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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Can Ponies (Equus Caballus) Distinguish Human Facial Express...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2022; 12(18); 2331; doi: 10.3390/ani12182331

Can Ponies (Equus Caballus) Distinguish Human Facial Expressions?

Abstract: Communication within a species is essential for access to resources, alerting to dangers, group facilitation and social bonding; human facial expressions are considered to be an important factor in one’s ability to communicate with others. Evidence has shown that dogs and horses are able to distinguish positive and negative facial expressions by observing photographs of humans, however there is currently no research on how facial expressions from a live human are perceived by horses. This study investigated how ponies distinguish facial expressions presented by live actors. Trained actors (n = 2), using the human Facial Action Coding System, displayed four facial expressions (anger, sadness, joy and neutral) individually to twenty ponies. Heart rate and behaviors of the ponies including first monocular eye look, eye look duration (right and left side bias) and latency to approach were observed. A generalized linear mixed model (GLIMMIX) using Sidak’s multiple comparisons of least squared means determined that when exposed to anger expressions ponies looked more often with their left eye first and when exposed to joy, looked more often with their right eye first (p = 0.011). The ponies spent more time looking at angry expressions (p = 0.0003) in comparison to other expressions. There was no variation in heart rate across expressions (p > 0.89). Regardless of human facial expression, ponies looked longer (p = 0.0035), took longer to approach (p = 0.0297) and displayed more oral behaviours (p < 0.0001) with one actor than the other indicating increased arousal or negative valence. Ponies with more experience as a lesson mount had lower heart rates (p < 0.0001) carried their head lower (p < 0.0001), kept their left ear on the actor (p < 0.03) and exhibited more oral behaviours (p < 0.0001) than ponies with less experience. This study demonstrates that ponies are able to distinguish facial expressions presented by a live human, but other factors also contribute to their responses to humans.
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Publication Date: 2022-09-07 PubMed ID: 36139191PubMed Central: PMC9495040DOI: 10.3390/ani12182331Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigated how ponies interpret facial expressions displayed by human beings in a live setting, demonstrating that ponies can discern different expressions, and their reactions are dictated by additional factors as well.

Objectives of the Study

  • The primary goal of the study was to comprehend how ponies translate facial expressions when the expressions are demonstrated by human beings in real-time scenarios.
  • This study fills a knowledge gap, as earlier research on horses and dogs distinguishing human facial expressions relied on photographs rather than live actors.

Methodology

  • Twenty ponies were part of this study, which were exposed to four distinctive facial expressions – anger, sadness, joy, and neutral presented by two trained actors.
  • The actors used the human Facial Action Coding System to depict these expressions.
  • The pony reactions were tracked in terms of heart rate, first monocular eye look, eye look duration, latency to approach, and side bias.
  • The reactions were assessed using a generalized linear mixed model (GLIMMIX) and Sidak’s multiple comparisons of least squared methods.

Observations and Findings

  • The results suggest that ponies tend to use their left eye more often when exposed to human anger expressions and their right eye to pick up joy expressions.
  • The ponies devoted more time observing angry expressions compared to other expressions.
  • Interestingly, the study discovered that heart rates of the ponies did not significantly differ across various expressions.
  • However, ponies exhibited longer gaze duration, took longer time to approach, and demonstrated more oral behaviors towards one actor than the other, hinting at increased arousal or negative valence, despite the expression being the same.
  • In addition, ponies with prior experience working as a lesson mount exhibited a lower heart rate, held their heads lower, kept their left ear on the actor more often and displayed more oral behaviors compared to less experienced ponies.

Conclusion

  • The research significantly shows that ponies can distinguish between different human facial expressions when presented by a live individual.
  • However, it also brings to light that the ponies’ responses to humans are influenced by other factors beyond just facial expressions.

Cite This Article

APA
Merkies K, Sudarenko Y, Hodder AJ. (2022). Can Ponies (Equus Caballus) Distinguish Human Facial Expressions? Animals (Basel), 12(18), 2331. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12182331

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 18
PII: 2331

Researcher Affiliations

Merkies, Katrina
  • Department of Animal Bioscience, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
  • Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Reproduction, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Sudarenko, Yuliia
  • Department of Animal Bioscience, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Hodder, Abigail J
  • Department of Animal Bioscience, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
  • Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Reproduction, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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