An office discussion - help please!

Ludi-doodi

Ludi-doodi

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 August 2004
Messages
1,451
Location
West Yorkshire
photobucket.com
What is the the technical name of the 'thing' horses do with their top lip when they taste or smell something strong - you know that one top lip goes straight up and top teeth/gums are exposed?

Chatting in the office this morning, a non horsey colleague said (and it's not something I'd heard of) that it was something like "Flehermin" - or that's the way she pronounced it! I had to be honest and say I didn't know what its actually called but knew what she meant!

Anyone know the proper name?
 
Flehmenn (although not absolutely sure that's the correct spelling.....). It's to do with the Jacobsens organ (spelling again?) that seems to be involved in smell.
 
Well I never knew that!
blush.gif
smile.gif
Well done HHO-ers once again.
grin.gif
 
The flehmen response, , also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehming, or flehmening (from German flehmen, meaning to curl the upper lip), is a particular type of curling of the upper lip in ungulateUngulate

I think this is what you are refering to .As state a geman word meaning curl upper lip
 
Interestingly, it is apparently also a sign of potential colic! My horse does it quite a bit, but he had started to do it even more and I hadn't thought anything of it - until he went down with colic - and I discovered an article on the internet that said it can be a sign of colic!!!
 
Flehmens reflex....they lift the upper lip so that the smell runs better over an organ in the top of their mouth called the vomeronasal organ...stallions use it around mares in heat and other horses use it to "taste" a new smell better..... and its not just horses that use it lots of animals from sheep to lions do this its just most obvious in the horse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top