Stressed horses aren’t funny.
A horse who pins their ears and lunges out of their stall isn’t a grouch – they’re stressed.
A horse who weaves or stall walks shouldn’t be put to music for our amusement – they’re stressed.
A foal who lays down and refuses to move during their first halter “training” isn’t funny – they’re stressed.
Behaviour is communication.
We need to stop laughing, and start listening.
And we need to think about the videos we see on social media. Do they really deserve to be shared and liked, so more people will think that the stressed horse is “normal” and good for lots of views?
Think about what the horse is trying to communicate before you react to a social media post too.
I love this post. Too often people label animals as having “behavioral problems” or find amusement in their “odd” behavior. I see this all the time in my farm rescue. Animals will tell us what’s going on with them. If we just stop and listen to/watch their body language, they speak loud and clear.