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by Ditte Young
Updated on February 5, 2024
Estimated reading time: 10 minutesย
Trust is one of the most important aspects of any relationship โ including your relationship with your horse. Horses are herd animals and naturally establish a pecking order in the hierarchy with other horses. If you observe a herd in nature, you will quickly see which one is the leader and how the other horses respect the leader. When we socialize horses, becoming a leader from the beginning is essential to create a bond where the horse trusts you.
In this article, I will cover eight signs that your horse likes and trusts you and how to recognize them.
You will gain more trust between you and your horse immediately after you read this blog post. You will also become fully aware of your energy and how to become a leader.
In this new and modern time with an increased focus on animal welfare, many of us know how to tell if a horse is showing signs of stress and trying to lower stress in its system. These signs are known as calming signs.
When looking to find out if a horse likes you, you should keep an eye out for those calming signals, as they will help you determine if the horse feels comfortable around you and the situation it is in.
If the horse is under pressure, it may display these calming signals to lower stress levels. This can indicate that the horse is not completely comfortable or the situation at large. Maybe your horse is afraid around certain objects, or it has past trauma with a certain type of situation that is now triggering the calming signals.
You might also be interested in: โHow to stop a horse from cribbing.โ
The better you recognize your horseโs calming signals, the easier it will be to understand how your horse feels and what triggers the calming signals. And when knowing the signs that a horse trusts you, you will also know how to tell if a horse likes you โ even if a horse loves you.
Below, youโll find a list of 8 signs your horse likes and trusts you and how to recognize them.
One of the most essential signs that a horse trusts you is if you know when your horse is relaxed around you.
You can read it by looking at the body language of your horse. When your horse trusts you, it shows signs of being relaxed, such as lying down, lowering its head, having relaxed eyes, relaxing its lips, and flicking its ears. These body signs are calm demeanors you can trust when you see them. Remember, horses don’t lie.
You might also be interested in: โHorse anxiety: How to calm an anxious horse.โ
If your horse approaches you when you want to take it in from its fold or when you come to it in its paddock or box, it shows that it trusts you and wants to know what you have for it today. Your horse probably knows you have exciting training, play, or even treats for it.
However, don’t get discouraged if your horse runs in a different direction when you come for it. Your horse could have trauma that makes its nervous system awaken when it doesn’t know what to expect from you. You can show your horse that you are trustworthy by creating structure in your everyday life and when you handle and train your horse.
The better you know the personality profile of your horse, the more you will know exactly how to motivate it and thereby build up trust faster.
In my article, you can read more about horse personalities: โWhat personality type is my horse?โ
An important sign that your horse trusts you is whether your horse listens to you. Remember, horses are herd animals and need a leader. Depending on their personality profile, they constantly seek trustworthy leaders who will show them the way, or what direction to run in if a predator comes after them.
To make your horse trust you, you must be the leader and show it the way. This includes showing your horse how you do things โ the structure of how to be together from the ground and in the saddle. When your horse needs help, you bring it, such as the vet, the dentist, the chiropractor, etc. And if your horse is spooked, you lead the way and show your horse what to do instead of what not to do in the situation.
You can read more about handling spooked horses here: โHow to calm a nervous horse.โ
You need to give off the right energy for these methods to work. Being a great leader has nothing to do with anger, resentment, or frustration. These things will not make a horse trust you. On the contrary, it will only make you a worse leader and untrustworthy to your horse since your horse will never be able to predict what you might do in various situations.
Honor your horse, and be at peace and worthy of your horse listening.
Horses understand the delicate balance between discipline, reward, and affection when we, as humans, pass this on to them. They quickly read our body language, tone of voice, and energy field, making it impossible for us to lie to them. They pick up on whether what we say resonates with what we mean.
When you can move your horse without using help such as the whip, physical movements with your hands, or leg yield, your horse will come to respect you. Your horse understands energetically what you want it to do.
Of course, this requires practice and hours of training where you are calm and grounded. I recommend you start practicing this from the ground. When your horse trusts you from the ground, it is easier with you on its back when you meet other obstacles where your trust bond is needed.
You might also be interested in: โHow to stop a horse from bucking.โ
Most horses allow us as human beings to touch them. They are used to touching each other and rubbing themselves against one another in the pack. When your horse allows you to touch it, it is also a sign that you are a friend and your horse likes you. They also know it is a sign of affection when we touch them.
Sometimes, horses have body tension, and if you try to touch them, they will not allow it or move away from you because they sense it instinctively feels like a dangerous or harmful situation. If your horse typically lets you touch it but suddenly doesnโt, it could be a sign that your horse is in pain.
You can read more about how to tell if your horse is in pain here.
If a horse breathes on your face, that is a sign of affection, and they consider you one to trust.
Horses’ body language is subtle when they are relaxed. They relax their entire body, and you can tell when your horse is content.
Your horse lowers its head, has a dazed glance, and knows it is safe around you. It is not alert, and the nervous system is relaxed. You can almost tell how much your horse trusts you when you observe this behavior since you can be reassured that as a flight animal, your horse would always be alert if it didn’t trust you.
Horses are easy to read. They constantly engage with us and show with their body language, energy, and even nonverbal communication whether they consent to our training methods or how we would like to play or be together.
Depending on the horse’s personality profile, they are motivated to be stimulated cognitively and physically by their human beings. They have the energy they need to spend. In nature, they would run or play in the herd. When we divide them from their herd or put them into paddocks or boxes with a smaller possibility of running, they need to be stimulated elsewhere and in different ways. It is essential to remember to include variety in their training, too.
Horses excited to be with you will show affection, such as nudging their heads towards you, pushing you gently in the stable, horse nicking, and moving their heads in your direction to look for what you have for it now. It invites you to be creative and play more. This is how horses show affection.
You might also be interested in: โWhy do horses kick โ and how do you stop it?โ
In some cases, horses may think you are one of their kind. Especially people who have a natural talent in horsemanship or nonverbal communication with horses can obtain a bond with their horses where they seem almost to become the same species.
Some horses like to groom their humans, too. They can tuck you in and pull you in with their head and neck to hug you. They might also nibble you with their mouth as if they were tickling you.
These affectionate signs can sometimes almost get out of hand. Horses don’t know the impact of their strength on us, so it is also important to be able to tell the difference between a nibble and a bite.
If this interests you, you are welcome to read more in this article: “How to stop a horse from biting.“
Through consistency and showing up for your horse daily, you will quickly become a trustworthy leader to your horse. It takes dedication and perseverance, but in the end, it is worth your work and your time.
I usually recommend horse owners to schedule the week to create a predictable routine for the horse. The horses don’t have the same understanding of a timeline, dates, or time as we do as humans. However, I know they have an inner watch that makes them capable of predicting and seeing a pattern when it is introduced several times.
So if your routine is the same every day, how can you tell if your horse likes or loves you? Itโs simple: you can tell because your horse shows up every day.
When you have earned your horse’s respect, it will be loyal to you for the rest of its life. Horses show affection for human beings by showing up. Even if youโve had a bad day, and even if you might have yelled at your horse because you were frustrated, your horse still showed up the following day. That is true love and friendship, and thanks to you, good leadership, too.
Being a good leader for your horse requires you to be mentally and physically balanced. Studies have shown that horses adapt to our energy and mood swings and recognize the faces of people they have bonded with or felt safe with.
Horses are intelligent creatures. We need to be worthy to be around these animals, and this also sets the bar for what we have to do ourselves โ not just what we can demand of our horses.
We need to sit straight, we need to carry our weight, and we need to get massages or chiropractors, too. We need to be present and in the now with our horses since they can only exist from there. We must leave bad situations behind us before entering the stables since they don’t know our daily lives and don’t care either.
For our horses to listen to us and respect us, we need to learn to be loving and caring to ourselves, too. Since you can’t lie to your horse, you can’t lie to yourself to become a great leader. You have to be a great leader.
You might also be interested in: โHow to stop a horse from rearing.โ
If youโre trustworthy as a human being, your horse will like you and want to be with you, socialize with you, play with you, and get recognition from you.
Your horse doesn’t understand what not to do. Your horse can only know what you want it to do in specific situations. One of the methods I can highly recommend is positive reinforcement. This means rewarding good behavior and only focusing on what you want your horse to do โ not punishing your horse for mistakes or bad behavior. You can reward good behavior through clicker training, snacks, recognition, etc.
You can read more about training methods in the article: “How to get a horse to trust you.“
Horses practice nonverbal communication. This includes reading and sensing each other’s energy fields. By sensing each other, they quickly figure out who’s dominant, whoโs the leader in a herd, and whoโs the more passive horse.ย I’ve made severalย online animal communicator courses about horsesย that will help you know how to communicate with your horse in a way they understand.
But horses are not the only creatures who can communicate in this way. Other animals can do it, too โ and so can human beings. All it takes is practice and the right instruction to unlock your abilities.
Using straightforward methods that activate the talent of telepathy combined with therapeutic tools for human beings and coaching methods in which the animals are in power, we create better horse welfare by understanding their needs, motivation, health issues, and what balances them. Not only will this enable you to know if your horse likes you and trusts you โ it will also strengthen the bond between you and your horse.’ve ,
I, Ditte Young, have been an equine sports coach, animal communicator, horse whisperer, therapist, and clairvoyant for 25 years. I am the author of three books about animal communication and am known as the most recognized animal communicator and horse whisperer in Europe.
I have taught my telepathic methods to more than 550 people worldwide. Many of my students practice animal communication professionally and can also make a living doing it. Iโve made various online animal communicator courses for those interested in learning more.
In my online course, โHorse personality types,โ I will help you get to know your horseโs personality profile and gain a new, more profound understanding of how your horse understands you, responds to you, and reads your signals. This will help you understand how your horse feels about you โ and how to know when your horse likes you, trusts you, and loves you.
Want to learn problem-solving behavioral techniques applicable to horses from Europeโs most recognized horse communicator? Now is your chance.
You can now participate in Animal Telepathy Mastery from anywhere in the world.
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