25 Signs A Horse Likes You

As much as we might like to be able to, we can’t communicate verbally with our horses.

We can’t ask them how they’re feeling or what they’d like to do—indeed, some of us often have trouble picking up on the cues of other humans!

When it comes to owning a horse, then, you’re going to need to be equipped with some extra knowledge in order to be able to know what your horse is thinking and feeling.

One of the questions I most often get asked is, “How do I know if my horse likes me?”

It’s quite reasonable for us to want to know this, so here I’m going to look at 25 signs that your horse likes you.

Greeting you

This is almost universally a good sign among social animals.

Dogs are the best example, sprinting up to the door to meet their owners the moment they return home from work.

Horses are no different, and do this too.

If, when they see you coming over, they rush over to greet you, even nuzzling with their noses, this is a very good sign that they like you.

They may express it in different ways, too.

They might stand with eager excitement at their door, or where ever they are.

Ultimately, if you can see high energy and excitement when you greet your horse, this is a good sign they like you.

 

Nudging

This will very often go hand in hand with the excited greeting.

It can have other meanings in other contexts, but most of the time, if your horse is nudging you and making a point of making physical contact, this is a very good sign that they like you.

Nudging is often a way for a horse to get your attention, meaning that that is what they want: your focus.

They may want you to brush or pet them, or in some way interact with them.

Nudging can also be the equivalent of a hug.

Hugs aren’t universal in the animal kingdom, but horses definitely show some signs of enjoying them with us.

Nudging is a great sign that your horse likes you.

 

Vocalizations

Horses make noises and vocalizations for a wide variety of reasons, but one of the simplest is communication with their herd.

Again, it may often occur during greeting that you notice your horse neighing, snickering, and whinnying for you.

This kind of vocalization is, in one way, a simple expression of anticipation.

Not necessarily that they are actively trying to communicate that anticipation; more that it is simply more than they can do to hold it in.

In a way, making noise to you almost signals that they see you as one of the herd.

Much the same way dogs think of their owners as part of the pack, horses think of humans they’re close to as part of the herd.

 

Resting their head on you

This is perhaps one of the clearest and most easy to interpret signs on this list.

Have you ever rested your head gently on the shoulder of loved one?

It’s very soothing, and your horse resting its head on you probably indicates the same fondness for doing so.

Resting their head on you in this way indicates an extent of fantastic comfort that they have around you.

They are willing to make themselves, in a way, vulnerable.

Many animals indicate comfort and affection by showing that they are willing to expose themselves.

Horses are the same.

For the most part, I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that your horse resting your head on you is a good sign—but it’s worth mentioning!

 

Relaxed behavior

This leads us into a more general look at relaxed behavior.

The thing you’ve got to remember about any animal, even domestic ones and especially herd, prey animals like horses, is that their bodies are wired for threat detection.

So much of their instincts are simply to be afraid of things.

To be cautious, and careful around anyone and everything.

Obviously, this doesn’t work all the time or no animal could build relationships.

Nonetheless, if you feel that your horse is very relaxed around you, this is a good sign that it likes you a lot.

While relaxed around you, your horse will be more likely to lower its head, lick and chew things, even cocking back their legs.

 

Respect

Horses don’t have an abstract understanding of respect, like we do; but they do nonetheless have an instinctive understanding of this.

Horses in the wild live under a certain degree of social stratification.

It is fairly simple: stallions compete for the right to mate with females.

You have one male for many females, and younger males don’t challenge males in their prime.

Your horse should see you not just as a member of the herd, but as a leader.

A horse that is ready and willing to be led by you, to follow commands and to even follow you when needed, respects you deeply.

This is essential to the horse feeling affection towards you, as well.

 

Grooming

This is another example that you can find across the spectrum of both wild and domestic animals.

For social animals, grooming is one of the most basic signs of comfort, affection and intimacy.

If you are willing to allow someone to groom you, you must trust them completely.

Furthermore, many animals would have a tough time keeping themselves clean if they couldn’t.

So, regularly grooming your horse is one of the best ways to create a bond between you.

They will get more comfortable around you until they give back by “grooming” you—nibbling your shoulder, licking you perhaps.

Again, grooming is one of the most fundamental signs of affection for animals.

 

Watch their breathing

If you’ve ever had your horse breathe in your face, your reaction was probably a lot like most peoples’: it stinks!

And it does.

Horse breath is smelly.

However, the act of breathing into your face can actually indicate something a lot more pleasant.

Another way that horses show affection with one another is by breathing in each other’s faces and up each other’s nostrils.

It is not entirely clear why, except that it is simply another way of sharing bodily space.

So, if your horse has ever done this to you, it’s a good sign that it likes you a lot and, again, sees you as one of the herd.

 

Pointing their head and ears

Horses have extremely animated heads and faces.

They have many points for subtle movements and minor differences which can express a great deal of emotion—very similar to our own range of facial expressions!

For horses, one sign that they like you is if they are pointing their ears and head toward you.

This is another sign of respect, and a good indication that your horse has very positive feelings about you.

If you notice that your horse’s head is constantly following you around, this is a good sign at the very least that it’s very interested in what you’re doing, and at best that it likes you a lot.

If it seems constantly distracted, this could indicate it needs to be more focused.

 

Following you

We briefly touched on this, but this is another really big and important one.

Where they’re able to, a horse that likes you is almost certainly going to follow you around, at least for a while.

This isn’t always true—many horses are just a bit more standoffish by nature.

However, again, remember that horses are herd animals.

If you’ve done your job right, your horse should see you as a leader.

It should want to follow you.

Horses that are closely bonded will do this, instinctively following one another around, usually strongly following one individual-the leader.

If your horses are following you, it’s not just a sign that they like you—it’s a sign that they trust you! (Or that you have a mint in your pocket…)

 

Eating from your hand

Now, this may come as a surprise to those who’ve seen horses eating out of the hands of strangers.

However, not all horses are like this, and so it may be a sign that your horse likes you if it takes food from your hands but not from the hands of others it does not know.

If your horse took some time before it would eat out of your hand, too, this could indicate that it has warmed to you and likes you a lot now.

Horses don’t always eat from anyone’s hand. Indeed, usually the ones that readily do only do so because they’ve been conditioned to do so over many years.

Your horse will need to take that time to trust you.

 

Standing on both sides

It’s a lesser-known fact about horses that they actually do a lot of their ‘emotional perception’ with the left side of their brain and their left eye.

Often, early on into a relationship, a horse will do its best to get you on its left side.

The left hemisphere of its brain, in simple terms, processes emotional data.

It decides what makes it stressed or excited.

If it’s getting you on its left side constantly, this is a good indication of stress.

If it is comfortable having you on either side, it is definitely more comfortable around you.

Don’t stand behind a horse, though, no matter how well you know it—instinct is a powerful thing.

 

Riding trust

Riding your horse is often a great way to bond with it, as there simply needs to be a strong bond there in order to have the smoothest possible riding experience.

This feeds back into what I said earlier about willingness to follow instructions and to see you as the leader.

If your horse appears to trust you implicitly when riding, then this is a good sign it likes you.

If it is willing to trust your judgment and its instinctive fears largely subside, then your horse trusts and likes you deeply.

Of course, you can still have an equally close relationship with a horse you don’t ride.

You’ll just see this trust in other areas of the horse’s behavior.

 

Courtesy

While we do have to be somewhat careful of overly anthropomorphizing animals, the simple fact is that animals relational emotions and behaviors are much complex than we might first think.

Big animals like horses, even in the wide-open wild world, have to have some instinctive sense of something approaching courtesy, or politeness.

Otherwise, they would all constantly be bumping into each other and causing fights and accidents.

Notice how they make an effort not to get in your way or your space, or if they lower their heads while cleaning.

All of this can indicate a strong fondness for you.

This idea doesn’t translate directly, of course, but it certainly is there.

 

Facial expression

As I said earlier, though they can’t communicate the same complex level of feeling with their faces that we can, horses’ faces nonetheless are very expressive and can indicate a wide range of emotion.

A happy horse that is showing it is excited to be around you will half close its eyes, stretch out its upper lip, and set their ears pointing backwards.

Studies have shown that this is, in a crude sense, equivalent to how we would smile.

If you see your horse smiling in this way, it is a very good sign that it likes you.

 

Eating around you

Horses spend a lot of their time eating, so there’s often not much room to be bashful about who they eat in front of.

And while most horses will certainly graze in front of pretty much anyone, if your horse is totally comfortable eating a full meal in your presence, this is another good sign that it likes you.

This relates back to the idea that it is comfortable being fed by you and no one else.

Invite someone over, and see if your horse will eat around you but not them.

 

Relaxed Nostrils

A horse’s nostrils are big, expressive things, and deserve a special mention in the facial expression category.

If you notice that your horse’s nostrils are right, thin, drawn back, pressed against their skull, this is a good chance that something is making them uncomfortable.

If they are relaxed, rounded, soft and not tight—they’re happy to see you!

 

Relaxed Lower Jaw

Another place to look is the lower jaw.

Again, look to see how taut or loose it is.

Check if it seems to be tense, pushed firmly against the upper jaw, or curled strongly to one side.

Any of these behaviors can indicate a level of discomfort.

If the jaw, like the nostrils, is relaxed, lowered, almost hanging and swinging freely—this is a good sign its relaxed, and likes you!

 

Loose Tail

One thing horses have that we totally lack are tails.

In almost all animals that have them, tails have an expressive capacity as well as whatever other functional capacity they have.

Think of the wagging tail of a dog.

In horses, if the tail is loose, swinging freely and evenly, and hanging straight down when at rest, then this again indicates there is no tension.

Your horse is relaxed and happy around you.

 

Rearing

This one you may need to be a little careful of, as rearing can in some cases indicate something less than satisfaction.

However, this is mostly just the perception, and in actual fact, rearing often means that your horse is simply very excited.

If your horse rears up when it sees you, this is a very good indication that it likes you.

 

Lying down

Some of these behaviors that indicate affection are best observed in your horse’s stable.

Horses, like a lot of herd animals, don’t often lie down when they’re out in the day, exposed.

There are a few reasons for this, but the simplest is that they risk exposing themselves to predators by lying down.

If you are ever in your stable with your horse and it lies down, this is again an indication that it is comfortable feeling vulnerable around you.

This is a good sign the horse likes you.

 

Smooth bedding

Horses that are unhappy about something will let you know as soon as they can.

Horse owners will tell you this.

Knowing your horse likes you is also just about knowing that is comfortable with you in general.

If you notice that your horse’s bedding is very uneven, tossed around and mixed up, this could indicate it is feeling restless at night.

This could be related to a discomfort it has with you.

If it is smooth, then the horse is most likely well relaxed.

 

Leaning on you

Naturally, most of us can’t support the full weight of a horse. most horses are smart enough to know this, so they don’t literally lean their full weight on you.

However, leaning their body against yours is a great way of showing that they like you and are happy to see you.

 

Eye contact

Eye contact can be hard to establish with a horse. for one thing, our eyes and a horse’s eyes are in different places on the head.

For another, horses lack clear pupils, and so you are just staring into a big black orb.

Nonetheless, if you notice that your horse rises its head to meet your gaze and does not break away from eye contact, this is a good sign it likes you.

 

Moving slowly

Again, horses recognize that they are big animals, and they have to exercise a certain amount of caution if they don’t want to be always bumping into everyone and everything.

So, another way that you can see the respect your horse has for you is in its movement.

If it moves very slowly and deliberately when it is around you, this is a good sign that it likes you enough to make sure it doesn’t hurt you or knock you over.

If your horse is moving very fast around you and nearly knocking you over, you may need to work on some behavior with them.

 

So, there are countless ways to tell that your horse likes you.

The fundamental thing is that you build up the necessary bond with your horse in order to be able to fully appreciate and understand its behavior.

Most things that I’ve listed here today are going to apply to most horses, but horses are also highly individual creatures.

Some will have different ways of expressing how they feel, and it’s ultimately up to you to figure out your horse’s tells.

In any case, horses are very affectionate creatures!