Is that your horse in the mirror?

This is a photo of Chief looking at himself in the mirror at the Nugget in Reno one year while at the AERC convention. I remember the first morning that we led Chief in and he saw another horse – oh man, it looked just like him!!!! And not only that, but when he snorted and curled up his neck — the other horse did too! It was like they were twins. The walls were mirrors, because of course – we were inside a casino. Later on Chief sniffed noses with the horse in the mirror. I’m not sure if it comforted him at all or if he realized who it was?

I’m sure somebody wasn’t impressed with the large area of horse-goobers blown all over the mirrors, but….what are ya gonna do?  At least he never peed on the carpet, which is more housebroke than some dogs are (haha).

Speaking of mirrors, research has uncovered an easy way to calm horses that are nervous about traveling alone in a trailer. My horses seem to do fine traveling alone but I think that they generally feel more comfortable sharing a trailer ride with one of their buddies.

What they discovered is that when only one horse is being hauled the single horse can be tricked into feeling less alone. Yep you guessed it – with a mirror!

Scientists at  Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom confirmed the comforting influence of surrogate companionship in a study of 12 mature horses. The animals were each transported in a horse trailer for half-an-hour under three different conditions. To determine stress levels in the traveling horses, researchers noted behaviors such as pawing, neighing, head-tossing and feeding. Several physical signs of the horses were also monitored.

Compared with traveling on their own, horses when trailered with another horse spent significantly more time eating and less time vocalizing, pawing, and tossing or turning their head. Changes in their heart rate and body temperature also indicated the animals were happier when traveling with a buddy.

Being accompanied by a mirror though, was almost as comforting as the presence of another horse. Researchers installed an acrylic safety mirror, measuring 32 by 24 inches, into the trailer used to haul a single horse.

While traveling with the mirror, horses behaved similarly to when they had a live companion. Expressions of discomfort including calling out, and head tossing and turning, occurred much less than when alone. Also, horses riding with a mirror in the trailer spent as much time eating as when another horse was along. The changes in physiological signs of horses accompanied by a mirror however, were only slightly different from those in horses traveling in isolation.

The authors of this study conclude that when it’s not possible to haul a horse with a friend, a mirror is a good substitute, and certainly preferable to a being alone.  This might be worth trying if anybody hauls a single horse that isn’t a good eater or traveler.  I have seen how some horses are stimulated to eat when they see another horse eating.  The only downside is that….it’d be one more thing to clean because I am *sure* the mirror would get covered in horse goobers in no time!

Reference: Rachel Kay and Carol Hall. 2009. The use of a mirror reduces isolation stress in horses being transported by trailer. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 116(2-4): 237-243.