I walked into her stall with my parka hood up and she almost kicked my ass. I took my hood off and she calmed immediately and made a happy noise at me.
A good reminder that horses are unpredictable no matter how well you know them or how much training you put into them. The weirdest shit can set them off.
What are some ways that a horse might indicate that I should back away from it?
Ears pinned flat against their head, rapid breathing, swishing tail, turning their ass towards you and lifting a foot a lil, stomping, sometimes baring teeth, flaring nostrils.
The best thing is to look at the ears tho. This graphic is a good depiction of ear language. Ears stiffly forward and can also mean curiosity/interest, so you have to watch the tail and the rest of the body to make sure the horse is actually curious and not thinking there’s danger or some shit. I’ve included a graphic that’s a good representation of war language.
Mares have a thing called the mare stare. It’s just them making staring at you aggressively but 9/10 they don’t actually mean anything by it and they’re just being catty. Sandy is an expert at the mare stare. Whenever she gives me that look, I scold “Excuse you!” And she’ll stop immediately and have a better expression and I’ll say, “I know that you’re a bad bitch. You don’t need to tell me, you need to tell the herd.”
. A lot of people hate mares for how catty and dramatic they can be, but I love it. It’s like some real housewives drama but with huge critters that can kill you with one kick. Sandy’s herd has a mare that will constantly go from being one of Sandy’s good pals, to a total bitch to the whole herd.