What does your horse like? Affection-wise I mean.

[Manni01]

[QUOTE=burnedout;7950758]
Whenever anyone walks near my boys stall, he first sticks his nose out for a kiss and if that gesture is ignored, he will slowly back his butt up in hopes of a good butt scratch. He loves kisses and hugs me back by wrapping his neck around me. I am his girl for sure and he pins his ears if he sees me with another pony. Thus, my other gelding does not dare show affection ;)[/QUOTE]

My mare loves to get kisses on her nose too Her breeders told me that and its really true and of course she loves treats… She is much more friendly towards people than some of my other horses

[GraceLikeRain]

Having a young gelding means that his desire for affection is highly dependent on his energy level. If he is “up” he is not receptive at all. However, when he is mellow (an increasingly common mindset) he loves the base of his ears rubbed, eye pets, throat scratches, lip rubs, and the sides of his dock scratched. He is tolerant but pretty apathetic about grooming in general outside of his key spots. He has learned to tolerate forehead kisses and neck pats.

[Mooberry16]

My horse will absolutely be snuggly, as long as she suspects that I have an apple in my pocket. I’ve taught her to “hug”, “kiss” and “cuddle” but all will be done only if she suspects food. The only real affection she looks for is after a ride when I take her bridle off. She presents her head so that I can scratch her ears and down her cheeks and then rub her forehead.

[roseymare]

My Dad’s old mare would run up to you as fast as she could and spin around when she had a horsefly on her butt she wanted you to kill! Made for some terrifying visitors…
Old bulldog type QH running at you at full tilt and then spinning her butt to you. Not really a habit that was good but she figured it out on her own and you had to feel sorry for her with those nasty horseflies! So we let her continue to do it.
She also liked her udders scratched. Dad used this to embarrass a few folks LOL, She was a great mare and lived to be over 30. She lived her final years roaming all over the farm with the cattle. She went downhill pretty fast her last year though.

[Ceylon_Star]

My pony LOVES having his belly scratched, sheath scratched (discovered while applying SWAT one summer, oh dear…), butt scratched, will lift his tail up so I can apply zinc to his crack/underside of his tail when he is a bit chapped. He apparently enjoys needles because he will give the vet a backrub while she gives shots or IV sedation.

He, uhh, plays with himself if I put on a hooded slinky, his blinker hood, or a fly bonnet, or if I cover his eyes with my hands…

He has forgotten to lock his knees while receiving belly scratches and has fallen over on multiple occasions, haha. And he has been known to sit on his bale bag while I scratch the dimple above his tail.

He lifts a front leg to let me get to his armpits better, and camps out to let me scratch his flanks/sheath.

He also comes running if I whistle.

He has never been food motivated though, and responds far more to scratches than any other praise.

[Ceylon_Star]

Ponyalso likes it when you stick your fingers up his nose to scratch inside his nostrils, especially in the summer when they’re full of dust.

[maunder]

That’s adorable, Jawa. Video please.

One of my minis was hugged and carried around by his breeder when he was small and to this day (he’s six) he LOVES full body hugs. He’s a big boy but just can’t get enough of hugs. He also loves his bum to be scritched.

[horsepoor]

I have one that the only way to clean his sheath without drugging him is to have someone else scratching his withers.

One of my other guys thinks that the manure fork is the best butt scratcher ever and will follow you around when cleaning the paddock, butt first, trying to get you to scratch his behind with the fork. It can be a bit disconcerting if you don’t know what is up, this big horse backing toward you (if I didn’t know him, I’d think he was coming in to double barrel kick me).

[VTMorgan06]

Both of my horses enjoy a hearty scratch in their chest and up their necks. They both will raise their heads and “dance” in front of me to keep the scratches coming. My mare is good with hugs and kisses, although she has gotten more sensitive and reluctant to have her face and head handled as she has gotten older (checked out her eyes and they’re fine). My gelding though LOVES a good forehead rub. Pull his forelock to the side and just rub his star and he just closes his eyes and drops his head into your lap. It’s adorable.

They also won’t say no to treats and snacks!

[PeteyPie]

One loves me to scratch and stroke the underside of her neck. The others all love chest rubs and belly rubs.

[AppendixQHLover]

Mine is very food drive. He will search my pockets looking for cookies when I go out to the field. He did give me a hug yesterday with his head. It lasted about 2 seconds and than he switched to the other side.

He is one of those extrovert horses that just wants attention. I was rubbing his one ear and he gave me ugly face. So of course I did it again because you don’t make ugly faces over something like that. He decided my way is better.

[chestnutmarebeware]

All three girls would do a back-flip for a peppermint. All three also go crazy for fingernail scritches right at the middle of their chest (the place that flies always congregate in the summer). They’ll stick their heads in the air and twist them back and forth like complete weirdos, as long as I keep scratching.

And one of the three (an OTTB) loves it when I grab her upper lip and jiggle it around. And around. Ans around.

(But no one’s ever accused the three Witches of Eastwick of being “Normal.”)

[spotteddrafter]

@roseymare;7950984

My Dad’s old mare would run up to you as fast as she could and spin around when she had a horsefly on her butt she wanted you to kill! Made for some terrifying visitors…
Old bulldog type QH running at you at full tilt and then spinning her butt to you. Not really a habit that was good but she figured it out on her own and you had to feel sorry for her with those nasty horseflies! So we let her continue to do it.

Oh gosh, this is my mare as well - a half Perch. Imagine that picture - super stocky half draft mare hauling ass towards you, sliding around so that her butt is in your face. lol

My mare really isn’t super affectionate at all. She doesn’t make any sort of sounds to anyone - no nickers, snorts, etc. She never calls to the other horses, really the only time I’ve ever heard her make any sound is when I throw her in the barn by herself while I run to the restroom. That said, she’s pretty good about accepting my physical gestures of love with a minimum of nasty faces and deep sighs. I can kiss the tip of her muzzle, rub her ears, and give her a hug…but what she really likes, what she totally digs with her entire soul, is when I scratch the heck out of her chest. Her head lifts, her eyes close, her lips work a million miles a minute, and she sighs quite loudly. Mares…gotta love em!

[SmartAlex]

My horse likes to be clipped. So much so that I’ve thought about buying him a hand held massager. The vibration just lulls him to sleep… maybe I’ll try raspberrying his neck instead…

[RA12]

As my horse develops his winter coat, he seems to hate being groomed, scratched, you name it! I always love to lightly scratch his face and watch his eyes close, but he won’t do this come winter. Makes me a bit sad.

[NancyM]

Several mares who adore titty rubs. Back door entry for my jumper mare.

One gelding in particular who positions himself for manual stimulation of the inner thigh. Anytime he sees me, he figures it’s time for a scratch. He wheels around, and backs into me, spreading his hind legs, and continuing backwards. I can’t help but notice, eventually. If I am picking poops, and bend over a bit with the fork, concentrating on my work, the first thing I know is that I am being crammed up this horse’s butt, being used as toilet paper. Then, if I don’t pay attention and do the tickling as required, he has to rock back and forth, using my back crammed up between his thighs as his personal simulation device. The main parts that need the attention are the inner thigh, and the place where the nuts used to be. Men.

[Ambitious_Kate]

Apparently, my horse looooves his new barn this winter. He’s in a busy show barn filled with giggly, petting, chatty, tween and teen girls and their hunter jumper horses. There’s nothing he loves better than standing in the cross ties in just such a barn. You don’t even have to do anything to him, you just put him in the cross ties and walk away and he is in pigs heaven. If he can see all the activity going on, all the horses going in and out, even better if he can view the indoor activity, he can stay there literally for hours. According to his lessor, all the girls have fallen in love with him and beg to groom him and gather around to watch him work. She had to forbid any more treats for him, as he is a desperate beggar, and gets mouthy with treats, but that dang horse must be in his element; there’s nothing he loves more than pets and people standing around talking to and about him. He stands his full 16.3 tall, head up and proud, looking big as he can get, and bends down to nuzzle anyone who comes near, and is particularly careful and gentle with small children, and if they get close, he stands stock still and lets them pet or groom him and won’t move a foot, so the girls with their ponies and 15 hand hunters apparently think he is something else. Since he agrees, this is definitely the barn for him.

[Simbalism]

My older TB mare loves her face rubbed and heaven if I take a baby wipe and clean out her ears. My younger OTTB mare loves me to rub her under her jaw area.

[King_Creole]

My Dad’s old mare would run up to you as fast as she could and spin around when she had a horsefly on her butt she wanted you to kill!

My old man OTTB does this too! He doesn’t spin his butt but he will almost trample you b/c “MOM GET IT! GET IT OFF!”

He also enjoys a good scratch where you start behind his ears and he will inch up until you hit a spot on his back that he likes…and then he will rock back and forth, make happy faces and enjoy himself. He has walked past me, stopped, backed up and pinned me to a fence w/ his butt in order to get the point across that I needed to scratch his butt and I needed to do that NOW. lol

My “baby” (who is almost 9 now) just wants attention. Any kind. He’s a people horse. Doesn’t care how he gets it.

[Gidget]

My mare LOVES having her lower belly (okay BOOBS!) brushed. She’ll cock her head to the side and stretch her body out until she almost falls off of her back feet.

Other than that, she’s not what I would call affectionate. She’ll “tolerate” me kissing her on her on her temple or forehead from the side, but other than that I need to stay out of her space.

Except for when I have food. Then she turns into a total snuggle bun. LOL!