Do horses need affection?

My loan horse used to be so happy to see me when he was all on his lonesome at his old home, but now he has 6 whole equine friends either side so he doesn't need me anymore! Nevermind that's why I moved him :-)

I can't say I'm not a teeeensy bit put out when he walks away from my fussing though!

Think he is also more affectionate when he is ridden, he is on holiday at the moment as I have a broken arm (his fault obv), so we kind of avoided each other for a bit, but will start doing lunging etc soon so hopefully will have a bond again :-)
 
Mine loves it- i'm always getting kisses and bunts. If she's in then she is often looking at the side door i go through. Bless :)
 
I have one mare who is highly affectionate, always comes to me as soon as i go to the field, but does not do kisses! She loves hugs and grooming though, my others all love kisses - the new baby is quite a kissing addict.
 
IME, some horses actively look for affection, others tolerate it and still others make it clear that they prefer to be aloof. Just this evening, 2 of ours were grooming each other when we put them back into the field. The 3rd stayed talking to us, enjoying being stroked and scratched, wrapping her head round sis who was rubbing her withers. This horse likes to rest her head against me when I brush her face/forelock.
 
A horse respects a 'horseman / woman'. My elder son was a professional horse person for a while - none of our horses liked him much - my younger son is a proper horseman - and they all love him - he might not ride as well as his older brother - but he intuitively likes them,understands them and handles them for what they are - and the horses recognize and appreciate that.
 
My girl is funny, some days she wont keep her head still for a kiss and if I cuddle her she'll walk backwards with a horrified look on her face. Other days she'll stand and fall asleep while we have kisses and cuddles, really depends on her mood! If I give her a pear she's all over me. If I give her a scratch she'll stand and groom me for hours, absolutely loves it!
 
Honestly, I think some do and some don't but personally I find that having a horse gives me at least an hour to get away from reality. I always give my horses affection because naturally that's what I want to do. I've never had a horse object to it and it makes me feel better. If I think back to being a little girl, I also gave my horses affection back then too and none of them objected to it. Yes it's different from horse to horse affection but I think horses still relate to the affection we give them and acknowledge it as kindness. Im all for letting a horse be a horse but showing a horse affection in a human way doesn't effect it and I know my horses have been happy and have brought me happiness by letting me give them the affection that I naturally want to give them.
 
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