Attributing attention: the use of human-given cues by domestic horses (Equus caballus).

This research article studied how domestic horses perceive human attention and how they use various cues to determine who to approach for food. The study found that horses could distinguish between an attentive and inattentive person based on body orientation, head orientation, and whether a person’s eyes were opened or closed.

Research Objectives and Methodology

• The research aimed to explore whether domestic horses can perceive human attention and decide whom to approach for food. This was done in the light of recent discoveries that domestic dogs exhibit great prowess in determining the focus of human attention.
• The researchers experimented with 36 domestic horses and introduced different cues such as body orientation, head orientation, and open or closed eyes of experimenters.
• A fourth, “mixed” cue was also introduced where the attentive person stood with their body facing the horse but their head turned away, while the inattentive person stood in the reverse manner.

Research Findings

• The findings revealed that horses chose the attentive person significantly more often when using the body cue, head cue, and eye cue. This indicates that horses can comprehend human attentional cues.
• However, in the “mixed” cue condition, the horses were not able to significantly discriminate between the attentive and inattentive person, suggesting that they rely on a combination of cues to determine human attention.

Implications and Conclusions

• The study confirms that domestic horses are sensitive and responsive to human attentional cues including bodily orientation and gaze, an ability which is still largely unexplored in other domestic species apart from dogs.
• Furthermore, the research poses questions about the impacts of evolutionary and environmental factors on the development of this skill in horses, inviting future studies to unravel this.