What does it mean when horses go nose to nose and one of them suddenly squeals and jumps or kicks?
I recently moved my little older pinto gelding back to a barn he used to live in over a year ago. To make him feel more at home, I walked him around and let him go nose to nose with a couple of the other horses that he used to know there including a mare that used to live in the next paddock. They will go nose to nose really cute and sweet, then suddenly the other horse lets out a loud squeal and either jumps or kicks. Does anyone know what this means? I've asked my horse, but he's not talking.
Rosi M2009-02-21T11:59:13Z
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It's their way of getting reacquainted.
Some horses just immediately take up where they let off then there's others who have to just get to know each other again.
I have two old geldings, Buddy and Grey who were separated for a while when I shipped Buddy up north to my best friend. When he came back home, it was old home week for the two of them. Yet, when my QH mare went out to be bred and came back home, both geldings who were pastured with her had to get used to her all over again.
Depending on if it's a mare or not a mare will do the squeal and kick thing when presented with another horse. Also your horse could have all kinds of new smells on him from where he came from. Some horses have a dominance thing and will squeal or kick when they smell a new horse and to all of them at that stable your horse is a new one. It's their way of talking sometimes they mean hey I'm bigger and meaner than you you're under me. A mare usually is saying stay away from me unless she's in standing heat then they have a little different squeal and will turn their back sides to the other horse. Once they are used to your horse they will all probably get along good. But to them ur horse is a new one even tho they say him a year ago.
When a horse is introduced to another horse and they are loose, they come up face to face and sniff each other. They can tell a lot about the health and history of each other this way. The next step is dominance- you will see either one horse pin their ears and make a move at the other, or both will paw and make noise when the dominance issue is unclear. It's a completely natural process of herd dynamics, of showing interest and communicating status via body language and sound. The nose to nose isn't meant to be cuddly like people, it's more of an exchange of medical records and business cards.
My old man used to get nose bleeds because he would fling his head up at the last second when the vet was taking the tube out (he colicked when I first got him, then he had a choking incident shortly before he died). I have also seen what you described when horses have cut the inside of their nose. Usually this is from getting a tree branch up the nose. I am not sure what a horse can do in his stall, but have known many magical horses that have found new, interesting and often undeterminable ways to injure themselves.
Its usually the bossier horses that do this, my boys a softy and has never done this but the dominent ones will squeal and usually the softer horse backs down (and in a field gets out of the way before the horse kicks him).