question about horses at the finish line
 

i have noticed in lots of races when the winning horse hits the finish line they have their ears pricked. why do they do this? i know some "know" they won, but does anyone know why they prick right at that time.

they know. Zarb's magic(a great Arlington horse) used to run his eyeballs out until the finish line then completely stop, if you know anything about Arlington, they usually have to run out to the 2nd turn but Zarb would be able to turn around before entering the 1st...I think the flash and possible the mirror have something to do with it also

Ears pricked usually means that they are running within themselves, not extending a "maximum effort." Look at Wait a While's picture on the front of Tuesday's DRF.

Actually, it's a good thing when their ears are pricked. Ears pricked alert and facing forward indicate that the horse is happy and interested in what's ahead of him/her. Normally, when they're laid flat back, they're not happy.

did anyone notice when dance in the mood won the cash call mile that she pricked ONE ear forward. i don't think i've ever seen that. what a beautiful mare. i haven't heard of any bc plans for her. i guess she's not coming.

That means that the ear that was BACK was paying attention to something behind her. The best way to tell about a horse's personality is their ears. I could always tell when I was going to get thrown off by mine by what he was doing with his ears. :D

The horse wanted to hear their name called as the winner!! lol Bad day needed a laugh

When a horses' ears are pricked forward while racing they are not paying attention to the rider or the other horses. They are focusing on something in front or ahead of them. That's the last thing you want to see when you are on the backs of one these, going that fast. Remember Gary Stevens getting dumped in the Arlington Million at the finish line? His horse had it's ears forward, spotted the photographer and put the breaks on. If a horse has it's ears forward it doesn't always mean it's happy and if they're back, it doesn't always mean it's upset. Where the ears are pointed usually means that's where the horse is looking and paying attention. "Pinned" ears on a racing horse isn't a bad thing either. When they are "pinned" that is their way of telling that other horse that they are challenging them to just try and get by. That is also a good sign of an honest, aggressive race horse.

You don't always want an aggressive race horse... seems to me that many get gelded for being too "aggressive" during the races. They don't always pay attention to RUNNING when they're like that.

They are just waiting for another command and are not at the stage where they are exausted

in native dancers lone loss in the derby....they said he kept looking back at dark star in the winners circle while they led him back to the shed. and then once he was there he pouted. the good ones hate to lose--and they know it when they do!

Ummmm..... I want an aggressive race horse. Maybe you don't. I prefer mine to dig in when the tough gets going, not back down when challenged. When I say "aggressive" I am not implying the horse needs to savage the other horse. That's called a savage, not an aggressive race horse. And a horse that is interested in the other horses for other things than racing is usually called "studish" not aggressive.

Sorry, guess we have a different view on what "aggressive" means. Dictionary term for aggressive:

"characterized by or tending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or the like; militantly forward or menacing: aggressive acts against a neighboring country."

I guess the term I would have used for what you're talking about would be "assertive."

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Horses "talk" with their ears.
If they're forward, they are curious, attentive, looking.
If they're pinned, they're defensive. best get your fingers out of the way before you get bit.
I agree with Danzig, they know if they've been beat. Also, they sulk when one of their pasture buddies goes missing.
Now, here's a question...did you ever notice that the grooms bringing horses over from the barn to the paddock always are looking down?
Is there something that they don't want to step in?
btw...did you ever notice where a horse's ears are when it takes a dump?

Sorry, I was using "racetrack lingo" and not terminology from a dictionary when I used the word "aggressive".

It kind of depends on the horse though. My horse puts her ears back when she is running flat out, when she is with in herself her ears are forward- pretty good indicator that she's being lazy!
As for knowing where the finish line is.... Horses always know. The same horse mentioned above always tries to stop before the cones, it makes me angry! (We run in barrel races)

On it's head?:p

No foolin' you, Blue Eyes.:D