The Art of Natural Dressage

Dafner tends to have her ears pinned flat to her head. Not completely down, but still quite clearly so. This was much worse when I just got her, she used to have them down pretty much all the time, now we've gotten to about half the time

But I haven't been able to figure out what it means. She will do it when I make a sudden movement, when I enter her stable at times, when I ask her for a trot, when she reigns (although she comes down with her ears pointed forward towards me again), when she walks beside me..so it does not appear to be pain related.

Nor do I think it's protesting - she does everything I ask of her, stays with me, comes to me..I don't think she'd do that if she hated doing it so much, right?

But I would like it to change, if only for the sake of pictures if nothing else. :P

Will this just take more time? Do some horses just naturally have that behaviour, and could I just make it a cue to have her ears forward (:P)? Or can it be a sign that something is going on? (although I have no idea what that something could be)

Morgan does this too from time to time. He is very sweet with me but will pin ears, snake his neck, advance and then kick towards other horses in his space. The first warning I get is the flattened ears, just back a tiny bit to tell me I am either too close (this changes from day to day depending on his mood), I am asking something he doesn't really want to do, but he will do it anyway for the treat!, or he is feeling threatened /pressured in some way.
I do think in some horses they just flatten ears more than others and it could be a defensive thing she has learnt along the way and it's become a habit rather than really meaning anything. It will have to be you that does the study on when and how she pins her ears and whether she is truly teling you something or just moving them because she is not aware she is doing it!!!
I read here in someones diary about how they clicked/treated for forward ears and improved this behaviour that way....maybe you could try that.
If the rest of the body language is soft when she is doing this then she may just be listening to something or not aware she is doing it. Sometimes horses will pin their ears when rearing or doing difficult movements when they have to focus really hard. Look for other parts of the body and see what they are doing and if there is any defensive/aggressive behaviour going on at the same time. If she is doing it with the treats it may just be something she does around food that keeps the other horses away!!!!!
Anyway, let us know what you figure out.

_________________
Annette O'Sullivan

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. - John Lennon

Hi Dani, here is a topic about facial expression that might be of interest for you. Enjoy!

Hehe

Thanks so much for the link Romy, that seems to clear it all up!

Dafner is definitely not mean or angry; she is quite dominant with other horses and will semi-attack them but then her overall expression is different.

I was quite happy to read in that topic about someone having their horse pin their ears when free lunging - I believed Dafner hated that exercise, but perhaps not so. After all, she does it willingly enough.

I suppose then it is a mixture of old habit/fear, but also concentration or indeed even a 'play face'. Rewarding for ears forward then may be a good thing. It will make her more conscience of her ears, and I will know it when she is really not happy/angry, instead of always having to wonder what her problem is :P

I can show a picture of her ears while working soon btw, when my friend sends me the pictures she took yesterday.