Horse behaviour and temperament
Horses are sociable prey animals, and almost everything they do is a way of telling us how they feel. Learn to read the signs, understand what horses need, and see why they are never simply being naughty.
Read the horse
What to look for
Relaxed
A relaxed or dozing horse feels safe. It may be resting or asleep, and could be lying down.
- Head and neck lowered
- Ears relaxed
- Eyes soft or closed, lower lip drooping
- Resting one hind leg
What every horse needs
Friends
Horses are herd animals. Turnout in a group is ideal; at the very least a horse should always be able to see other horses, and ideally touch and groom them.
How horses live: herd life and natural behaviourForage
Horses evolved to graze and browse for most of the day. Plenty of forage keeps the gut healthy and fills the long hours they need to spend chewing.
How horses live: herd life and natural behaviourFreedom
Freedom to move, ideally in a herd on varied ground, and freedom of choice: what to eat, where to be and who to spend time with.
How horses live: herd life and natural behaviour
Guides
Body languageReading your horse: body language and communicationEars, eyes, muzzle, tail and stance tell you how a horse feels, often long before it does anything dramatic. Here's how to read a relaxed, alert, annoyed or uncomfortable horse, and the subtle signs that can mean pain.Herd lifeHow horses live: herd life and natural behaviourHorses are sociable prey animals built to graze and roam with friends for most of the day. Understanding how they evolved to live explains much of what they do, and what they need from us.StressStress and stereotypic behaviourWhat stress does to a horse, the common causes, why some horses weave, crib-bite or box-walk, and why the answer is to change the horse's life rather than block the behaviour.Learning and temperamentHow horses learn: training and temperamentHorses learn all the time, not just in training sessions. How learning works, why fear stops it, which training methods help, and how to build a calm, confident horse.
By the numbers
- 16–18 hoursa day that horses may spend grazing and browsingHow horses live: herd life and natural behaviour
- 10–20 kmcovered in a day by horses free to roamHow horses live: herd life and natural behaviour
- 2 weeksat least, for a new horse to settle into a herd; a new group can take months to stabiliseHow horses live: herd life and natural behaviour
- 6–12 monthsfor a horse to settle fully into a new homeHow horses live: herd life and natural behaviour
- 9 monthsthe age by which many stereotypic behaviours are already establishedStress and stereotypic behaviour
- 24ridden behaviours found to be much more common in horses in painReading your horse: body language and communication
Sources
- About the Horse Introduction award: coach guidance — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Horse Knowledge Part Two checklist guidance — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Equine stress — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Stereotypical behaviours — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Enrichment — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Lameness: signs, assessment and diagnosis — The British Horse Society (accessed 8 October 2026)
- The 3Fs: friends, forage and freedom — World Horse Welfare (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Introducing a new horse to a herd — World Horse Welfare (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Separation anxiety: training your horse to be on their own — World Horse Welfare (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Tacking up and ridden behaviours — World Horse Welfare (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Equine behaviour — Bransby Horses (accessed 8 October 2026)