Flehmening

I have a new 9-year-old mare who does one thing that I don't understand. She makes the funniest face sometimes, usually when she is placed in her stall. She curls up both lips like you see in funny pictures of horses. Do you know why she is doing this? She also did it when she was given her worming paste.

- Linda

Linda, this behavior is called flehmening or the flehmen response. It is a behavior that horses—as well as other animals, including cats—often display when they smell something new. If your mare’s stall is cleaned, or if another horse spends time in her stall, she likely is smelling the new odors in the stall.

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