Love Between Hoofed Friends

Love can strike out or back, but is this necessary a bad thing?

I've had the wonderful opportunity to grow up with horses and one thing I've surely learned is how affectionate these beautiful hoofed creatures can be.

Playful, passionate, tricky, and sometimes even mischievous, a kick back, can translate from 'hey lets play', to 'watch out, I'm not that into you'.

It's interesting really, when one sits back and watches the interactions between horses. Very similar to how we, humans, can be, horses share a sense of closeness or togetherness, being heard or group animals. They share communication, cooperation, and need of each other.

Go out, throw on some cowboy boots, and giddy up!

If you get a chance to see them interact in a large paddock or field, or even better, in the wild; it's not rare to see the affectionate exchanges that occur between these beautiful hoofed creatures. Horses are incredible animals, full of character, charm, and highly tuned emotional awareness. It's not rare to see them groom each other, exchange a friendly scratch on the back or neck, or even share a close nuzzle, sharing their breath (done by putting their noses together). All are extremely intimate and affectionate exchanges, and so its with no question, man has found himself fascinated and compelled to share life with these friendly-beauties'.

Horses are charismatic animals and use not only their physical actions but also verbal (nickering) signals to show their emotions. Understanding how horses show affection for one another can also offer insight into how they show affection towards us, their human friends. Finding a greater sense of understanding their horse to horse communication and interaction can help us understand how to better communicate, train, and interact with these beautiful creatures. It can also help us develop a better understanding of how to co-existence and appreciate other living things, both big and small, as well.

The photo is from the 'Deviant Art' website below, please visit to see more great photographs.