why do horses whinny??

AFlapjack

AFlapjack

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 March 2010
Messages
1,346
Location
Devon, UK
Visit site
When I arrive at the farm I call to Jack and he always replies with a whinny and makes his way to the gate (he is in the field 24/7 but has a daily feed which I had just arrived to give him). My question is why does he whinny? Is it an actual reply to my call or does he associate my voice with feed and whinny in excitement? :o :confused:

Random question! :p
 
i like to think of it as a "yay mummy!" thing, but it most likely is excitement :P however, my YO's 2 year old whinnies whenever she hears her voice, door shut, gate open - and that cant be food association! so who knows!
 
Yeah I would love it to simply be, "Yay mummy's here!" but doubt it :rolleyes: Interesting as to why they do it though and at random times too it seems!
 
i'm going with the "yah mummy's here" as yesterday Archie spotted me did his normal whinney and then I saw him spot the hay at the gate (where I normally stand but I was by his water) and he looked between hay and me and came over whinnying to me :)
 
" You're late Mum, time we were out in our field"
One of mine says hello everytime I arrive in the yard. He will even say hello to the dog beause he knows I'm not far behind. The other hardly ever says anything.
 
sadiedeb said:
i'm going with the "yah mummy's here" as yesterday Archie spotted me did his normal whinney and then I saw him spot the hay at the gate (where I normally stand but I was by his water) and he looked between hay and me and came over whinnying to me :)
Click to expand...
:eek: I come second to food :rolleyes:
 
They whinny to one another so it's not just food. He associates you with good things and therefore likes you. It is a welcome whinny.
 
The only time my horse has ever really whinnied was the first day I had him - we turned him out in the school for a bit so he could see the other horses in the fields and show off a bit, and he called to them quite a lot then. Since then, the best I'll get out of him is a low whicker when he sees his food bucket approaching. :o I do think he loves me, but I'm under no delusions... he loves his food more!
 
Im not convinced it's totally food related, my boy is the most vocal on the yard, he never shuts up when Im there, he whinneys when my car arrives, again when I get out, all the time when he can hear my voice and footsteps, when Im tacking him up and talk to him he'll do low gentle whinneys back to me. I was telling a friend only tonight actually, a couple of years ago Id just had a lesson on him and as I was the last to have one I left the trainer holding him while I ran off to find the cash to pay her, when I walked back into the school he let out an enormous whinney and she stood back in amazement! I said "Dont worry, he's mummy's baby" and she said "he certainly is"!!!
 
My NF calls when we go out alone on a hack, he doesnt do it if we have company, either horse or human (my husband often cycles with me) its a call to check out where other horses or his friends are. He also does it a lot at shows where he is slightly more anxious and once did it all through a dressage test :eek: My previous horse also did it and he had NF blood, I think it can be stronger in natives.
For that reason I believe that it is a recognition and a greeting to someone they have a bond to and feel secure with.
Its lovely isnt it :)
 
It is lovely! My boy makes a total racket every morning and every evening, but I'm sure he's just saying "hurray you're here to feed me!"

:)
 
One of ours whinnys when she sees you, and my OH is absolutely smitten with her because of it! It's great because it's given him the incentive learn about horses and now he likes to go down the yard in the mornings and put them out and I get a lie in. Sometimes he'll even muck out! :D
 
Both of mine whinny or whicker loudly at me every time I go out to the field. It took new boy a few weeks to start though so I like to think it's an association with pleasant things.
They both call to me if they're near by and can hear me pottering about outside the house or in the garage, so it's not only at feed times.
My older horse does whicker/ grunt to me sometimes if we are having a bonding session and I'm wittering on to him softly too, but we do have a very strong bond.
I have left people holding onto him for me at times while I go to fetch something and he'll drag them to follow me. Anyone other than me is treated with contempt- he just is not interested.

Smith however, is a bit of an "easy" type- he loves anybody and everybody, especially if they come bearing food :D
 
La Fiaba said:
One of ours whinnys when she sees you, and my OH is absolutely smitten with her because of it! It's great because it's given him the incentive learn about horses and now he likes to go down the yard in the mornings and put them out and I get a lie in. Sometimes he'll even muck out! :D
Click to expand...

This is what my newer horse Smith is like- his biggest fan is my totally non-horsy father who has always been a bit wary and never really taken to Mini, as he has always ignored my dad. But since getting Smith, my dad comes up to poo pick, feed, muck out, etc and think Smith is the bees knees as he will call to my dad and come speak to him :)
 
To say hello- mine always whinnies when her friend returns in the horse trailer from a day at the show or when she sees me or my car pulling up to the barn
 
It always makes me smile when horses whinny at me. Am helping a friend with her horses at the mo and when I go up in the mornings they all whinny at me, even the first day when I suppose they didn't know why I was there. That takes the shine off it a bit as they clearly aren't fussy :D
 
Mine whickers at at me after he has had dinner because he also wants a biscuit from the tack room....absolutely serious. He will whicker again if I take too long. He only does it when I am near the tack room door to remind me. :D
 
least yours comes over, Pickle hears me call, looks up and totally acknowledges me! then goes back to grazing :p they are always together and neither will come over! they just mooch around together!
 
It's a contact call. Take it as a compliment as he sees you as a friend and another horse! Sometimes an anxious horse out on his own on a hack will give a loud "anyone there?" contact call. The little nickers they do, for all mine anyway = Ah, here's that nice lady with the feed buckets. Mares talk to their foals in little nickers too, a delight to hear I reckon. And my tarty (tiny) mare Molly squeals in a half hearted way if a hot bit of talent gets too close to her when she's in season. A horse charging at you screaming means get out of there fast. The saddest call I've ever heard was when I used to live on the Gower peninsular in S Wales. Middle of a horrible winter. I was walking the dog and met some of the commoner (feral, never cared for) ponies head to head down a narrow path. I'd have expected them to leg it but no, the lead pony put his head up, took a few tentative steps towards me and gave me the gentle "have you got food?" nicker. And I had nothing so couldn't help. Poor souls.
 
When my appy was stabled he used to whinny as soon as he heard the car. Our car has a very growly engine, sounds like a tank. He knew as soon as he heard that car that it was us. Used to make me smile :)
x
 
Mine all winney to me and as they don't get fed it must be because they a pleased to see me. They also all come when called - I never have to do more than open the gate to get them out of their paddock.

My cat always says hello when he comes in or I say hello to him
 
mine will usually do a low quiet whinny when i go and fetch him from the field. because he never knows what's happening with regards to it being food time or being ridden, i like to think he's saying hello. he will then do a louder one when he sees his bucket arriving. oddly enough, we take turns to put the hay out each night, he only whinnies if i'm doing the hay, never anyone else.

a horse i ride out with will scream when we go for a gallop, especially if he's slightly behind. and thats just from pure excitment!
 
My older horse is quite aloof and never whinnies to me, he might do a very small one if I'm walking over with his bucket.

Apollo, on the other hand, whickers to anyone and anything that comes to see him, he is a very friendly little soul :D:D. When we are hacking alone, he gets very insecure, and neighs at CARS for reassurance :confused:
 
My old girl ALWAYS does a whinny when she sees me. Makes my day :) If I call her name she does the same too.

If I am doing something in her stable she will often come over and nuzzle into me and whicker softly, then I stop what I am doing and give her a scratch/fuss and she goes all soppy and doey eyed.

If I scratch/groom her belly she will ALWAYS nicker softly over and over and sometimes do a high pitched whinney.

I would love to know what she is trying to say :o

Sadiemay
 
Dylan used to do it when he heard me walking round the corner to his stable (before he could see me), it always made me smile :) I took it to mean "Hi mum, where's my breakfast?!"
 
I think 90% of the time it's food related. My share doesn't whinny very often but makes nickering wuffly sounds when i get him from the field and when i go in the feed room ;)

Although there was a mare there who i spent a lot of time with and loved to bits, we had a really good bond although i wasn't often the one to feed her. Just spent loads of time grooming, itching and cuddling her. She would whinny when she saw me. And when i got back off a weeks holiday and her foal was 2 weeks old, there were already a few people about on the yard and she had eaten already, but she gave a massive whinny at me when i got out of the car. So i like to think that's because we had a bond. Don't know if a horse can love someone, but she was always happy to see me :) (she was sold the week after :( )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top