Horses are prey animals and are the most perceptive of all domestic animals.  They have an amazing ability to perceive not only danger, but the tone of voice and emotions of humans. Horses are able to detect danger by their keen sense of hearing and panoramic vision. Horses can hear at a very high frequency, and are able to single out a specific area to listen to. Their sense of touch is also extremely sensitive, and their entire body is as sensitive as our fingertips. Horses communicate how they are feeling by their facial expressions and eyes, their tail, their legs, and the position of their ears.

Horses posses many mirror neurons, a specific class of brain cells. This means they are able to recognize and empathize with emotion in other living things.  Mirror neurons are present in humans too. Studies show that horses can interpret a human’s face with their emotional state. They can also pick up on our breathing, our heart rate, our stress level, and overall mood. We create an energy that the horse can pick up on (think of the paddles used to conduct electricity when we have a heart attack). They are very good at picking up on our interior state if it is different than our exterior state (i.e. Are you saying that you are relaxed, but actually you’re terrified of this huge beast in front of you?).

Mirror neurons are responsible for our reactions when we see others experiencing things we might feel too, like second-hand embarrassment, feeling sad when others cry, or getting scared when you watch a horror movie. Horses have many mirror neurons, and are especially proficient in building relationships with other horses in their herd and with people.