The calming signals used to make another horse feel at ease..

Like I said in the previous post, there are two kinds of calming signals; one that is used when someone feels agitated, and one to reassure that they are safe to be around.

The one they use for reassuring is seen in different circumstances than the other; this is not when they feel threatened themselves, it's when they know that the other one is insecure and wants to reassure them. This signal I got aware of when I watched my stallion interact with his new foal, and fortunately I have it on film so I can show you :)

What I want you to pay attention to is that he tries not to move. The mare is very clear about what she wants; for him to go away, but Fabuloso, the father of the foal, doesn't want to. He is just dying to meet the little guy :)

The mare is saying "move away!", but she doesn't take it further because of his signals of being no threat. They are, as you can see, immobility as well as having his backside to them. Also he keeps his ears kind of sideways (like as he was sleeping) and his neck is also in a "sleepy position". Pretending to sleep seems to be the most important part of this signal (if you sleep you aren't much of a threat).

Notice that the mare reacts every time he moves a little, but backs off when he goes back to the sleeping posture. If she really wanted him to go away she could easily move him, he listens to her very much, but since he is behaving very well she reluctantly allows him to stay there.

It's fascinating to see her communication with her "husband" and her baby, but for now I want to focus on the signals from the stallion.

The foal is very curious about daddy, and the whole thing gets interrupted when he tries to open the gate like he had seen us do (I was impressed that he had noticed that!) and there is electricity in the fence so he gets scared of course (it's mild and the whole purpose IS for them to be afraid of touching the fence - you might disagree with using that, but it's common here in Scandinavia and really is another and separate topic).

I hope that you see the clip twice. The first time just to get the impression, and the second time with a look at my comments to the time codes underneath the clip...

Some details with time codes:

0:00 : The mare (Lebrera) and the foal (Bravo) hasn't been this close to him before, but the stallion was there and the mare went up to get some of the good grass at that end of the yard. When he approaches the foal the mare tells him to go away… she wants to be there, but needs some space.

0:10 : he got the message, but is a bit confused that she doesn't take it further, but instead she turns to eat. Check out his ears! he looks bewildered :) She repeats the message, and he is still looking confused (do I HAVE to move, or what?) so when she turns again he replies with a calming signal to her.. :

0:33: Fabuloso is using the other calming signal (I am not wanting a conflict with you) towards the mare; notice at 0:33 that he pretends to eat from the bucket. Watch closely and you can see how he isn't really thinking about the bucket at all, he is pretending to… and that works, she lets him stay there.

0:50: the foal shows interest, and Fabuloso can't help himself, he raises his head. He is about to go into the other calming signal (sleepy) but is interrupted by the mare that'a telling him to back off. The reason she turns around every time is to steer the foal away from the stallion, the poor mare has her hands full! Fabuloso goes back to pretending to care about the bucket and even starts nibbling at the grass next to it, all the while paying close attention to the mare and foal.

1:11: Fabuloso changes his signal from the "no conflict signal" to the mare over to "I am no threat" to the foal. Watch his ear! Soon after we can see why; the mare is busy eating, but the foals attention is fully on daddy. At this point, watch how the stallion is trying not to move at all.

1:40: The mare is aware of the situation and talking to both of them. A soft warning to the stallion and telling the foal to stay put.

1:47: The mare backs off for a reason I don't know, probably because dad is showing such good behavior, but baby Bravo can't help himself, he has to check it out! See how dad stands still (but is totally revealed by his ear;) )

1:57: Fabuloso is dying to get a closer look and moves a little. That is NOT OK with the mare, and she tells him so and takes her baby away from him.

2:16: They both listened to her, but now the baby can't resist any longer, mom tells him no, and he looks like he understands. Dad goes back into the calming signal to the mare (2:25) and then quickly goes back to talking to the baby with "I am not a threat" with the sleepy look.

2:49: the foal approaches again, and since dad is behaving well, Lebrera is not doing anything about the situation (but watch her ears; she is SO paying attention). The foal is now going for the gate and seems to try to open it (I found that amazing, he is only 4 days old, and already noticed that we can open the fence!) and, well that'a the end of that interaction at that point

The next clip I want to share with you is when dad is allowed to interact with the foal without mom present for the first time. That is, if you find this interesting? Those signals are not the same ones they use with us when they want to avoid a conflict with us, however it is very useful to know about these signals, too. We use them when getting foals to trust us, and they are very effective.

I am afraid that I am getting carried away here with all the details, this is a topic that I find so fascinating and interesting, but it might be overkill for you? If not I have other clips I find relevant that I would like for us to talk about in addition to these :)

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 24, 2010 at 4:38am

In this clip the stallion Fabuloso is meeting his foal for the first time without the mare Lebrera interfering. Fabuloso is again showing the calming signals that are used to make another feel at ease (the "sleepy" signals) and the foal is getting braver by the second.

Besides the stallions way of trying not to move, although he sometimes can't help himself, an important aspect is that the foal comes up behind the stallions. The rear is the horses least aggressive side. Humans often looks at this the other way; often we interpret the horse turning around so that it's tail is facing us as an aggressive act, or at least a disrespectful act, but between horses it is the opposite.

If a horse at the same time is waving it's tail or lifting a leg, it is a threat involved, but it's an act of defensiveness - meaning the horse is showing that it is ready to defend itself and that is really just another sign of it's insecurity - and not an act of aggression.

When the stallion turns around and tries to check the foal out, the foal immediately reacts with the same calming signals, it would seem that these signals are instinctual since the baby is only ten days old, but that is a guess; the foal has already observed these signals several times, and foals are fast learners. In any case, when the stallion checks him out he turns his backside to him and stands very still except for the typical foal chewing that they do. When daddy turns his head around again, the foal feels safer and continues to check him out.

The whole session lasted about 20 minutes and after that the two were inseparable! The foal followed daddy everywhere, and had no problems if we wanted to do something with mom, however taking dad away caused a panic.

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 24, 2010 at 4:50am

This clip is not about the signals, but relevant because of their effect:)
The film was taken the day after the previous clip when the stallion greets his foal for the first time. Like I said in the previous posting, father and son were very close after their first meeting, and this clip shows it. The foal is reacting a bit to the camera being present. It's clear that he now considers dad to be a source of safety and comfort, if you pay close attention you can see the mare on the other side of the field, completely at ease with dad as the babysitter.

My point with these clips is that getting a horses trust can really be simple sometimes, these signals works for us, too. Espesially with foals. If we let them check us out first and don't try to touch or interact with them before they are confident around us, they build trust pretty quickly. I think I have a clip with my husband approaching this foal in that way, I will see if I can find it. But first, daddy's boy:)

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 24, 2010 at 4:56am

I just watched the clip, and realised that you can see my husband greeting the foal right here:) The mare comes into the scene because she want's Gunnars (husband) attention, and he goes away to protect the camera that she is getting a little close to.

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 24, 2010 at 5:21am

This is the clip that shows the first touching of the foal. Actually that is not completely true;)
When the foal is born we have to touch them to clean the umbilical cord, and in the first few hours the foals are usually quite contact seeking. Then they normally get into a shy phase that lasts from a couple of days to a week, before they approach us again. We let it happen when it happens.

With this foal we let the mare out with the stallion when the foal was 8 days old because the mare got in heat and wanted to be with the stallion. We keep the mare and foal separated from the other horses the first week, or as long as she shows she wants a distance from them (like she did in the first clip I show in this thread).

This foal had been in contact with us in the garden, but we didn't get enough time to get him totally comfortable with us before we let them out. After they were let out we left them alone for a few days, they were very busy;)
During that time the foal got shy again, so this is the second bonding (for lack of a better word).

With later foals we have tried a different schedule to see how that affects the horses (my horses job is to teach me about horses, so we are always trying out theories to figure out what works best for both horses and humans).

What we found is that by NOT letting the mare out in the first heat, that is around a weeks time after birth, but waiting around two weeks, we get the foal more comfortable with us, and the meeting with the stallion is easier for them all because the mare isn't in full heat. She gets in heat soon anyway, and this takes out a lot of stress on the mare and foals part.

I am getting off the subject of body language here, but I think that studying their interaction is an important part of it, besides, most horse-people loves to see foals?

I will post a clip of the mare Lebrera and foal Bravo when they were let out with the stallion after 8 days when the mare was in heat, and then the clip of the same mare with another foal when we waited for 16 days.

But first, Gunnar gets to scratch the foal for the first time in the field

Remember that I said that the horses feels safer from behind? Notice how the foal goes around in order to greet Gunnar from the side instead of straight from the front.

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 24, 2010 at 5:44am

Some more comments about the last clip
Gunnar is making the mistake of looking straight at the foal, and that makes him stop. Then Gunnar moves away, and the foal approaches again, but Gunnar is still looking at him too directly. It would also be better if he didn't take out a hand, but just be absolutely still. (like I said, our horses are our teachers, and we are filming these things to analyse them afterwards. Watching this clip and comparing it with what Fabuloso, the stallion did, made us realise that looking away would be better. That seems to be more important than bending down low)

Another thing we discovered after this clip was taken (about five years ago) was that when Gunnar touches the foal he starts on the rear. The foal stands perfectly still then, and we thought it meant it was OK with that. Then we discovered that it really has the opposite effect, the foal gets insecure when it's touched there and kind of freezes up. You can see the same effect when the stallion turns his head and smells the foal, the foal reacts by standing still and chews the way foals do when they are insecure about someone.

It is actually a way to get a foal to stop! By putting a hand on the rear they tend to stand very still, something that can be useful, but it's important to be aware that it doesn't mean they are comfortable about it.

When Gunnar touches the withers on the other hand, the foal enjoys it, and that is when the trust is built up. It seems to have a great impact on foals when you scratch them, much more than in older horses although a lot of them enjoy it, too. After they have gotten onto the scratches they enjoy it on the rear, too (easy to see in the clip)

Permalink Reply by Cyndi on September 29, 2010 at 8:56pm

I find these clips interesting, and have been watching Fanny at the new barn. She is in a field with a gelding, a young mare, and and older mare with her foal from this spring.

When Fanny was introduced to the herd, the mares were quick to charge her and kick and bite at her. Surprisingly, Fanny stood up for herself and kicked back, which she certainly didn't do when I first got her two years ago. Despite all the hullaballoo (the barn owner was surprised at how well things went - he was expecting a lot more squealing, kicking and biting), you could see that the little foal (a filly) was very curious about investigating Fanny. I probably wouldn't have given it as much thought if I hadn't watched these videos beforehand.

Once the mares did their thing, they backed off. Fanny didn't hang her head really low, but she lowered it and walked away. The gelding (a gorgeous 16.1h Friesian) was curious and followed Fanny around, gently sniffing her, but never aggressive. The little filly hung back, close to her momma, and wouldn't come near me.

Today when I went to see Fanny out in the field, the "adult" horses kept their distance (thirty feet or less) and grazed, but the little filly was very close to Fanny (even though her mother was not far away), and even though this was only the second time I'd been in the field with this filly, she came over and let me scratch her neck and her ears. She didn't seem at all concerned with Fanny or me. I was thrilled that she let me touch her. She and Fanny touched noses, then Fanny went back to grazing.

Fanny is still hanging around the outskirts of the herd, but she seems to be settling in, and was watching for them when I had her away from them earlier. When I arrived at the barn and opened the gate, Fanny actually whinnied at me and came trotting over! And after doing some groundwork with her, then putting her back in the field while I cleaned her stall, she came straight to me when I went to the field to say goodbye to her.

I am SO relaxed at this barn. I know that Fanny can sense it. I am really enjoying myself so far :o) I feel positive and am looking forward to learning from her.

Permalink Reply by Shirley on September 29, 2010 at 11:14pm

Cyndi, How wonderful! Enjoy and cherish the good energy you are experiencing and probably sending out also. It's really a blessing to be happy and contented at your barn.
Just happy for you!
Shirley

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on September 30, 2010 at 6:59am

How great to read this :) It sounds like a good herd setup, and a great place for the foal to grow up. I don't know how fast you let her out with the herd, but it sounded like it was a little too soon. When I interduce a horse in a new herd I keep them in a pasture next to the herd for some days before letting them out together, to lessen the risk of stress and unjuries.

Your Fanny is doing that on her own now, by keeping her distance. In time she will make friends with them I think. The fact that the mare allows her foal to come up to her is a very good sign of trust, and that Fanny said hello and then went back to grazing shows good social skills on her part. The mares attacking her when she came in is in big part due to them protecting the foal I think, and since she moved away the way she did, they now don't consider her a threat.
To become a member of the family takes a little longer, though :)

Right now she is probably feeling a little lonely, so it's good if you spend some extra time with her. Good bonding opportunity :) I wouldn't take her away from the herd too much just yet, though, she needs to be with them most of the time for them to accept that she is there to stay.
Can you train her nearby so that she still can see and be seen by the other horses?
Also, don't be too demanding now, she mainly needs comfort and acceptance (a friend). I think it's very important that you like the place, too; that is something she will pick up from you for sure.

Keep watching them closely for a while, and see if you can notice their signals to each other. It sounds like your mare is a social girl and can be a great teacher :) If you can film them together it would be fun to see them!

Permalink Reply by Cyndi on September 30, 2010 at 11:40am

Yes, I think Fanny was probably introduced to the herd too early, but there isn't a separate area for her to be that was next to the herd. If she was in the courtyard, she was next to a young stallion, but getting to know him wouldn't have mattered much because she wouldn't be put in with him anyway. I suppose when she was in the barn one of the herd members could've been brought in and stalled next to her, but they still wouldn't have had a chance to meet face to face in the barn either - the walls are almost up the ceiling.

Fanny is usually pretty good at finding her place in the herd. She is persistent, only backing off far enough to be out of reach of teeth or hooves, and before you know it is hovering nearby again. There have been horses that have gotten really attached to her. She is a friendly girl. I can remember shortly after I got her, a new mare was brought in for boarding. Fanny was still low man on the totem pole, and when the other horses chased the new mare away, Fanny went over to her and welcomed her. She followed Fanny everywhere after that :o)

I will definitely spend more time hanging out with Fanny and not take her away from the herd. I had second thoughts about that yesterday when I had her out, so I didn't do much with her before putting her back in the field. I love hanging out with the herd :o) I will film them as soon as I am able to.

Permalink Reply by Cyndi on October 2, 2010 at 9:36pm

The battery in the video camera was dead, so I took the regular camera with me to the barn yesterday, because I wanted some photos anyway.

This pic was taken before any of the horses realized I was there. Can you tell which horse is mine (without cheating and looking at my avatar)?