Do Horses Have a Sense of Humor?

Bronzz was supposed to stand in the hoop

6/28/2022 Do horses have a sense of humor? I think so! Many don’t show it because humor involves the unexpected, and horses who are trained for automatic obedience (as compared to thinking cooperation) learn that deviations are not appreciated. Bronzz came straight to me from his breeder, a Protector Leader who enjoyed seeing horses express their personalities, and laughed at jokes. Horses understand that making us laugh is a good thing, so Bronzz has been encouraged all his life. He sometimes uses humor as a diversion; he was supposed to stand IN the hoop, not pick it up, but he hates standing in hoops.

Bronzz was supposed to weave around the cone; not pick it up

Humor involves intelligence, and the ability to understand the emotional reactions of another species (us). Sharing jokes also enriches relationships. If your horse shows a sense of humor, how does he express it? If he doesn’t, you might like to encourage it and see what happens!

Wrong hoof?

I asked for the left hind, and he picked up the right instead. While the hoop and cone pickups were diversions meant to distract me from activities Bronzz doesn't enjoy, this is a game he plays occasionally for no apparent reason except to get my reaction which is usually a laugh. The question has been raised as to whether these behaviors are true humor, that is actions intended to amuse us? Or are they learned because they received positive responses in the past? I think a repeated behavior could be either one, but a novel behavior intended to elicit laughter sounds like real humor to me. Here is an example of a novel behavior that I believe was meant as a joke, but was not repeated, perhaps because I didn't laugh. One dark night, Bronzz was not waiting at the pasture gate with the mares. Disturbed that he was AWOL at dinnertime, I called and searched, increasingly concerned. Finally, I asked Sapphire, "Where's Bronzz." Deliberately she turned her head to the right. Following her gaze, I hiked across a ditch and up a weedy hill to the corner of the pasture where the horses never go. Bronzz was standing there, ever so quiet, unharmed and unconcerned, just watching my reaction. I suspect he correctly read my concern and realized that his trick had not amused me.