Expressions of a positive welfare state included having their necks moderately raised, their eyes half-closed, and their upper lips extended and either immobile or twitching, among others. | Photo: iStock

Do horses smile? They sure do.

Recent study results suggest horses have specific facial expressions that reveal positive emotions akin to “happiness,” in a sense. And while those expressions might not be the cheesy cartoon grin or the human ear-to-ear, they do represent the “equine happy face.”

“What we’re seeing really is a kind of ‘smile,’” said Léa Lansade, PhD, of the French Horse and Riding Institute and the National Institute for Agricultural Research’s behavior science department, in Tours