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Home / Equine Research Bank / Anim Cogn / Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans d...
Animal cognition2017; 21(2); 307-312; doi: 10.1007/s10071-017-1140-4

Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture.

Abstract: Signals of dominance and submissiveness are central to conspecific communication in many species. For domestic animals, sensitivities to these signals in humans may also be beneficial. We presented domestic horses with a free choice between two unfamiliar humans, one adopting a submissive and the other a dominant body posture, with vocal and facial cues absent. Horses had previously been given food rewards by both human demonstrators, adopting neutral postures, to encourage approach behaviour. Across four counterbalanced test trials, horses showed a significant preference for approaching the submissive posture in both the first trial and across subsequent trials, and no individual subject showed an overall preference for dominant postures. There was no significant difference in latency to approach the two postures. This study provides novel evidence that domestic horses may spontaneously discriminate between, and attribute communicative significance to, human body postures of dominance; and further, that familiarity with the signaller is not a requirement for this response. These findings raise interesting questions about the plasticity of social signal perception across the species barrier.
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Publication Date: 2017-10-13 PubMed ID: 29030725PubMed Central: PMC5818628DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1140-4Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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.

This study investigates the ability of domestic horses to discriminate between dominant and submissive human postures, finding that horses prefer to approach humans displaying submissive postures. This phenomenon occurs despite the absence of vocal or facial cues, and familiarity with the human is not a requirement for this behavior.

Research Background

  • This research looks at the communication between humans and domestic horses, specifically honing in on signals of dominance and submissiveness.
  • In many species, these types of signals are crucial to conspecific communication (communication within the same species).
  • The experiment intentionally does away with vocal and facial cues to focus solely on body postures.

Research Methodology

  • The researchers carried out trials involving domestic horses and two unfamiliar humans, each adopting a different body posture: one dominant, the other submissive.
  • Prior to the trials, both humans had given the horses food rewards while maintaining neutral postures, effectively encouraging the horses to approach.
  • They carried out these trials four times, shifting the positioning of the humans to prevent biases based solely on location.

Research Findings

  • The horses showed a clear preference for the human with the submissive posture, both in the first trials and in the subsequent ones.
  • None of the horses displayed a preference for dominant postures.
  • There was no significant difference in the horses’ speed to approach either posture, which indicates that the animals’ decisions were deliberate rather than impulsive or fear-driven.

Implications of Findings

  • This study provides new evidence of the instinctive ability of domestic horses to discriminate between different human postures of dominance and submissiveness.
  • The fact that horses’ behavior did not depend on familiarity with the person underscores the argument that the horses’ recognition of human postures is not based on specific learned social signals from individual people but is a more generalized response.
  • This research prompts further discussion about the flexibility of detecting social signals across different species, which could have implications for both ethology (the study of animal behavior) and human-animal interaction research.

Cite This Article

APA
Smith AV, Wilson C, McComb K, Proops L. (2017). Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture. Anim Cogn, 21(2), 307-312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1140-4

Publication

Animal cognition
ISSN: 1435-9456
NlmUniqueID: 9814573
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 21
Issue: 2
Pages: 307-312

Researcher Affiliations

Smith, Amy Victoria
  • Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK. a.v.smith@sussex.ac.uk.
Wilson, Clara
  • Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK.
McComb, Karen
  • Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK.
Proops, Leanne
  • Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK. leanne.proops@port.ac.uk.
  • Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK. leanne.proops@port.ac.uk.

MeSH Terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Choice Behavior
  • Female
  • Horses / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Posture
  • Social Dominance

Grant Funding

  • RPG-2013-069 / Leverhulme Trust

Conflict of Interest Statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest. ETHICAL STANDARDS: This research adheres to the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) guidelines and was approved by the University of Sussex Ethical Review Committee (ERC), reference: ER/CW314/1. INFORMED CONSENT: Informed consent was gained from stable owners. DATA AVAILABILITY: Datasets generated during this study are available through the Dryad repository.

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
  1. Lerch N, Cirulli F, Rochais C, Lesimple C, Guilbaud E, Contalbrigo L, Borgi M, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M. Interest in Humans: Comparisons between Riding School Lesson Equids and Assisted-Intervention Equids.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Aug 28;11(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11092533pubmed: 34573500google scholar: lookup
  2. Hartmann E, Rehn T, Christensen JW, Nielsen PP, McGreevy P. From the Horse's Perspective: Investigating Attachment Behaviour and the Effect of Training Method on Fear Reactions and Ease of Handling-A Pilot Study.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 9;11(2).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11020457pubmed: 33572351google scholar: lookup
  3. Schrimpf A, Single MS, Nawroth C. Social Referencing in the Domestic Horse.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Jan 18;10(1).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10010164pubmed: 31963699google scholar: lookup
  4. White-Lewis S. Equine-assisted therapies using horses as healers: A concept analysis.. Nurs Open 2020 Jan;7(1):58-67.
    doi: 10.1002/nop2.377pubmed: 31871691google scholar: lookup
  5. Butler D, Valenchon M, Annan R, Whay HR, Mullan S. Stakeholder Perceptions of the Challenges to Racehorse Welfare.. Animals (Basel) 2019 Jun 17;9(6).
    doi: 10.3390/ani9060363pubmed: 31212903google scholar: lookup
  6. Sigurjónsdóttir H, Haraldsson H. Significance of Group Composition for the Welfare of Pastured Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2019 Jan 5;9(1).
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