How to Say Hello to a Horse

Horses are surprisingly ritualized in their body language. They, in fact, have a formal way to greet each other, and they adjust their greetings depending upon who is greeting who, much like we do.

When a person approaches another person, we take in a lot of information about each other before we even shake hands, (or bow as the custom may be.) Horses, too, take in a good deal of information about the way another horse is coming at them. For instance, if one horse is high-headed, the other will have to adjust, either meeting them at that level of intensity or lowering their posture to indicate, "Hey buddy, can we take it down a notch?"

When we are simply walking up to a horse, our posture, confidence, tension or relaxation are all projected by our unconscious body language - and the horse is reading it all.

Saying "Hello" to a horse is as important to them as it is to us! If you want to say Hello, you simply extend your knuckles towards their muzzle.(* I always recommend the first encounter to be over a stall door or even a fence for safety if you do not know the horse.) This can be done up close, or even at a distance. At a distance, the horse who is greeting you will flare their nostrils, and take a good whiff in your direction while looking at you. This would be similar to a long-distance wave we may use towards someone far away.

After you gently touch your knuckles to a horse's muzzle, you stop touching, and step aside a little bit - just like you do after greeting a person! Standing too close to someone after you have shaken hands with them feels like a space invasion, and it does with horses, too.

What will a horse get out of your Hello?

Horses value being greeted and having the chance to be introduced as much as we do. It would be weird to meet a new person, and just start a conversation or start working together without even having an introduction.

Horses who notice you payed attention to your approach, (not too fast, not too fearful, etc) and who got to "fist-bump" a greeting with you will be more engaged with you after that.

There are many more layers to what happens next in a process of getting to know each other; but if you have at least started with a polite, "Hello," you will be on your way!