When I think about what puts a smile on every horse-lover's face, it's got to be when they get to watch the antics of their horses galloping around, bucking, pig rooting, rearing and generally expressing themselves! (Of course, this is happening when they are NOT on top of them or have them on a lead line!)
The nature of horses is to be very expressive ... and by confining them in small areas etc etc we can see less and less of this expressiveness. Horses LOVE to play and will cavort around quite wildly when motivated to do so - you could even say (without risk of anthropomorphising) that a horse displays happiness when doing any of the aforementioned, as Rusty is doing in this photo!
Who doesn't love to see a herd of horses, running free, their untamed manes and tails flowing as they gather speed ... it's enough to cause horse lovers to stop in their tracks, as if spellbound, by the spectacle.
I know well, as my office window overlooks the 10-acre paddock that my herd are in, and as soon as I hear those pounding hooves, I stop whatever I am doing as if somebody pressed the Pause button, and I press my nose to the glass, just enjoying the vision of the horses in full flight, usually just for the fun of the run!
Preparing for the upcoming Horse Psychology and Behaviour Course I am giving, which starts in 2 weeks, one of the topics will be Horse Expressiveness, sure to be a favorite segment! To know more, just email mail@wranglerjayne.com.au