BTB: Weird thoughts and horse lips

---

Weird thoughts and horse lips Posted: 30 Mar 2010 01:29 PM PDT This is an admittedly weird topic, but here's a confession. I just marvel at Harvey's lips. For such big animals, horses have such soft noses and mouths. I love to wiggle Harvey's lower lip while impersonating his voice, and he doesn't seem to mind. I love when horses are dozing and their lower lip droops. It's too cute for words. A triumph of form and function A horse's lips and mouth have some unique adaptive features. Here are a few facts and links that I found pretty intriguing! Bit fitters have established categories of mouth conformation to assist in bit fitting. Click on the link to identify your horse's mouth type. Horses have a prehensile upper lip. Prehensile means "adapted for seizing, grasping, or taking hold of something." When grazing, a horse's lips actually grasp the grass tips; they curl their lips inward and deliver the grass to their teeth.  Below is a picture of Harv, about age 11, with his buddy Wesser. I think they demonstrate the role of lips in grazing very nicely. • Linda Tellington-Jones, who is famous for her bodywork with horses, has an article on mouthwork. • There is lip balm for horses! Ever heard of "flehmen?" It's a term having to do with horse lips... (Compendium Equine 3:2 (March 2008), pp. 91-94) • One sign that a horse could be infected with the West nile virus is twitching or flaccidity of the lips. • Lip smacking is a mild nuisance vice in horses. It's the rhythmical smacking action of the lower lip toward the upper lip when under saddle or in unfamiliar environments. So that's my treatise on horse lips. Thanks for indulging me...

You are subscribed to email updates from Behind the Bit To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610