to grab anything within reach that might be a toy - rakes, lead ropes, brushes, buckets, reins, whip handles - he even nearly tipped the muck cart when he grabbed the handle and pulled on it. He loves his Jolly Ball and his big Mega Ball, so I try to keep him busy with a rotating group of toys.

[cnigh]

I’m really short, so my first mare would rest her head on top of mine, close her eyes and sigh deeply. If I let her she would stand like that forever. It was a relaxed gesture, never threatening.

I used to think it was her way of saying “my gitl”.

[Angela_Freda]

Yo did this to me, in the 23 years I had him it was never a problem.
Yes I considered it a hug.

He did it also to a foal they tried to introduce to him since the elderly foal babysitter was not doing well and they figured Yo would like to be a babysitter.
Apparently he liked it TOO much… no more babies for him!

And cnigh, Yo did that also. I had a photo of us somewhere… it looked like he had a human body and a horse head… hilarious!

[Ticker]

I have a young filly that likes to put her head on my shoulder and blow in my ear. She has done that with me since she was a tiny foal…ok…huge foal. She is always very careful and gentle.

A young stallion I had, also raised from a foal, would always turn is head and very carefully grab a piece of my clothing and just hold it in his mouth while I groomed or just hugged him. He was always very gentle and careful with me. I think he wanted to hold me as much as I wanted to hold him.

So, yes, I believe horses want to interact with their humans as much as we want to interact with them…sometimes it resembles a sweet hug.

[ChelseaR]

It’s not necessarily bad as long as it is invited and gentle but it is dominate behavior so it is something to be careful of. This sort of thing can escalate quickly.

It sounds like your reaction to it is appropriate, cute but probably not a good idea.

[shayaalliard]

My mare hugs like that, and I do think it is affectionate for her.

The other strange thing she does that I’ve always felt like was a bad idea, but she never ever escalates, is when I pick her front right hoof she snuffles her nose to push my shirt up and presses it into the bare small of my back. Just stands there like that until I give her foot back. Always has done it, and as long as she doesn’t bite I let her.

[Angela_Freda]

[QUOTE=shayaalliard;8983595]
My mare hugs like that, and I do think it is affectionate for her.

The other strange thing she does that I’ve always felt like was a bad idea, but she never ever escalates, is when I pick her front right hoof she snuffles her nose to push my shirt up and presses it into the bare small of my back. Just stands there like that until I give her foot back. Always has done it, and as long as she doesn’t bite I let her.[/QUOTE]

Yo used to like to sniff my hair and face. Run his schnozz all over my head.
:lol:
One time he ended up placing his nostril over my chin… so basically my chin was inside his nostril. I wanted to see how long he would stand there like that… after 20 minutes I just could not stand still any longer…

He also liked to smell my sons head.
My theory is that he thought we smelled alike… and that we were his family.

[Alexie]

19 year old seventeen hands huge clumsy lump of a horse has done this all his life, he’s very sweet and the opposite of dominant and it has never escalated. As with all things, it depends on the horse.

[Ganesha]

Aww, I’m kinda jealous. No way would I let me horse snuffle my hair. I’m pretty sure he would not be able to resist nibbling me. When he “forgets” and starts to put his mouth on me, I (gently) tell him no, and he’ll look away and do the sad face/pointy lip thing.