Eyesite
Horses have wonderful eyesight. Their eyes are twice the size of a human’s eyes! In fact, they have one of the largest pair of eyes in the entire animal kingdom! Their eyes are bigger than elephants’ or whales’ eyes! Horses have slits for pupils instead of circles. This enables them to scan the full horizon clearly, no matter how bright. Horses have a special light-intensifying device that helps them see in dimness. It sometimes gives off a glow. This device gives horses the ability to be nocturnal and diurnal. They are more diurnal though. Horses focus on an object by raising or lowering their head. When grazing, horses have all-around vision without having to raise or turn their head. It takes them longer than us to focus on an object. Their eyes’ sight range is 340* of 360*. Horses have blind spots just in front of them and immediately behind the body. Horses don’t usually see objects in depth. They don’t see as much detail as humans either. Horses are much more sensitive to movement than we are. They can see clearly too. Horses are actually not colorblind. Their color vision is much weaker than our color vision though. A newer book I read said horses can see reds and blues the best, and yellows and greens the worst. White is the spookiest color for horses. In my opinion, if white is the spookiest color, then maybe they can see yellows, and other bright colors better than dark colors, like blues and reds for example.

Smell
Rolling grinds the herd’s scent into the coat so a horse feels even more like he belongs. Horses have a strong sense of smell. One whiff is enough for a horse to decide whether another horse is a mare, gelding or stallion. Smell lets horses recognize each other and their surroundings. The sense of smell helps horses find their way back home. Horses can smell human odors too. They can even tell when a handler is nervous or excited! When they see that the handler is nervous, they usually become nervous too. This is because they think something might be wrong. A horse’s sense of smell is better than a human’s. Horses can smell things from far away, even miles away. This is very significant to wild horses. They can smell the odor of a predator, locate water holes, et cetera. Smell can be used to identify horses. Here’s how. To make a social contact, horses sniff each others’ noses with extreme care. One horse blows air into the other’s nostrils sending its scent to the other’s nasal cavities where it can be read and memorized. The other horse repeats the process to the other horse. Now each horse knows each other and will always remember each other’s scent. Sometimes this greeting will lead to friendships. Other times it’ll lead to fights or a little nibbling. Humans can blow air into a horse’s nostril and the horse will remember their scent too! A mare can recognize her foal’s scent in a crowd or herd! Horses can smell fear.

Taste
Horses eat hay, grain, flowers, fruits, berries and nuts. Not to mention carrots, sugar cubes and even lolly pops or Pepsi! They eat slower than cattle. Taste is associated with touch. Horses can sort and sift with their lips and tongue. This helps when picking out the tasty grasses from the bad ones. Horses flehmen or wiggle their lips to get off unsuitable food. Flehmen is when horses curl their upper lip and push a scent back to the Jacobsen’s organ for analysis. Horses very rarely vomit, and if they do, they die. Horses do colic though. Colic is when intestines get twisted. It is very painful and can kill a horse. Like most animals, horses need salt and minerals in their diet. Bracken and deadly nightshade are poisonous to horses. Yew, ragwort, and, if eaten to many, acorns are all fatal.

Hearing
Horses’ ears are never still. Their ears can detect danger. Horses feel less secure on windy days because they can’t pick up any possible danger signals. Each ear contains sixteen muscles at the least! Horse ears can move in any direction; 180* rotations to be exact. Ears tell emotional conditions. For example, aggressiveness, tiredness, etc. Horses can hear better than people can. They can also hear above our range, but that declines with age. This means their ears are more sensitive than ours. Horses can detect natural disturbances like distant storms, high winds, and earthquakes! Horses are particularly responsive to human voices. Our voices will reassure and calm them when they’re uptight.

Touch
Touching and feeling are used as means of communication between horses and humans. Examples of this are grooming and riding. Muzzle whiskers determine things by touch when a horse can’t see an object, like grain for example. Horses gain confidence by touching strange objects with their nose or foot. Horses will defend themselves by kicking or biting. The most sensitive areas on a horse include whiskers, neck, withers, belly, and the part of their gums where the bit goes. Some breeds, like Arabians and thoroughbreds, have thin, sensitive skin. If you’re tickling or scratching a horse too hard, he might look back at you, swish his tail, or stomp his foot in irritation.

The Sixth Sense?
Some people, including scientists, think horses have a sixth sense. There are a few reasons for believing this. Horses can mysteriously find their way back home when in a strange place, miles away. They can sense the approach of a storm or other natural disturbance too. They seem to know when the vet is on his way before he’s even at the barn. These “sixth sense” behaviors are called Extra Sensory Perception (ESP).

Behavior
Horses use vocal communication to talk to each other. Squeals and grunts are signs of aggression or excitement. Snorts are made when horses see or smell something interesting or dangerous. They whinny when separated from companions or out of excitement. Mares will nicker to their foals to reassure them. Horses will nicker in anticipation of being fed of getting a treat. Some horses will sometimes whinny when they hear their owners coming. Some horses, however, are very quiet. When tired, horses will rest one hind foot and lower their head. Their eyes will be partially open and their bottom lip will be loose. They are obviously relaxed. When horses stamp a leg, shake their head or swish their tail, you’ll know they irritated. They do these things especially when flies are pestering them. Horses are naturally claustrophobic. That’s why some horses will give you a hard time when you’re trying to load them in a trailer.

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