Horse Play

Behavior is defined as the animal’s response to its environment.  Horses are strongly social herd animals and are most comfortable when they have visual contact with other horses.  Horses are herbivores and prey animals.  These characteristics define some of the reasons that horses have different behaviors than humans.  Understanding how horses use their senses to interact with their environment will help horse owners understand what are normal behaviors of a horse and behaviors that are not normal.  This will help you understand your horse so you can work with them more effectively.

Horses are social group-living animals just like humans, and like humans, play is an integral part of their maturation and their social communication. Play is important to the development of locomotor, aggressive and reproductive behavior.  Several types of play are classified as solitary, social and object related.  Play has been well documented and described in wild horses as well as in domesticated horses.  Horse play is any activity appearing to have no immediate use or function to the horse and involves a sense of pleasure and elements of surprise (McFarland 1987).

Play Behavior in Horses from My Horse University has descriptions on play behavior. 

This short you tube video Horse Play and Behavior is from eXHorses.   

A longer webcast from My Horse University is found at Horse Play!  A Talk.