The man sawed the hooves of the horse, and she thanked him. From the earliest stage, the foal shows a gesture of chewing and licking, which is similar to sucking the udder. Later it becomes a social behavior contributing to peace in times of conflict.
Behaviorists believe that empty chewing (bruxism) not only inhibits aggression of the enemy, but also soothes, relaxes (the so-called active displacement). If the horse shows this kind of behavior, there are reasons for this: the horse feels threatened and shows behavior that, in its opinion, is adequate to prevent the threat.
Chewing and licking can have just a physiological explanation: running — increasing horse ejection — dry mouth — licking. This means that the horse can lick and chew after fright.
