Horse ears crack me up. They speak a language of their own, defined by angles. Good horse people take “ear talk” for granted, but respond to it as part of the ride. Challenged horse people ignore ear talk completely and are surprised when their mount does something unexpected. If you watch horses in a pasture grouping, their ears are always busy, partly because they are after all, prey animals listening for predators, and partly because they are signaling each other. Last time I took to the trail, my horse pal began our journey, thrilled to be on an adventure, but shortly down the trail moved to, “Uh oh, heading into danger territory, something will probably leap out of those bushes”. (Both ears at attention, pointing to the bushes.) Then he went into, “No really, are you SURE I have to walk through that opening in the fence with the killer box and weird hanging bag-thing next to it?” (Head slightly cocked so he can see me on his back, one ear flicking forward, one ear back, checking me.) Once past the latest death threat, he downgraded to a conversational, “Well, thank goodness we survived THAT, thanks to my superior senses.” (Neck relaxes, ears go to half -mast.) “This road looks pretty good, haven’t been here in a while. Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close watch.” (One ear pricked forward, listening.) “What do you want to do next?” (One ear cocked back.) Never underestimate the power of an ear.