Horses that resemble each other stick together?

Question

I've always heard that horses that resemble each other tend to gravitate toward each other and stick together in a herd situation. So how do horses know what they look like? Is this visual awareness or a bi-product of instinct? I've always wondered about this.

I started thinking about this following my other post about what does a horse see when he/she looks in a mirror, like in a indoor dressage arena with mirrors, for example.

Is it even true or is it a myth? Do horses that resemble each other really stick together?

Answer 1

I have heard the same thing--but only for color, not necessarily size. Horses see in shades of black and white i believe and it's said that generally, but not always, a horse tends to "hang out" with horses his shade. I was thinking too the other day about how they know their own color, i thought maybe since their eyes are on the side of their head they may  be able to see their own sides, or like they can see their leg when they stretch out to itch it or something lol. I've seen both cases. My old horse was an exception. He was a chubby black quarter horse who only hung out with this tall skinny palomino mare. My new horse on the other hand who is a sorrel quarter horse befriended these two other chestnut horses, but eventually settled on a third red dunn horse. They're inseparable. Although they are slightly different colors, he got it pretty close.

Answer 2

i have always found the shetlands stick together, the seaction A's stick together and the 'big boys' stick together.

Then theres the mares, they have their own paddock but one mare doesnt like the others so she sticks with the section A's and they all protect her.

lol

im not sure why this is but it does tend to happen.

Answer 3

Some horses do prefer to be with other horses that resemble them. This comes from their natural instinct b/c in the wild, if a bunch of horses that are the same color are all togther, predators have a hard time focusing in on just one. Safety in numbers.

Answer 4

I personally have never heard that. At my barn, There is a draft horse that is best friends with a mini! I don't really think that just because they look like each other they would stick togther.... horses CAN see colors, to an extent. But I don't think it would be enough to tell if another horse looks like them or not! Really interesting question though!

Answer 5

For a number of years I boarded at a 200 acre facility where the horses were all out together in a big herd.  What I observed was more that the Arabs hung out together apart from the other breeds.  The rest of it varied widely, and so when someone noticed a group of four chestnuts together, they'd say the chestnuts were in a clique....but ther might be 5 or 10 more chestnuts that weren't doing it, so it made no sense.  Same with paints...if 3 of them were buddies, then it was assumed that paints preferred other paints...but there might be 4 more of them that didn't hang out with each other.

And even the Arabs weren't 100%, but it was much more of a notable observation than color was.

Answer 6

I have noticed that too. i think  and agree too it is a visual thing.. in our pasture the same white horses stick together and one of my paints hangs with an appy. horses are interesting creatures.

Answer 7

I haven't seen horses of the same color sticking together, but I do know horses that share similar pasts take to each other.  Off the track TBs seem to share a sense of "knowing" and seem to buddy up readily.  My mothers Friesian likes to go stand with other friesians at shows.  Now I don't think that horses have a self awareness like what humans have.  I don't know that they think "I am a handsome 15 hand chestnut with just the cutest little snip and star."  I do think that they can pick out buddies like we pick out friends though, through shared history and compatible pers...er...horsesonalities.

Answer 8

I haven't heard about horses that look alike stick together, but I have experienced horses that will bond with other horses that look like their dam.  If the horse in question resembles its own dam, then it might prefer horses that look like its self.

I have also experienced color prejudice.  Grey horses are sometimes ostresized from a group or are low on the pecking order.  This is because, in a natural setting, grey animals are a liability.  They are more visible to predators and draw attention to the group.

As for horses recognizing themselves in a mirror, I find this unlikely.  I've seen self-awareness mirror experiments with elephants and chimps and most of them don't make the connection.  Most animals figure out that the reflection is not another animal and rule it out as an interaction, but they then just ignore it.  There are many people that have a hard time ignoring a mirror!

Answer 9

i don't think they do. i have  belgian draft cross and and she hangs out with this tiny palomino tennessee walker that looks like its her baby, lol she's at least 17hh and he's  maybe 15.2. thats her best bud. personality  wise they're both a little crazy and a few bricks short of a load, lol,  i think thats what draws them together.

Answer 10

I never heard of that, but now that I think about it...yeah, that does kind of ring true!  But most of the barns I've spent the most tiem at were barns where all the horses looked alike to begin with:  the yard in Ireland had nothing but blood bays (their owner REALLY liked them), the friesian barn, the fjords, etc.  

I can't think of any instinctual reasons of why this might be true - no survival benefits, I mean.  It must be visual awareness.  

Back to my cat Oliver...he recognizes animals on the TV screen, and I am convinced that he knows what they are because of the way they move and walk.  If they are stationary, even if they're making noise, he doesn't really pay any attention to them.  But show a sea lion swimming, or a cheetah running, and he's all over the TV.  So perhaps horses who move in a similar way stick together?  Similar movement could suggest a similar place in the herd hierarchy, similar age, etc. so that could make sense...

I am SO going out on a limb/thinking out loud.

EDIT:  So it's settled then, you'll be the Chairperson of the Oliver Fanclub, and I'll be the head of the Dobbin Fanclub.

...Geez, look at the trolls that follow you around from question to question!  Guess someone doesn't want to join the fanclubs?

Answer 11

I have never heard that and I don't think so because I have a black Appy and she always hangs out with a white horse...

Answer 12

No, I dont think that is always the case.

I had a 14.2hh Hafflinger, she would hang around with a 17.3 Irish Thoroughbred.

I also knew a large Warmblood that was crazy about a donkey lol.