Thursday, February 10, 2011
Smile!
Toby is demonstrating the "Flehmen Response" for us here. This action is used by horses and various other animals, including your household cat, to more closely examine scents. The movement of the upper lip helps expose the vomeronasal organ and draw scents into it. The vomeronasal organ is thought to be used to detect pheromones which would explain why the "Flehmen Response" is most commonly seen in stallions near mares in heat.
Horses may also grimace like this if they are in pain, usually associated with colic or other abdominal discomfort. So, if you you see your horse smiling at you from the field make sure that he is just having a good sniff!
Labels:
Anatomy
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