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Behaviors and Adaptation (Equus article review)

The first time I read “What is Your Horse Telling You?” I thought it was somewhat simplistic – we all know that horses blow, neigh, whinny, nicker, snort, squeal, and grunt. But I soon realized that this article was not as simplistic as I first thought, because I then began to think some about vocalizations. Language interests me, as it does Temple Grandin, who asserts that those of us who are language-using animals have highly developed frontal lobes, and therefore, are at a disadvantage (compared to those, say, who are autistic) because we rely less on our other senses than do.

I also thought, when I read this article the first time, that this was the tip of the proverbial iceberg – horses communicate to us in a multitude of differing ways. For example, every morning Tinni stands outside the shelter when I am getting his hay, and repeatedly stomps his hoof. What he’s saying with this physical gesture is “feed me.”

Anyhow, what I read here stuck with me, and since, I’ve been listening more carefully to my horses. This was because the article is well written, has photos that illustrate the various vocalizations, and even a website that you can go to, and listen to the sounds. There is also some interesting scientific information, which is not surprising, given that much of the focus of Equus Magazine is on health-related issues. For instance, the author (Jennifer Williams, Ph.D.) says on page 46 that “at rest, the vocal cords are open and relaxed. Vocal sounds are made when the folds close and air pushed out of the lungs causes the cords to vibrate. The faster the ocscillations—determined by how tightly the cords come together—the higher the pitch of the sound.

Before I began being attentive to sound, I would have told you that my horses aren’t very vocal, Icelandics, I’ve been told, are extremely stoic. I’d venture to say now that yes, they are vocal, they just aren’t as vocal as their other equine counterparts. For instance, whenever I take Siggi and Tinni out of the pen, Raudi will start whinnying shrilly. She’s so loud that I was once asked by a neighbor if I was now in the horse slaughter business. When I bring her back, Siggi will sometimes nicker. Conversely, if left alone, Siggi and Tinni will resume eating. I have also noticed that when I’m riding him, that Tinni will at times, snort if a say, a moose is nearby. He’ll also sigh when we are nearly done with a workout.

I have (interestingly enough) referred back to this article a few times, because the writer does a good job of making the distinctions between what the various sounds actually are – this has forced me (for example) to think about what exactly constitutes a snort, and what constitutes a sigh. This is important, because as with people, misreading a horses’ verbal cue could result in miscommunication. For instance, if I presume that Tinni’s snort is a sigh, I might be surprised by a moose. Of course, I know that Tinni also has other ways of telling me that a moose might be about – he raises his head high, his body tenses, his ears go forward, and his eyes get bulgy. But that snort is a part of the communicative parcel, and ought not be ignored.

Two paragraphs have been written about the squeal. The photo caption reads:
“Watch it: If a horses’ squeal goes unheeded, he may escalate to kicking or biting”. I have never heard my horses squeal – they tend to use their bodies to shove one another away from the chow. But this cautionary note might someday be quite useful. If I am around a group of horses, and squealing is going on, it would “behoove” me to get out of the way.

The photo is also revelatory – the horses’ ears are back, his nostrils are flared, his mouth is open, and you can see the whites of his eyes. The author should have pointed out that it’s the sounds, combined with other behavioral traits that we should stay attuned to. Learning what is what also takes a bit of practice. This is inferred in this article.

Also, the author notes the distance each sound travels. This is very useful information. I think it’s quite interesting that the Equus magazine editors included the English translations of the word for whinny. These then, are interpretations. In English, they all would be regarded as the whinny sound. I still need to go to the website, “Sounds of the World’s Animals” at because I want to know more about this. Is there a field of study called animal linguistics? This article got to me thinking I also want to find out more about how animals communicate verbally – and more about the reasons why.

I know that Patricia McConnell, who wrote The Other End of the Leash did her dissertation on the sounds animals make, and why. Stephen Budianski and Lucy Rees have also touched on this subject of verbal communication, but just touched on it. My reasoning for wanting to know more about communication in general is this – the more I know, the more adept I will become when it comes to communicating with my animals. And my reason for wanting to know more about verbal communication is this – I am a language using animal who would like to learn more about how other animals are using language to express themselves. Oh dear – I have gotten off on a tangent here. I should wrap this up.

 

Horse Behavior: Books consulted

Feed Additives

Cow Nutrition

Compare the flight patterns

Behaviors and Adaptation