Practically speaking, the researchers said these results could support the theory that it’s better to let horses have their heads for rest during exercise as walking with restricted head movement could be more tiring. | Photo: iStock

If you don’t, try swinging a heavy backpack.

Recent study results suggest that horses’ nods allow them to use energy more efficiently to carry their heavy heads—much in the way we’d carry a heavy backpack better if we could swing it in rhythm with our steps.

The head and neck make up about 10% of the horse’s body mass, which is a lot,” said John Nyakatura, PhD, of the AG Morphologie und Formengeschichte, Image Knowledge Gestaltung, an interdisciplinary laboratory at Humboldt University’s Institute of Biology, in Berlin, Germany