Snorting horses are happy horses, according to researchers in France, who said their findings could dispel some commonly held beliefs that when equines puff and flutter their nostrils, they’re indignant, clearing dust from their airways or shooing away flies.

The researchers, who published their findings this week in the journal PLOS ONE, said horses snort more often when they’re feeding or freely roaming in a pasture than they do when they’re stabled or working.

University of Rennes doctoral student Mathilde Stomp and her collaborators recorded 560 snorts among 48 privately owned and riding school horses in their study to determine if a horse’s snort could indicate its emotion.

All of the horses snorted. Some snorted only once in an hour, but others as often as 13 times. The more frequent snorters were engaged in calm, relaxing activities outdoors, Stomp and her colleagues wrote in the study.

The scientists said the finding could help equine owners better understand their horses’ needs and animal conditions will improve. (Get Across America Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

The researchers also looked at the position of the horses’ ears when they snorted. When they were pointing forward, the horse was generally feeling positive, the scientists said.

Sue McDonnell, who specializes in equine physiology and behavior at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, told The New York Times that more research on horse snorting is needed. McDonnell said that sometimes when horses snort, they’re doing so for the same reason humans blow their noses.

“I think it’s a huge overreach, an over-interpretation of their data,” she told The Times.

Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images

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