A RECENT study conducted by a team French researchers has shown that horses that snort are happier. The team, led by Mathilde Stomp of the Université de Rennes, set out to look at low intensity positive responses from the animals. This is different from any research conducted in the past which has previously always centred around high intensity reactions which are usually caused by social play.

The study was conducted in Brittany and involved 48 horses split into four groups. Two groups of four were from private owners and two groups of four were from riding schools. The riding school horses were characterised by restrictive housing conditions, while the privately owned horses were living in naturalistic conditions.