What does your horse do to tell you he/she loves you?

[GoodLineNotSquare]

I've never been sure whether my girl who's in livery is particularly fussed, until last week. A couple of us went out to the paddock to bring in some mares, but the herd were clearly in a mood to hoon around the field and not be brought in, so we stood at the fence and enjoyed the spectacle. On one lap, my girl peeled off, came over to me and stood at the fence for a snuffle and nose-rub, and then hopped off to join the run-around. Yeah, I think she may have recognised me as the bearer of treats, but still.

 

[windand rain]

I dont think they love you in the same way at all but they all suffle at me whe I come all wander up to say helo the livery pony gallops full tillt up to me and wuffles but I guess they associate me with food. They do recognise the car from about half a mile away as we recently changed cars and they didnt come until we had had it a while. The livery is a real diva and wont take food from anyone but me or her owner and is very suspicious of anyone new. I guess she trusts me rather than loves me I owned her from a foal before she was bought by her current owner but still lives here

 

[cobgoblin]

I'm beginning to wonder why half of you bother having horses or any other animal for that matter. Blowed if I'd bother with an animal that I didn't feel returned my affection....what would be the point? They'd be happier with someone else and I'd be happier without them!

All animals can, and do show love, or perhaps affection is the more correct word as it is not in a sexual sense. They also have a sense of humour, can grieve , feel left out and any other emotion ..... If you haven't noticed, then perhaps you are not very observant.

There is nothing special or superior about human beings....they do not have the ' higher ground' on emotion...on the whole humans are just blind to any other language than the spoken word.

You can bring on the accusations of anthropomorphism now.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/32915/study-some-horses-riders-have-co-being-relationship

It's all about co-being apparently.

 

[Esme2015]

Interesting topic!

I have one very grumpy old bag whose outwardly affectionate moments I would count on one hand...the biggest being when she reared and went over backwards with me on her, my friend caught her and told me afterwards that she was shaking like a leaf, she had realised she had done something very bad I think...I didn't see her for three weeks due to having a broken pelvis, and the day my parents took me up to see her, I called her name from the other side of the fence, there was this wonderful whinny/nicker and she legged it to the gate to find me - a friend of mine witnessed it and had tears in her eyes. It definitely wasn't cupboard love (although there is a lot of that!) and it was a very special moment. Rarely, she will move to be nearer me in the stable, or if there are strangers or people she doesn't know well who are in the vicinity, she will look to me for reassurance, but that's about trust I suppose.

My youngster, on the other hand, absolutely adores cuddles and scratches, and is very much a people pony, to the point where we only give proper scratches as rewards as she is like an excited puppy otherwise and I am wary of her getting too excited and over-handled.. She follows me around the field when I'm poopicking and just generally wants to be near me, watches me when I leave or when I'm doing something in the yard - she's known me from birth though, so again, that's about trust etc. I would describe her as Tim Nice But Dim - 'loves' everything but isn't really sure why!

 

[OldNag]

One of ours is extremely affectionate - she does love her food but I think she genuinely enjoys human company. She has really bonded with my daughter especially.

 

[pansymouse]

I was treated to some heavy duty cob cupboard love last night while George waited patiently for my mare to finish her tea so he could give her bowl a cob wash

 

[SEL]

My mare has some very odd behaviours around both humans and horses. Her dam was PTS when she was just 6 weeks old so she was hand-reared (& in fact she'd been bottle fed from 48 hours - mare had laminitis following a retained placenta).

She definitely sees me as 'her' human, but some of her behaviours aren't that cuddly. My 2 are usually chucked out at lunchtime until the following morning but the other night I needed to get them in. She was pleased to see me - so galloped flat out towards me, reared upright, struck out with her foreleg and tried to bite me on the neck before calming down enough for me to get the headcollar on. That's exactly the same behaviour she shows to my gelding and her best mate when she's been away from him for a while.

When I came back from holiday last year she galloped laps of the paddock bucking in excitement.

The gelding was a working horse in Belgium until he was 10 and he's not one for showing affection, even though I think he really likes it (he adores the kids grooming him). Its only in the past 12 months that's he's actually started showing the cheeky side of his personality and he will now wander up to me in the field and stand there hoping for a scratch. Never demands - just looks hopeful.

 

[SEL]

Most other things are communicated through overly dramatic nudging, meaningful looks (occasionally meaningful glares) and the medium of snorting in a dramatic manner.

Ah - the meaningful glare. Yup. The one with appaloosa eyes has the glare nailed down - she can raise her eyebrows too for added effect.

 

[Cortez]

The things that people choose to perceive as "loving" behaviour are really quite amusing.....

 

[southerncomfort]

Well, I am a grumpy purist and horses do not "love" you. They can trust, be comfortable with, respect, look forward to food, obey and be a willing partner, but love? No.

Agree. My mare likes to spend time with me. Enjoys a cuddle, is very kind & gentle and I like to think we have a good bond. But no...I don't think horses 'love' humans.

 

[Ormsweird]

No one at the yard usually realises that Bobby is in, because he's so quiet. Often the only time they do is when he suddenly sticks his head over the stable door as they walk past. (Muahahahaha. This may be a reason one of his names is ginger ninja.)

When I'm there? He nickers to me constantly.

 

[ljohnsonsj]

She rips her rugs and her buckets to shreds to remind me that the only true love and thing I need to spend money on in my life is her

 

[Lintel]

My boy buys me Christmas presents and birthday presents.. Even has been known to send a Valentine's day card.

But I'm sure he has help from someone hehe!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

galloped flat out towards me, reared upright, struck out with her foreleg and tried to bite me on the neck

That's completely unacceptable behaviour towards a human IMO and I would not tolerate it from my horses, it's just too dangerous. Horses should know the difference between what is acceptable play between horses and what is correct behaviour when around humans.

 

[SEL]

That's completely unacceptable behaviour towards a human IMO and I would not tolerate it from my horses, it's just too dangerous. Horses should know the difference between what is acceptable play between horses and what is correct behaviour when around humans.

It is dangerous - that's why I stated at the beginning of that post that she was handreared and doesn't understand human / horse boundaries. Hand reared horses are not easy to have around unless they've been brought up by people who know what they are doing. When this one was moved on as a yearling she had cornered her then owner in a stable and had to be fended off with a pitchfork. Her next owners were out of their depth and I was her last chance - and still am. She will see out her days with me.

She's been with me 2 years now and there's probably only 3 people I will let handle her apart from me. This particular behaviour is reserved for me because she sees me as a member of her herd and she will always lack the same understanding of horse vs human as horses who are raised by their own species sadly.

Numerous articles on the web around hand-reared horses and the problems of working with them. A fair few trainers simply won't take them on. But that's for a different thread.

I actually thought it was obvious that I was tongue in cheek re: how my mare shows she 'loves' me!!

 

[laura_nash]

My cob knows that I am "his" human, as he will be very over-the-top welcoming to me if he's not happy about something. I've been told he recognises the engine of my car. If all is well in his world then he couldn't care less though, unless there is evidence of treats! He likes people generally and enjoys being fussed over but I would never say he loves me.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Thanks for the reply SEL. It's quite hard to read the tone of people's posts sometimes (or it is something that I often struggle with) so I definitely appreciate it when people use smileys to help me out. A cheeky wink, if they are joking, for example. >>>>>

 

[AdorableAlice]

This thread has made me smile and lightened a boring day at work.

Here is my take on knowing my horses love me -

I can push an overloaded barrow and have two huge haynets on my shoulders, whilst towing two mares behind me across the yard, decant the barrow at the heap, throw the hay into the barn and then post both mares into the barn all in one go - now that is LOVE, or maybe they just know if they tip barrow, pinch the hay or trip me up they are in deep trouble. What do you think ? !

 

[hippocobamus]

Rolls is the deepest, wettest, sloppiest mud in the field. To stop myself getting too depressed, I like to think that he does this so that I spend quality time grooming it all off him.

I'm lying to myself, I know ...

 

[C1airey]

I don't know about love, but the deep rumbling wickers when I'm nearby and the ear-splitting screams when he spots me walking the dogs two fields away tell me that he knows that he is mine and I am his.

Also his summertime greeting of turning his bum towards me and lifting a leg. Nothing malicious, he just wants someone to scratch his sweet-itchy nethers and knows that I'm the only one who loves him enough to oblige.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I know they don't "Love", but they do bond. For the first time tonight, the Bog Pony turned to me, set his head on my shoulder & did a big relaxed sigh, nudged me & just stayed there.

 

[sky1000]

I know I loved it when the pony that I had had only for a year and had gone down through my family seemed to me to be very pleased to see me when I visited the field 11 years later.