Horses ears - what are they saying?

Couldn't fit this into the 420 character limit on FB. Horses' ears are "what's on my mind". As in whether a horse is MAD or just paying attention to what's going on behind them.

Last night, we heard this comment from a young lady to her companion as they petted one of our horse's shoulders, "This horse is mad. Look at it's ears. My Grandpa told me that if a horse's ears are back, they are mad." Well, the horse's ears were back, the left ear idly listening to traffic, the right ear probably idly listening to HER. Not mad.

Here's the deal with mood and horse ears: animals with directional ears sometimes swivel them to listen, rather than turning their heads. You want to know what a horse's brain is probably focused on, look at their ears, not their eyes. They only turn their heads from the direction they're facing if they've heard something REALLY interesting.

How to tell if they are listening to something behind vs. sending a warning? Pinned ears = warning, irritation, i.e., speaking. Ears angled backwards = listening.

This horse is listening to it's rider.

They can pin those ears nearly flat to their heads when irritated or sending a warning. This is often accompanied by a snaked out neck, and distinctly ugly expression on their faces--curled nostrils (think Elvis) coupled with unmistakably glaring eyes. I have to admit, if no one is in biting, kicking, striking or bucking off range, this look has been known to crack me up, ... kind of like a 4 year old about to throw a big ole temper tantrum. (Otherwise it's not too funny.)

This horse has it all, pinned ears, stretched neck, glaring eyes, Elvis nostrils. Anything unclear here?

I think the confusion comes in because when horses turn their ears back to listen, they swivel on a downward diagonal. But they don't go flat. So that's the short explanation about horse ears. I wish humans had horse ears. Or dog, cat, rabbit, etc., ears ... so much cuter. Plus, you have to admit, human ears aren't exactly expressive by comparison.

Farrier Humor

Farriers have a tough job. We admire a good farrier's skill, knowledge and physical stamina. We've had a horse or two come to us without "polite" manners, ahem, and heard some wild/awful tales and funny stories from farriers. In honor of all the crazy stuff they deal with, we thought we'd pass along a couple of links to some farrier humor even non-farriers might find amusing.

Things Farriers Love to Hear by Tom Stovall, CJF includes these:
"He doesn't bite, he only nibbles ... ."
"You won't have any trouble catching them."
"He never did that before ... ."
"Its the bank's fault, run it back through."

You can picture the big whelp on the farrier's back from horse teeth, see horses gleefully galloping to the back of a 100 acre pasture with no one to help gather them, or imagine the Olympian gymnastics a horse can perform once they've decided that shoe is NOT going on! And to be sure, the bad check will be for a multiple-horse job, done in the mud, way out in Timbuktu, where all three of the former also occurred.

You're a Farrier If ... by Henry Heymering, CJF, RJF, and Jack Millman, CJF
This was published in 1995, but no doubt all are still true today ... plus some! Examples:

• You have more photos of horses' feet than all your other photos including vacations, pets and relatives combined.
• While working, you notice blood - both you and the customer are relieved to find it's just yours and not the horse's.
• You think that it is normal to come home to messages on your answering machine from strange women who say they need you right away.
• You're not a stripper, but the people who hire you spend more time looking at your buns than your face.

Because we have one horse who likes to see a farrier more often than the standard six-week interval (often unscheduled on a day he is to be the main attraction at an important event), we have a profound gratitude and deep appreciation for the remarkable kindness and generosity the farriers we know have shown us and our horses. One related to us that a client told him he was in her will. Said he didn't quite know what to make of that. Well, we understand. If we had riches to will to somebody, we would, too! Hats off to all the great farriers out there who know and love horses, and have to put up with horse owners.