Do Horses Kiss?

One of my favorite horse scenes involves two horses, either facing each other or side by side, faces lowered, heads aligned, ears forward, eyes open and gazing at each other. In my fanciful imaginings I see the shape of a heart in their lowered heads tapering down to noses touching in a sweet tete-a-tete. The rose colored glasses through which I view

such tender moments are inevitably ripped from my eyes as, with a squeal, violence erupts, and the pair jump apart, simultaneously striking out or kicking at one another.

The sad and wonderful truth that I have been forced to accept is that horses, no matter how well trained, remain horses. We humans place our heads together to share secrets, or to enjoy a moment of warm camaraderie, even intimacy. Horses, from what I have seen, act with very different motivations. Perhaps they are finding something out about each other. Perhaps they are testing each other's mettle. Perhaps touching noses is a prelude to or part of a quest for dominance.

So, you might wonder why it matters that such similar body language speaks so differently to humans and horses. As a novice around horses I interacted with them in just the same way that I might interact with a friend. Looking back I can remember many actions that might have been construed as either overly aggressive or overly submissive to a horse. I would walk directly up to them, look them in the eye, wave my arms, reach out suddenly to touch their faces. On the other hand, I would hug constantly, hand them treats right out of my hand, and, to avoid having my toes stepped on, I would step back whenever one of them casually stepped over toward me. What a bunch of mixed messages!

Until just several years ago, I did something with the youngsters that, in retrospect, sends a chill down my spine. While petting their necks and heads, and giving them a good "loving up", I would place my face right against their soft muzzles and place a kiss on that velvety softness.

One day, Wally, a then 2 year-old gelding responded in kind. As I placed a kiss on his muzzle, he opened his jaws and placed his teeth on my cheek and jawbone. In that telling moment I realized the error of treating him like a human. Wally is a horse. I had just placed my well-being literally in his jaws. My face could very easily have been rearranged - or worse.

As it was, he held my face gently in his jaws for several very enlightening, terror-filled seconds, and then simply re-opened his jaws and dropped his head for more pets. As I stood there wondering whether I would be needing reconstructive plastic surgery I decided not to kiss horses on their muzzles any more. My lips have not contacted a muzzle since.

I believe that horses do interact in ways that express camaraderie, but muzzle-to-muzzle touching is not one of them. Tess and Orion often graze side by side. Ollie and Buddy tear around the meadows together, bucking and switching leads. After they have stopped I might see Ollie with his nose resting over Buddie's back, or vice versa. Spot and Jake can also be found together. If Spot is left back at the barn, while Jake heads out for a ride, Spot neighs and calls until our return. And the list goes on. I believe that each of these interactions expresses bonds among the horses of our herd. On the other hand, I never see a horse take a fallen apple into its jaws, and walk it selflessly over to its buddy. That never happens.