Think horses can't talk? Besides the myriad of whinnies, neighs and snorts there are a huge number of ways your horse will communicate with you both verbally and physically and knowing the signals will give you big clues to how your horse is feeling at that moment. A horse's ears, eyes, muzzles, tails and body posture will all tell you what exactly is going through your horse's mind.

Remember, horses are social creatures. As members of a herd, they will interact continually with other herb members. When you are the horse's main companion, that wanting to communicate will be directed at you.

Ears are a good way to tell how your horse is feeling. Horses will usually turn their ears independently and ears pinned back indicate anger or fear and you may be in danger of being kicked. If your horse is twitching his ears back and forth, he is feeling confused or uncertain. This is a good time to pat him and let him know everything is okay.

Tails are also good barometers of your horse's moods. A tail that is held high is a sure sign of excitement. Horses that are fearful will often tuck their tails between their legs much like a dog. If your horse is irritated or annoyed, he may swish his tail back and forth. A kinked up tail is a sign of fear in most horses and quite often the kick is due to the rear muscles tightening in preparation for a kick or buck.


Your horse's face will tell you a story as well. A mouth held tightly is a sign of fear. Noses that are wrinkled indicate anger or disgust. You can see this in action when you're training your horse. His mouth will be tight when he's learning, then his mouth will relax once he feels like he knows what he is doing and feels confident.

And that's just the very basics but if you're looking to bring a horse into your life, better learn to speak his language!

Bonding with your horse through riding is one of the best ways to make an human to animal connection there is.

When you ride your horse, you've already established a level of trust and with every minute you spend training your horse after that will strengthen the bond the two of you have. If you are just working up to riding your horse, be patient. Especially if your horse has been abused, neglected or otherwise mistreated by other people, the horse will be understandably skittish about trusting anyone. If you are genuine and gentle with your horse, you'll find that you make fast progress.

Be sure you are able to dedicate several hours every week at the very minimum. The more time you can dedicate to building a bond with your horse will mean the faster you can have a loyal companion in your life instead of a skittish, untrusting horse.

There are different types of saddles you can use and one of the best for rider/horse bonding is the tree saddle which has a feel of riding bareback but is much safer as the rider will have something to hold on to besides the reigns. If you're an experienced rider, bareback riding is another way to bond with your horse.

No matter what type of saddle or lack there of you use, bonding through riding is a great way to exercise and spend time with your horse.