“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an
instant?”

- Henry David Thoreau

It's important when reading the horse's body language to look at the horse as a whole, and not just at individual pieces, to try and sort out what the horse is saying. A cocked leg can indicate a relaxed horse, but it can also indicate a tight, worried horse who feels no other option but to ready himself to kick you. His overall posture and individual body parts give us the clues to hear what he's saying. Horses aren't going to learn how to vocalize in a way we can understand, or communicate back to them; it's up to us to learn how to understand his way, and work from there. Putting the responsibility back on people to be the ones that change can be hard for some people's egos, but there-in lies a great place to grow as a person, and develop the compassion and ability to truly see things from another's perspective.

Postural stance and way of moving can indicate the horse’s inner state.
Loose muscles, steady footfalls, neck and head held near wither height are all
indicative of a relaxed horse. Tight muscles, jerky movements, elevated head
and neck all signal a horse prepared to flee or fight. Horses will also arc
their bodies towards or away others (both horse and human), depending on if
they choose to challenge or defer to perceived conflict.



The tail is not generally used alone to communicate, but its
use is effective as it can change the outline of the horse dramatically; the
general outline of the horse can convey a message to others, even at great
distance. In general, the higher the horse’s tail, the greater his state of
arousal. Conversely, a clamped tail generally indicates fear or submission, and
the wise horseman notices the presence or absence of the former when preparing
to mount young colts for the first time. The movement of the tail, such as
slashing, is also used to signal annoyance and irritation, or is performed by
the horse when asked to execute a particularly challenging movement under
saddle. Tail signals are also handy for the horse that can’t readily see his
herd mates ears, such as when grazing behind him. And who doesn’t understand the
meaning of a tail held high on a galloping horse freshly turned out to pasture
on a frosty morning.

 

Horses will lift both front and hind legs in threat
displays, during play, or just before striking or kicking in acts of
self-defense or aggression. Foreleg threats or strikes are often seen when two
new horses meet, and one does not wish the other to get any closer. Pawing the
ground can shatter ice on drinking water sources, reveal snow-buried grass or
be a sign of frustration in a horse that cannot get what he wants (freedom,
food, access to other horses etc.) Stomping the ground with a hind leg can be a
signal of annoyance, a threat display, or can be used to remove biting insects
from the hindquarters.



Horses spend more time deferring to threats from
other horses than they do in actual physical conflict. Signals of submission
and appeasement are subtle, and not as noticeable to an untrained handler as overt
threats of aggression or acts of defensive behaviour are. Horses would
generally prefer to avoid injury and conserve energy, a trait which is often
unnoticed by humans. True acts of offensive aggression against humans are rare,
and most defensive attacks are born of fear that the horse has for the human or his
actions. Please carefully read this paragraph again.



 As master communicators in the use of body language, horses
are more than proficient at reading the body language of others too – whether predator
or fellow prey. What people project on the outside is often not congruent with what they feel on the inside. Signs of body tension, fear, anger, or intent to capture are alarming to an animal whose survival depends on noticing subtle signals in both his herd mates and the predators who stalk him - whether two or
four legged. Numerous studies have shown that feelings such as fear are easily
transmitted to the horse by the human, even when one puts on a “brave face” and
tries to act unafraid.



Although we do use body language, vocalization is the
primary form of communication employed by humans. Vocalization offers humans
the unique opportunity as a species to say one thing, while they feel or mean another.
In general, ,mankind’s ability to read the messages conveyed solely through body language
has been dulled, as has his awareness of the messages he conveys to others through his own body language. Our link to the animal world is also much weaker than it was in the past, when humans had daily, necessary encounters with animals; a shift from rural-to-urban living
has removed many people from such encounters entirely. The phenomenon of
anthropomorphism - giving human characteristics to non-humans -  has also skewed how many people perceive the horse, his requirements, and his behavior. In the worse case scenario, this may promote poor welfare, poor training expectations or unnatural, highly-managed living conditions for the horse.
  


Most horse owners in Canada have horses solely for pleasure or recreation, and spend few hours simply observing them to learn how they communicate.  Without question, the majority of my workload entails clearing up communication confusion between horse and human. I joke that my job title is "Horse-Human Conflict Resolution Co-ordinator", but there is truth to it. If you want to get better in your horsemanship, and don't have opportunity to be around horses, there is still a way: put on your junior scientist hat, pull up a chair, open your mind, and observe horses interacting with each other and with people on Youtube. But before you do, go back to the whole "vocalization offers humans the unique opportunity as a species to say one thing, while they feel or mean another..." thought, and turn off the volume.   An emotional song or verbal dialogue as soundtrack might just influence you to hear and believe one thing, while simply seeing would show you another.