Horse people: are these horses in distress or excited?
fb.watch
Sorry for the Facebook link, I hope you can view the video.
I noticed the horses in this video all seem to be "prancing" a little bit, like the riders are struggling to stay in control of them. Dozens of horses in this parade, acting similarly.
Every horse I've seen in a parade looks calm, mellow, or bored. So, are these horses excited and happy to be there? Or are the riders forcing/encouraging this behavior? Are the horses in distress?
For context, this is part of a festival in Tomato, Portugal.
I can't say for sure, but you can train a horse to do that. It's probably not "happy" but it's not necessarily "distressed" either. Just doing what it was trained to do.
Tbf, I didn't watch the videodsue to the Facebook link but I have seen horses prance. So I guess take my answer with a grain of salt.
Source: I dated a horse girl for a few years.
Two of the riders are using a style of riding where they keep the horses head tucked close, this leads to a prancing type gait. It's on purpose. The horses themselves seem calm but I'm not really a fan of the style.
I wonder what behavior you are talking about.
Those horses don't look distressed or excited to me. They look well trained and well managed.