Quivering/flapping lower lip - meaning

[conniegirl]

my lad flaps his bottom lip when bored. He will stand in a line up half asleep flapping his bottom lip.
He will also to it in a stable if he is bored! I have a video of him catching his bottom lip on the weave grill over and over to make a noise (very similar to a child using a finger to flap thier bottom lip), he has his ears forwards and looked totaly relaxed the entire time!
He doesnt do it often but it causes great hilarity when he does!
he is a very intelligent horse who likes to entertain himself! he recently learnt how to untie his rope and then if you are not looking he will go and let everyone else out of thier stables (including the goats) and stand back and watch the chaos!
He has to have 2 bolts on his door rather than a bolt and a kick bolt as he learnt how to kick the bottom of the door in just the right place to make the kickbolt jump and then he learnt that if he does it after undoing the top bolt and pushes just at the right time he can open the door!

 

[fburton]

How can you tell the difference between a horse that is bored and one that is simply relaxed?

 

[MargotC]

That's really interesting, Enfys. Thanks for sharing (she's beautiful)!

Looking at those videos I'm thinking it looks like a combination of concentration and an "anxiety to get it right" but a positive one, not a worried one as such. My mind wouldn't jump to pain at all there. Of course if you know a horse is in pain and doing it perhaps you'd (rightly) be looking at it differently?

I originally voted for the worried/stressed option as that was what made (and makes) sense to me, having never encountered this exact flapping myself. There is a not so subtle difference between concentration and stress but maybe they are likely to be expressed in a similar fashion and you have to look at the simultaneous behaviour and body language to determine which it is.

Perhaps, if a horse is also showing other signs of pain and distress in their face (I am fairly sure I read an article detailing this a good while back... maybe someone knows which one? About horses having a pinched/distinct expression when in pain?) along with the flapping then it is more likely to be an expression of pain?

This is why I love the HHO forum though. People always, always have experiences to share. The thing with horses is there is so much going on or that can potentially happen, and whilst you can read up on a lot of it chances are you need to encounter something yourself to fully understand and recognise it.

 

[conniegirl]

How can you tell the difference between a horse that is bored and one that is simply relaxed?

With mine it is quite easy, if he is relaxed he tends to be asleep, quiet and cuddly.
If he is bored he is normaly causing chaos or finding ways to entertain himself

 

[criso]

Looking at those videos I'm thinking it looks like a combination of concentration and an "anxiety to get it right" but a positive one, not a worried one as such.

I knew another horse other than mine that did this and I used to think if it as his "am I doing it right mum?" tic. He was a bit of a worrier too.

 

[MargotC]

I knew another horse other than mine that did this and I used to think if it as his "am I doing it right mum?" tic. He was a bit of a worrier too.

I love the way you put that.

I sometimes have to make sure I keep myself from applying too much of an anthropomorphic reasoning with my pets but with some horses it is so clear that they want to do what is being asked of them and they are pleased when they manage to.

 

[Juleme]

Apparently Cruising used to do this if he'd jumed a good round. And interestingly one of his cloned sons also does it when he's worked.

This is very interesting to know as I’ve just ( only 12 days ago ) boughtvan Irish sports horse Byblos cruising and she does it all the time she’s being ridden . She’s not a stressy type in the ground or in her stable . Checked all tack and changed the bit 3 times even tried a hackamore but still does it ?

 

[Bojingles]

Normally anxiety

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

The bay mare in my avatar has done it constantly when ridden for the 10 plus years I have owned her. Even with ears forward and happily moving along in a relaxed way of going that bottom lip flaps away and speeds up the flapping to correspond with the increased speed lol!

It used to worry me slightly when I first had her but my vet assured me he could not find any pain issue to account for it and probably just something she had always done when working. Interestingly we do not have a record of her breeding - but we have always thought some sort of ID X - vet also mentioned some with Cruising in their breeding seem to have this habit. I quite like to think my plain old mare might just have a bit of Cruising way back in her lines!

I tried all sorts of bits, bitless and even just riding her bare back in a head collar she still does it. She is now retired so very rarely see her do it now. Although I did walk out to the field with the other fellahs bridle once and she started flapping her lip as I advanced towards them both - anticipation? Excitement? Dread? Who knows?