Look at That Face!

A horse named Icaro is the boss of the barnyard on the farm where he lives in East Sussex, England. To tell his fellow horses he’s in charge, Icaro pins his ears back and narrows his eyes. Icaro’s owner, Nicola Cramond, calls this his “snarky face.”

Cramond has raised horses for more than 20 years. She says she’s often seen them communicate with their faces this way. “Horses are expressive,” she says. 

New research supports her observation. Scientists at the University of Sussex recently studied 86 horses, including Icaro. They found that horses can use the muscles in their face to make 17 different expressions. That was more than anyone expected, says Jennifer Wathan. She’s a psychologist at the University of Sussex who led the study.

“For a long time, we thought humans were special in the way we use facial expressions,” says Wathan. “There was a perception that animals didn’t use their faces that much.” Now that idea is changing. And what scientists are learning could help people understand animals’ emotional lives. 

A horse named Icaro is the boss of the barnyard. He lives on a farm in East Sussex, England. Icaro tells his fellow horses he’s in charge. How? He pins his ears back and narrows his eyes. Nicola Cramond is Icaro’s owner. She calls this his “snarky face.”

Cramond has raised horses for more than 20 years. She says she’s often seen them use their faces this way. “Horses are expressive,” she says. 

A new study backs this idea. Scientists at the University of Sussex recently studied 86 horses. One of them was Icaro. They found that horses can make 17 different faces. That was more than anyone expected, says Jennifer Wathan. She’s a scientist at the University of Sussex. She led the study.

“For a long time, we thought humans were special in the way we use facial expressions,” says Wathan. “There was a perception that animals didn’t use their faces that much.” Now scientists are changing that idea. Their work could help people understand how animals are feeling. 

Over the past 50 years, scientists have classified the facial expressions of dogs, cats, chimps, and other animals. Wathan wanted to do the same for horses. 

To start, she and her team studied the anatomy of one horse’s face (see Making Faces). They noted where each muscle connected to the skin. That helped them determine how the horse’s face moves when the muscle contracts.

Scientists have learned the expressions of many animals over the past 50 years. That includes dogs, cats, and chimps. Wathan wanted to do the same for horses. 

She and her team first studied the anatomy of one horse’s face (see Making Faces). They noted where each muscle attached to the skin. That helped them learn how the muscles moved the horse’s face.

Next, Wathan and her team recorded videos of horses in different situations. They watched horses play at local farms and stables. They even visited horses that were being treated by veterinarians. That way they could record facial expressions that might reflect stress or pain. “We tried to capture all the facial movements horses could make,” says Wathan.

Then the team carefully watched all 15 hours of footage. They noted every distinct muscle movement they observed. The scientists assigned each expression a code to identify which muscles were involved.

The scientists confirmed that horses can make 17 distinct facial movements. Not only that, but 10 of their expressions match those of people! “The number
of similarities between horses and humans was surprising,” says Wathan.

Wathan and her team recorded videos of horses next. They watched horses play at local farms and stables. They even visited horses being treated by vets. That way they could record expressions that might reflect stress or pain. “We tried to capture all the facial movements horses could make,” says Wathan.

Then the team watched all 15 hours of video. They noted every muscle movement they saw. The scientists gave each expression a code. They marked which muscles were used.

The scientists found that horses can make 17 distinct face movements. Not only that, but 10 of their expressions match those of people! “The number
of similarities between horses and humans was surprising,” says Wathan.

Animals can’t tell people how they’re feeling with words. But studying their facial expressions can help people understand animals’ emotions. Veterinarians, trainers, and other people who work with animals can use that information to do their jobs better.  

Animals can’t tell people how they’re feeling with words. But studying their expressions can help. It can give people a better grasp on the emotions of animals. That could help vets, trainers, and other people who work with animals. They can use the information to do their jobs better.