Unfortunately, as people, we can't sit and chat with our horses about what they like, dislike, or why they do what they do. We watch, we speculate, and often we wonder why a horse acts the way he does. We may be unable to have conversations with our horses, but if we pay attention and know what to look for, we can tap into how their minds work and learn more about their personalities.

Our domesticated horses may make a fair amount of noise, but in the wild, horses rarely communicate through whinnying or other sounds, for fear of attracting predators. Most of horse communication can be read in their body language, if you know how to interpret it.

Start with the ears. Equine ears have 180 degrees of rotation, and where a horse is holding them can tell you a lot about how he's feeling

• Ears back can mean a variety of things, depending on how dramatically they are held back. Ears that are "pinned" back, or back so far they are touching or nearly touching the neck, indicate anger or annoyance. When indicating anger, the horse will also have his eyes wide open, nostrils flaring, and may be swishing his tale. Ears that are just pointed back, or one ear pointed back and the other in another direction, usually show a horse that is alert to what is going on behind him.
• A horse with his is ears "pricked" forward is alert and aware of what is going on around him. His eyes are most likely open and bright.
• Ears that are relaxed in most any direction indicate a horse that isn't too preoccupied with anything at the moment.
  

Next, look at the eyes. Are they bright? Dull? Are they wide open, or half-closed? Just as in people, horses' eyes can say a lot about what they're feeling.

• Bright, open eyes indicate an alert horse. His ears will probably be pricked forward.
• Dull and/or partially closed eyes may indicate a horse that is depressed, in pain, or simply tired. Read these eyes in the context of the rest of his body language to determine which.
• In most horses, showing the whites of the eyes indicates either anger or fear. It is important to note, however, that some horses - such as appaloosas and paints - will always have visible sclera. Be careful not to misinterpret that, and look to other body language to determine the moods of those horses.
  

The nostrils are next, although there aren't too many different options here.

• Relaxed nostrils indicate nothing in particular, and you should look at the rest of the horse's body to read his mood.
• Flared nostrils indicate either anger or fright. A horse that has his nostrils flared and snorts has likely just been spooked by something scary. Flared nostrils are usually paired with wide-open eyes, which may or may not be showing their whites.

Then there's the tail. However, you should never look at the tail alone to determine mood, because the tail has a lot of different uses.

• A swishing tail can indicate anger or annoyance, but it could also just mean your horse has a fly on him, especially in the summer.
  
• A lifted tail when when in motion indicates a horse in high spirits. This is a trait that is particularly visible in Arabians, but is displayed by other breeds, as well. A horse lifting it's tail at the stand-still is either alert, or about to poop.

Finally, look at your horse's body overall. You can usually see from a general overview how your horse is feeling, whether he is tense or stressed out, relaxed or happy, sad or tired. Once you spend more time paying attention to horse's body language, you should be able to figure out how a horse is feeling without putting too much thought into it.

When I heard of the idea that one could tell a horse's personality by their facial features, I was a little skeptical at first. But when I ran across Getting in TTouch by Linda Tellington-Jones, I was immediately fascinated. I bought the book and read about the process she went through to do this research, surveying tons of horse owners and asking them about their horses' personalities and physical features, and in the end finding an overwhelming correlation between individual traits and personality features. I used her guide to assess the personalities of horses I know well and of friends' horses, and time and time again, I was amazed at how accurate this method of physical personality assessment was.

Among the physical characteristics Tellington-Jones looks at are:

• Jowl size
• Facial profile
• Muzzle shape
• Whorls on the horse's face
• Shapes and sizes of the eyes, ears, nostrils, and chin

This system successfully figured out the personality traits of my horse, Quinn.

• Clever, intelligent, and curious
  
• Stable and uncomplicated by nature
• Dependable
• Cooperative and willing
• Sensitive

This is one of those books that has really helped shape me as a horseperson. I highly recommend it to any horse owner, especially one who wants to learn how to get closer to his or her horses.

Through body language and personality analysis, one can really heighten one's understanding of equine nature and behavior. If this article has helped you or if you have any suggestions to make, I would greatly appreciate if you left me a comment.