How to Tell If a Horse Is Happy (The Quiet One Might Not Be)

How to tell if a horse is happy, according to the people who actually measure it. And why the quietest horse on the yard might be the one to worry about. In French riding schools, scientists found about one horse in four standing in a "withdrawn" posture: still, neck level with the back, ears back, staring at nothing. Everyone calls that horse "so good". It wasn't calm. It had switched off. This video goes through what welfare scientists now use instead of guesswork. The soft snort that tracks a good mood. What a horse's face really does when it's enjoying something (eyes half-closed, upper lip stretched out, and often ears back). Why lots of play in adult riding horses can be a stress sign, and why crib-biting and weaving tell you about the horse's day, not its character. Whether your horse only likes you for the treats. And how pain can wear the same quiet face. Then a one-minute check you can do from the stable door: ears and attention, a reaction to you, snorts, the face, and his day. Every figure is sourced below. Some studies are small, and the video says so. This is educational, not veterinary advice: if your horse has changed, talk to your vet. Wondering whether your horse actually loves you? That's a different question, and it has its own video:    • Does My Horse Love Me? The Moment It Decid...   👍 Which of these does your horse do? Tell me in the comments. LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for research-backed horse behaviour and care every week. Chapters 0:00 - Two Horses: Which One Is Happy? 0:39 - Why "Happy" Is Hard To Read 1:11 - The Quiet Horse That Isn't Calm 3:20 - The Sound Of A Good Mood 4:27 - What A Happy Face Really Looks Like 5:48 - Looks Happy, Maybe Isn't 7:02 - Does He Only Like Me For The Treats? 8:16 - Pain Wears A Quiet Face Too 8:39 - The One-Minute Check 9:35 - Back To The Two Horses Sources The withdrawn posture in riding-school horses: Fureix, Jego, Henry, Lansade & Hausberger (2012), PLoS ONE 7(6): e39280 Withdrawn horses and interest in sweet food: Fureix et al. (2015), Applied Animal Behaviour Science 162:26-36 Snorts as a sign of positive emotion: Stomp, Leroux, Cellier, Henry, Lemasson & Hausberger (2018), PLoS ONE 13(7): e0197898 The face during grooming a horse enjoys: Lansade et al. (2018), Scientific Reports 8: 14680 Eye wrinkles and emotion: Hintze, Smith, Patt, Bachmann & Würbel (2016), PLoS ONE 11(10): e0164017 Play in adult horses and chronic stress: Hausberger, Fureix, Bourjade, Wessel-Robert & Richard-Yris (2012), Naturwissenschaften 99:291-302; Blois-Heulin et al. (2015), Animal Behavior and Cognition 2(2):156-185 Stereotypies and work in riding-school horses: Hausberger, Gautier, Biquand, Lunel & Jégo (2009), PLoS ONE 4(10): e7625 Food vs scratching as a reward: Sankey, Henry, Górecka-Bruzda, Richard-Yris & Hausberger (2010), PLoS ONE 5(11): e15446 Lasting positive memories of people: Sankey et al. (2010), Animal Behaviour Grooming at the withers lowers heart rate: Feh & de Mazières (1993), Animal Behaviour 46:1191-1194 The pain face: Dalla Costa et al. (2014), PLoS ONE 9(3): e92281 (Horse Grimace Scale); Gleerup, Forkman, Lindegaard & Andersen (2015), Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia 42:103-114 Learned helplessness in horses, a review: Hall, Goodwin, Heleski, Randle & Waran (2008), Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 11(3):249-266