24/05/2025
Body Language With Horses
My last post focused on building bond and trust with your horse and I recommended using consistent body language to communicate your requests, doing in your own body what you wanted the horse to do in his. I received a number of requests to amplify what I mean by body language and explain why horses intuitively respond so well to it.
I recently read Lucy Rees fascinating book “Horses in Company”, which details her studies of wild horse behavior. She identified 3 core equine behaviors: cohesion (sticking together), synchrony (mirroring behaviors) and collision avoidance (keeping a meter apart). In her conclusion, she gave examples of how the horses’ innate trait of synchrony lends itself to using body language to ask the horse to mirror our behavior.
I was thrilled to read her conclusion because my horses have long told me that their preferred way for me to communicate with them is using consistent body language, to do in my body what I want them to do in theirs.
Here is my essay on Body Language Basics, along with a link to a video with people and horses syncing up that illustrates what I am talking about.
BODY LANGUAGE BASICS
Is it your dream to have a true partnership with your horse? I can think of no better way than building a consensual bond with your horse, syncing up with him and using body language to communicate with each other. Horses love liberty play, done this way!
In this essay, I am going to describe key elements of body language, why body language makes sense to horses, and how I communicate common requests on the ground. I also explain why you might encounter problems with a horse when you first start learning this practice and how to overcome those problems.
In the accompanying video (found at https://youtu.be/X_iYqWd6UZE) I demonstrate body language requests, on the ground by myself, then with individual horses, not only doing known behaviors, but mirroring body language to learn new behaviors. The delight the horses feel in this approach is demonstrated by showing two horses leaving off grazing on their pasture to play with us at liberty, and by horses asking to do liberty with me when I am riding another horse.
WHY BODY LANGUAGE MAKES SENSE TO THE HORSE
Horses learn through observation and mimicry of their herd mates’ behavior and they communicate their desires using body language. Body language is the horse’s native language. While human body language is different from the horse’s, horses naturally mirror the behaviors of trusted friends. Although I can teach a horse a physical or verbal “cue” for a given action as it is performed, it is easier for the horse to figure out what I want if I consistently do in my own body what I want him to do in his body. Once your horse knows that you will use your body language to communicate with him, you will find that body language is the easiest way to teach new skills as well.
WHAT IS BODY LANGUAGE?
There are two main elements of body language you should master: constructive and intentional energy, and preparatory movements of the body toward the desired movement.
ENERGY: Horses are very sensitive to human energy, three types that are very helpful and a number that will get you into trouble.
If your horse is tense, worried or frightened, relaxing your own mind and body helps the horse to relax. The flip side of that is that your tension will create tension in your horse.
If your horse is bored or disinterested in expending energy on an activity, bringing up your own energy and enthusiasm will help your horse become more energetic. By the same token, if you find an exercise boring, do not be surprised if your horse also finds it boring.
Your intention is what you expect to happen or, perhaps, not happen. A phrase that captures intention is “Whether you think you can, or you think you cannot, you are probably right.” When you ask the horse to do something but doubt that it will work, it generally will not work. If you are using clear, calm body language to ask for something the horse can safely do, and you believe he will do it, he probably will, if you give the horse enough time to evaluate your request and respond in his own time. Do you intend to drive the horse, send him somewhere or to draw the horse to you? The intention and energy associated with drive and draw feel very different to the horse.
Tension, irritation, frustration, criticism, anger, lack of confidence and fear are forms of energy that are toxic in the human - horse relationship and are often at the root of the horse failing to do what the human wants. Your best bet if they arise is to stop what you are doing and breath until they pass. Nothing useful will be accomplished until they are gone.
PREPARATORY MOVEMENTS: When your brain decides to do something, it sends signals down to the nerves and muscles to prepare them to take that action. In horsemanship you often hear the phrase: “Prepare to a position for the transition.” Essentially, before asking the horse to do something, put your own body in the right position to ask the horse for that action. Horses are so sensitive to our small preparatory body movements that they will often respond to your preparatory movements as your request for the transition. It has the added benefit of increasing your stability, as you are unlikely to be thrown off balance by a transition you both requested and were prepared to experience.
EFFECTS OF OUR EMOTIONS ON THE HORSE
Each of us, horse and human, have our own emotions, independent of the emotions of others around us. That said, the emotions of one can influence the emotions of another. This influence tends to spiral - up or down. If the horse is nervous and we become nervous in turn, that increases the nervousness of the horse, which increases our nervousness in turn. The flip side is that if our horse is nervous and we sigh and relax, c**k a hip and knee, look where our horse is gazing and remain relaxed, and perhaps put a hand on their withers, our very relaxation is reassuring to the horse. There is a difference, however between tension and relaxation. Tension increases faster between horse and human than relaxation does, which means, to be effective, you must remain relaxed longer in the face of your horse’s tension. Body language mirroring works when you and your horse are both calm and trusting in each other. If that isn’t currently true, abort whatever you were doing and breath until it is true.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR BODY?
When learning to use your body language, you might want to exaggerate your energy states and preparatory moves until they become second nature. Your horse is highly sensitive and as he realizes you are using your body language to talk with him, your body language should become more subtle, invisible to the outsider, but clear to your horse.
So, how would I ask a horse to do different actions using body language?
If I want relaxation, I breath deeply and soften my eyes and body, (and on the ground I would c**k a hip or knee).
If I want energy, I inhale, lifting my body and thinking about energy and enthusiasm.
If I want a horse to come toward me, I soften my chest, backing up, inviting him to join me with a drawing hand and soft eye.
If I want him to stop coming toward me, I rock my pelvis forward, lifting a hand and projecting energy to block his forward motion.
If I want him to back away, my energy, eyes and chest press forward and, with a cupping gesture, I move my legs or hands to request that he pick up and move each of his legs in a back up.
If I want forward motion, I lift my pelvis up and forward, point where I want to go and bring up my energy, preparatory to taking a step forward, which I only take in time with my horse’s hoof starting to leave the ground.
If I want a turn, I rotate my pelvis, torso, and hand in the desired direction.
If I want a stop, I inhale, lift one hand, sigh and sink down, ceasing movement.
If I want a back up, I shift my pelvis up and back and think about my hips walking backwards in time to his hooves.
BODY LANGUAGE MIRRORING IS UNIVERSAL, BUT ….
Body language mirroring is universally understood between two beings that are in harmony. If you were walking and chatting with a friend and they made any of these gestures, you would instinctively respond appropriately, to maintain the harmony that you were experiencing. If they stopped, you would stop, if they turned to look at something, you would turn with them and look where they are looking. Mirroring is not as likely to happen if you are with someone you dislike or distrust.
While understanding body language is innate to us all, we do not always realize what our body language is saying to the horse. Most humans do not communicate consistently with their horse this way, relying on lead lines, leg, rein and bit pressure, whips, and spurs to “cue’ the horse, and those cues are often in conflict with the human’s body language.
Take, for example, a horse whose approach intimidates the human. Fear will have that person backing up with the body language of an intimidated victim, a body language that literally invites the horse to come forward into his space. Afraid of the approaching horse, the human might get angry at the horse, wave hands, might even strike the horse, creating confusion and distrust between the horse and human. Another common incongruity is to ask the horse to go forward while impeding forward motion with your reins, or asking him to do something that frightens you. If your body language has been inconsistent, your horse may take a while before he listens to your body language simply because it has been too inconsistent to be helpful to understanding what you want.
HOW DO YOU START TO USE BODY LANGUAGE?
While body language works both on the ground (with a lead line or at liberty) and on the horse’s back, I find it is best to start this at liberty on the ground without a stick or whip. If you have a line on the horse, the tendency is to pull on it. If you have a stick in hand, you will lift it to drive or block the horse. At liberty, all you have is body language, so it is easier to learn what your body language is saying to the horse and modify your body language as necessary to get the desired response from the horse.
Try walking with your horse at his shoulder, mirroring his movements in your own, completely at peace with him leading the dance. Your feet move in sync with his and you focus where he does; even your breathing and heartbeats start to synchronize. By following his lead at the beginning, you create the harmony that will cause him to follow your body language. At some point, he will flick an eye and ear at you asking for your opinion. If, in that moment, you change your body language to suggest a turn or a stop, the chances are very good that your horse will follow you into that transition. The key is that you must mirror your horse long enough that the horse recognizes that you are syncing up with him and asks you a question by flicking an eye and ear at you. If your change in body language is clear and answers his question, your horse will mirror you.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE?
If you want a visual of what this type of body language communication looks like when playing with horses, check out the related video at https://youtu.be/X_iYqWd6UZE.
Understand that none of this is training, per se. All you are doing is creating bond and harmony with the horse, following his lead until he asks your opinion and then doing in your body what you want the horse to do in his. The result is that you dance together in harmony.
WHY MIGHT YOUR HORSE NOT MIRROR YOU?
Your horse might not mirror you because he does not have a strong enough bond with you, or trust that you will only ask him to do things he can safely do. Your body might be stiff, or you might not be moving with confident relaxation. When you are stiff or unconfident, you have not harmonized with the horse, and there will be no harmony for the horse to maintain. Your timing might be off, either asking for a change before the horse asks you a question, or too long after the horse has asked you a question. Answering a question that was never asked or was asked too long ago creates confusion. You might lack confidence about whether the horse will mirror you, which causes the horse to mirror your lack of confidence. You might expect too much, too quickly, sapping the harmony needed for it all to work. Slow down, don’t move too fast, wait on the try, believe in the process.
Since mirroring is innate to the horse and all creatures in harmony with each other, if the horse is not mirroring your body language, work on your bond, trust and relaxation, then, after syncing up with your horse, following his lead until he asks you a question, try again with a simple request - for a turn or halt, then praise the horse’s try. As your horse relaxes and trusts you more and realizes you are communicating with him, his try will become stronger and the two of you will flow together in harmony.
How to Start Learning This with a Friend
It can help accelerate learning these gestures if you first practice on the ground with another person. Here is a short video in which I had Val and Kim practice their body language for go, turn, stop and back with each other before trying them on Mystic. https://youtu.be/3vho809WHfY?si=PbdERkGJblBhHlV9
After that lesson on the ground, here is another clip showing Val riding Mystic for the first time using the same body language. https://youtu.be/ZSOSLcdvTC4?si=Ee9QPWGQflA0z86J
This video highlights how energy, intention and preparatory movements are key elements of body language used to communicate with horses, why horses respond s...
