Domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus) fail to intuitively reason about object properties like solidity and weight.

The study explores the ability of domestic horses to reason intuitively about object characteristics like solidity and height when searching for hidden food. The results indicate that horses do not inherently possess this skill, but can learn it over time.

Introduction and Objectives

• The research is centered on the fundamental human skill of reasoning about the external world in terms of solid, cohesive, identifiable objects persisting in space and time.
• This study aims to explore this concept in domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus) and identify whether they can logically reason about object properties like solidity and height while looking for hidden food rewards.

Methodology

• The experiment involved presenting horses with a food reward hidden behind two opaque screens.
• The screens had different characteristics – one had the proper height or inclination required to hide food, while the other did not.
• The horses were then allowed to choose one of the screens.
• Note the experiment had been segmented into different trials. The horses didn’t instinctively choose the correct screen during the first set of trials but started to do so during the latter trials.

Results

• The findings suggest that horses do not intuitively reason about the physical properties of objects.
• The horses were unable to make an initial correct choice between the screens based on reasoning about their physical properties.
• However, they were able to learn and adjust their behavior with time, choosing the screen with the proper height or inclination from the second set of trials onwards.

Conclusion

• The research concludes that, unlike humans, horses lack the innate ability to reason about object properties like solidity and height.
• Despite this, horses demonstrate the capacity to learn and adapt their behavior based on their experiences, which was evidenced by their improved performance during the consecutive trials.