Vocal horses

Leam_Carrie

Leam_Carrie

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2012
Messages
928
Location
Leamington Spa
Visit site
My horse is quite vocal. She’s neighs for dinner if she can hear we’re home (she’s in a field over the road from our house), or if she has been ridden and expects food or if she wants a fly mask / rug on.

Then if you go over she nickers at you. I assume for carrots or hay. She always does this for my husband who in her head is “carrot man” (we did a dressage test the other day with him in the corner of the indoor - she looks expectantly at him each time we pass on the video).

Feel a little bit like my horse is training me!!! Anyone else?

Been googling some articles on horse comms > https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/prac...-archive/understand-horse-communication-11362
 
Most of mine have been fairly quiet but the two most people focused have been quite vocal, including the Dales I have now. She whinnies across the field and comes at a canter when she sees me which is quite sweet, although I know perfectly well it's the food she's after. She makes noise when ridden (so did my big noisy lad) usually grunting and groaning when they're about to start playing up and spooking at nothing.
 
The Beast is the chattiest horse I've ever met. She's always got something to say. It's mostly food focussed chatter to be fair. But she does happy snorts and grunts while she's working too. The new guy hasn't done any nickering yet but he has got the biggest, loudest whinny! Fair deafens you if you're next to him. 😂
 
I’ve got one that nickers loudly every time he sees me, or my OH, he’s been here a couple of years and he’s a lovely sort.
My other horse nickers silently his nostrils nicker but he barely makes a sound ❤️
 
Most of mine are pretty quiet! Jeff tries to neigh at you when he sees you, you have hay, food or sweets. I say try - he has been hobdayed so he can only wheeze at you 😂😂😂 Gray neighs in his box when he is upset but otherwise is surprsingly quiet. The door banger has been kicked out in the field so She cant do it anymore 😂😊😂
 
We had a filly called Shirley after Shirley Bassey because she really belted it out. She came to us from training in a flat yard over the summer where they must have started fairly early. If her breakfast hadn't arrived by 6AM she would shout her head off.
 
Oh yeah whenever The Beast has gone to a pony party she's very " get this party started... I'm HERE!!!" when we park up.

She's so gobby! 😂😂
 
My two mares are quite chatty. Pebbles nickers whenever you go into the barn and she's about and she neighs from her back paddock if she's in there when she hears the car pull onto the drive. Arts nickers first time she sees you in the morning or afternoon (whether in field or stable), and sometimes when I get the saddle out, and she neighs loudly if she thinks we're late getting to them and she hears us in the house. And she neighs at me and Dabs when we're in the school and she's in her stable quite often, but never if I hack him, or if my OH has him in there, or at me and pebbles, which I always find curious.

My gelding never neighs or nickers at us, but does sometimes at the other two if they've been out somewhere without him
 
Blue is pretty quiet, but will let out a very deep nicker when she sees a foal. She's just started doing that when she sees me, which is lovely. Although as soon as she's done it, she'll look startled then retreat into her box with her grumpiest expression.
 
Mine whickers when she sees me (I wish it was me she's excited to see but she just associates me with breakfast/dinner/grass/hay/treats), she also squeals if I take too long with said breakfast/dinner/grass etc. She's also embarrassingly vocal when we go to comps. We did a clear round where she whinnied the entire way round, she even manages it mid jump which is almost impressive. Her whole body shakes with it she's so loud.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SEL
I remember reading the differences between feral mustangs and domesticated horses. One is that a mustang will not pass water without drinking, whereas our horses take the availability of water for granted, and the other difference, is that Mustangs are very quiet. They don't tend to make a noise without good reason because it alerts predators, unlike domesticated horses who are protected from roaming animals that want to eat them.
 
PapaverFollis said:
The Beast is the chattiest horse I've ever met. She's always got something to say. It's mostly food focussed chatter to be fair. But she does happy snorts and grunts while she's working too. The new guy hasn't done any nickering yet but he has got the biggest, loudest whinny! Fair deafens you if you're next to him. 😂
Click to expand...

Dave likes to announce his arrival at the field to his friends with a huge whinney. Yey, right beside my ear!
 
I have one here who screams the place down when she decides it's time for food. She sounds like a donkey braying, with added high decibel screechiness, which used to panic me, as she sounded like she was being murdered. I'm used to it now, but she is banned from living in the field by my house, as she wakes me up at 5am! Also have an ancient TB, who chats away the whole time - he looks and sounds really cute - until you go near him and he tries to take your face off!

Alf is a nostril flutterer - I love it!
 
Bobbie is very people orientated, wants to be with them and would stand for hours if someone is touching her. Shes also a big fan of food! Shes pretty vocal as well. She whinnies hello as I arrive, she grunts and groans and chats away to me. She doesn't nicker much though. Her nostrils flutter sometimes, but no proper whickers.
 
Leam_Carrie said:
My horse is quite vocal. She’s neighs for dinner if she can hear we’re home (she’s in a field over the road from our house), or if she has been ridden and expects food or if she wants a fly mask / rug on.

Then if you go over she nickers at you. I assume for carrots or hay. She always does this for my husband who in her head is “carrot man” (we did a dressage test the other day with him in the corner of the indoor - she looks expectantly at him each time we pass on the video).

Feel a little bit like my horse is training me!!! Anyone else?

Been googling some articles on horse comms > https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/prac...-archive/understand-horse-communication-11362
Click to expand...
Mine always nickers when she sees me, barely audible. But whinnies loudly when she wants to come in from the field for her breakfast or sees her tea coming towards her.
She also whinnies when she is worried she is on her own in the field (her own being something 300m in front of her and 100m behind her but not immediate sides of paddock to her) to get assurance from other horses. She is a right worry wort at times and snorts when she is turned out/brought in and shies at daft things!
 
We cannot sneak in to see ours they know we are coming from about half a mile away. The local walkers and landlord know too as there is chorus of neighs and they run to the gate. I think they have learned all the chatting from the old girl as she has always done it The shout and nicker while we are in the feed shed and are grumbling away while their feeds soak
 
My mare was very vocal - she would nicker when she heard my car (no line of sight, so definitely learnt the sound of the engine) - others on the yard were always impressed at how she did that. Then she would constantly nicker while I was making her feed up.

My new boy does the silent nostril nicker which is very cute. He's much quieter, and I've only heard him neigh once (when I took him to the beach, I think he thought it was a strange horse show and he couldn't work out why there were no other horses!).

My cats definitely used their 'speech' to train me and my OH - so I'm pretty sure that some horses have learnt how to train humans using their 'speech' too...
 
My Old Cob has a great range of noises but usually gives a low, very quiet snicker when he is telling me to hurry up with his food, or if he wants out the field into the yard. He used to flap his lower lip when he was still ridden - I kept thinking something was loose until I realised it was him! A Pony Club DC once told me she thought horses got more vocal with age and this is definitely the case with him.
My son's horse only had one neigh for ages - basically yelling at the top of his voice! However, he has also developed the low snicker, sometimes just a nostril quiver if he thinks a treat is on its way. One of his field companions 'sings' when she is coming up for feed. It is really quite cute!
Younger Cob has no subtlety. He gives a neigh when he sees me (or anyone else who might have food) coming. If he is in the yard and I sneak him a little bit of haylage as a treat he also neighs. He certainly doesn't need any extra food but he really should learn not to advertise that he is getting a tiny bit extra :):)
 
The elephant yells at anyone who walks past his field in the winter to bring him in..... He isn't fussy he just wants his stable.

Summer he will yell if the spotty is not out with him but he has horses next to him, yell if horses leave their fields and he hasn't been consulted and if anyone walks past he field.

He likes to yell alot and then look at you like he wants an answer 🙄
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top