HORSES MAKE FACES

We already know how to read the body language of horses — the movement of its ears, head, legs and tail reveal if the horse is relaxed, anxious, angry or alert. But it turns out horses are capable of making faces just like humans. Researchers at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom have determined that horses can make 17 facial movements — which is at least three more than chimpanzees, and just 10 less than humans. By dissecting a horse’s head and identifying its facial musculature, in addition to watching 15 hours of horse behavior in 86 horses ranging in breed and age, they were able to log any possible faces that the animals can make. They found specific “evolutionary parallels” in the way different species use the face to communicate. Some of the facial movements and what they mean:
– Lip corner pull – This particular movement is what makes up a human smile, and in horses the report found it was displayed as part of a submissive gesture.
– Upper eyelid raiser and eye white increase – this was usually associated with fear.
– Raised inner brows, which raises the inner corner of the eye. This particular expression is usually made when the horse is in a negative emotional situation.
* Maybe they can make more faces, but they only make them behind our backs.
* When a horse rolls it’s eyes up, that means someone just made the “Why the long face?” joke again.
* Was that one horse able to communicate “Don’t dissect my head!”? Apparently not.
* They could have used Gary Busey as a control in the study. (or Sarah Jessica Parker)
* So are the researchers done horsing around?
* What’s the horse’s expression after they cut a big one? Joy? Serenity? Self-loathing?