Horses are Naturally Sociable Animals

They are naturally sociable animals and, when removed from the herd, a horse will bond with a surrogate. In the domesticate horse, the surrogate often becomes the owner.

When turning a group of domestic horses out in the field, it is generally advisable to turn mares and geldings out separately, especially in the spring when the mares start to come into season, which can cause geldings to exhibit some stallion-like behavior.

This is a greatly simplified account of the horse living in the wild. However, to live in a herd and to bond, is instinctive for all horses and should be considered when keeping a domestic horse.

It is possible to turn one gelding out with several mares, but it is inadvisable to turn several geldings out with one mare. Horses show their attachment to, and form bonds with one another in a variety of ways, and one of these is grooming.

They stand head to tail and chew up and down each other's neck and back. This is nearly always mutual, and if one horse stops, the other will too. Mutual grooming is an effective way to remove parasites as well as cementing friendships.

During the summer, it is also common to see horses «. that have formed bonds together standing head to swishing their tails to keep the flies off one another.