While a dog might be a man’s best friend, horses are certainly up there when it comes to playful animals. Let’s take a look at why horses are social animals.

Herd animals

Horses are herd animals, ones that prefer living in herds and traveling together. When not among other horses, they share similar feelings when around humans. If you lead a horse somewhere, it will follow diligently. If you try to keep a horse in one place, it will naturally follow you in interest. Even if we can’t communicate with horses, it’s evident that they are social animals due to how much they enjoy company.

Horses enjoy activity

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Horses enjoy daily activities and exercise. If farmers leave their horses unattended in the barn, they will become restless and dying to go outside. When the gates are opened, they will enthusiastically gallop to the pasture and stay there for hours on end. This shows that horses are naturally social; they dislike being confined to one place.

 Horse vocalizations

Have you ever heard a group of horses in their natural habitat? They are constantly nickering and squealing and making an assortment of noises that are beyond us. Horse vocalizations are prominent in every herd of horses. 

Scientists have conducted extensive research as to why they make so much noise. All conclusions point to one thing: horses are extremely social at their core. Without making all these vocalizations, they become distanced from one another. Additionally, the morale of the herd drops.

Grazing patterns

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Just as you and I love to fetch food from the refrigerator all day, horses are known to graze on prairie grasses from dawn to dusk. The sheer amount of food they consume is impressive. 

As we all know, eating is a highly social activity; it allows individuals to talk to one another and enjoy the company of others. As horses are enjoying meals out in the field, they are forming bonds with other members of the herd. When farmers feed their horses, the animals enjoy the presence of humans just as much. 

Fight or flight

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It’s well known that horses are wired to have an innate fight or flight response to danger. When they are under threat, horses will do anything and everything in their power to respond to save their lives. However, this means that horses become increasingly social and friendly when they aren’t faced with dangers.

When horses are isolated from one another or humans, they become restless and agitated. Give them time to socialize, and the end result is a bunch of happy, jolly horses. Overall, horses are highly social animals that could become your best friends at a moment’s notice.