Horses are constantly broadcasting their internal state through body language, breathing, and muscle tone. The question isn’t whether they are talking to you; it’s whether you’re tuned to the right frequency. Kate Fenner, (BEqSc (Hons), PhD, shared this stress scale in the context of training <Link> emphazing that a horse’s emotional state exists on a continuum.
Source: Race-2-Ride, February 14, 2026. Link. Understanding where the animal sits on this scale is the difference between a productive session and a potentially dangerous one.
To keep your <equine work> safe and effective, you need to recognize the shift from the “thinking brain” to the “survival brain”. – Kate Fenner, (BEqSc (Hons), PhD
INSIGHTS: Many animal health pros are naturally tuned in to an animal’s stress level. Sharing tools like this one can help horse owners and riders learn to recognize emotional states and work with the animal to find the sweet spot for training or pleasure.
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