Unlike humans, horses don’t have towels to dry themselves off when they get wet. So a horse will roll in the dirt to “dry off.” You will see horses roll after sweating from a long ride or being wet from a bath. A horse will roll in the dirt to dry themselves off and as well as try and regulate their body temperature. While this can be frustrating to the owner who just bathed their horse it is important to know so that the owner does not scold or punish the horse for trying to dry off.
Horses cannot scratch either and rolling may be a form of “scratching” for the horse. Dry skin, flies, hair, or some other irritant may cause a horse to roll to relieve the “itch.”
Rolling is another sign of contentment in a horse. When a horse feels comfortable around you or in its environment they can let their guard down enough to expose the vulnerable part of themself by rolling around. You will rarely see a horse that has trust issues roll around unless it is having an emergency or they are overheated.
A horse owner must be mindful of their horse if the horse rolls but does not get up. The horse may be colic or in some sort of medical distress. If a horse appears to be in pain or acting unusual the horse should be monitored and a phone call to your local vet may be in order.
If you talk to old-timers or browse a forum about horses you will often hear about the value of a horse being determined by how many times it rolls. Years ago it was said a horse was worth a $100 a roll. Now with inflation and the rising demand for good horses the amount has gone up to $1000 a roll. While this value measurement may not be all that accurate there is something to be said for this method of determining if a horse is confident, happy, able to be bathed, and a hard working horse is a sweaty horse.
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