FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Anim Cogn / Domestic horses send signals to humans when they face with a...
Animal cognition2016; 20(3); 397-405; doi: 10.1007/s10071-016-1056-4

Domestic horses send signals to humans when they face with an unsolvable task.

Abstract: Some domestic animals are thought to be skilled at social communication with humans due to the process of domestication. Horses, being in close relationship with humans, similar to dogs, might be skilled at communication with humans. Previous studies have indicated that they are sensitive to bodily signals and the attentional state of humans; however, there are few studies that investigate communication with humans and responses to the knowledge state of humans. Our first question was whether and how horses send signals to their potentially helpful but ignorant caretakers in a problem-solving situation where a food item was hidden in a bucket that was accessible only to the caretakers. We then examined whether horses alter their behaviours on the basis of the caretakers' knowledge of where the food was hidden. We found that horses communicated to their caretakers using visual and tactile signals. The signalling behaviour of the horses significantly increased in conditions where the caretakers had not seen the hiding of the food. These results suggest that horses alter their communicative behaviour towards humans in accordance with humans' knowledge state.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2016-11-24 PubMed ID: 27885519DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-1056-4Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • 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.

The research investigates how horses communicate with their human caretakers when faced with a problem they can’t solve, finding that horses use visual and tactile signals more when their caretakers are unaware of the solution.

Objectives of the Research

  • The research aims to investigate whether, and how, domestic horses signal to their human caretakers when faced with unsolvable tasks.
  • It also examines how horses change their behaviour based on the caretakers’ knowledge of the situation.

Methods

  • The researchers set up a problem-solving situation where food was hidden in a bucket that was only accessible to the caretakers, not the horses.
  • The behaviour of horses was monitored and recorded in situations where the caretakers had observed the hiding of the food and where they had not.

Findings

  • The study found that horses communicated with their caretakers using visual and tactile signals when they couldn’t access the hidden food.
  • The frequency of the signalling behaviour significantly increased in settings where caretakers had not seen the hiding of the food, indicating that horses adapt their communication based on their caretakers’ knowledge of the situation.

Implications

  • The results of the study contribute to our understanding of animal communication with humans, specifically horses. It sheds light on their sensitivity to human sensory and attention states.
  • It broadens our knowledge of the complexity of communication between humans and domesticated animals, especially horses.
  • The findings could potentially affect how we handle, train, and interact with horses, since acknowledging their ability to communicate and understand human knowledge states could help in providing more effective care.

Cite This Article

APA
Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S. (2016). Domestic horses send signals to humans when they face with an unsolvable task. Anim Cogn, 20(3), 397-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1056-4

Publication

Animal cognition
ISSN: 1435-9456
NlmUniqueID: 9814573
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
Pages: 397-405

Researcher Affiliations

Ringhofer, Monamie
  • Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University, 1-2-1 Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan. r_monamie@pony.kobe.u-ac.jp.
Yamamoto, Shinya
  • Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University, 1-2-1 Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Communication
  • Cues
  • Female
  • Horses / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Problem Solving
  • Social Behavior
  • Video Recording
  • Vocalization, Animal

Citations

This article has been cited 20 times.
  1. Gouyet C, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S, Jardat P, Parias C, Reigner F, Calandreau L, Lansade L. Horses cross-modally recognize women and men.. Sci Rep 2023 Mar 8;13(1):3864.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-30830-6pubmed: 36890162google scholar: lookup
  2. Pérez Fraga P, Morvai B, Gerencsér L, Lehoczki F, Andics A. Out-of-reach rewards elicit human-oriented referential communicative behaviours in family dogs but not in family pigs.. Sci Rep 2023 Jan 23;13(1):811.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26503-5pubmed: 36690662google scholar: lookup
  3. Schubert CL, Ryckewaert B, Pereira C, Matsuzawa T. Garrano Horses Perceive Letters of the Alphabet on a Touchscreen System: A Pilot Study.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 12;12(24).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12243514pubmed: 36552434google scholar: lookup
  4. Jardat P, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S, Gouyet C, Degrande R, Parias C, Reigner F, Calandreau L, Lansade L. Horses form cross-modal representations of adults and children.. Anim Cogn 2023 Mar;26(2):369-377.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-022-01667-9pubmed: 35962844google scholar: lookup
  5. Krueger K, Trager L, Farmer K, Byrne R. Tool Use in Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jul 22;12(15).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12151876pubmed: 35892526google scholar: lookup
  6. Rørvang MV, Ničová K, Sassner H, Nawroth C. Horses' (Equus caballus) Ability to Solve Visible but Not Invisible Displacement Tasks Is Associated With Frustration Behavior and Heart Rate.. Front Behav Neurosci 2021;15:792035.
    doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.792035pubmed: 34955782google scholar: lookup
  7. Kelly KJ, McD￮ LA, Mears K. The Effect of Human-Horse Interactions on Equine Behaviour, Physiology, and Welfare: A Scoping Review.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Sep 24;11(10).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11102782pubmed: 34679804google scholar: lookup
  8. Jardat P, Lansade L. Cognition and the human-animal relationship: a review of the sociocognitive skills of domestic mammals toward humans.. Anim Cogn 2022 Apr;25(2):369-384.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-021-01557-6pubmed: 34476652google scholar: lookup
  9. Ringhofer M, Trösch M, Lansade L, Yamamoto S. Horses with sustained attention follow the pointing of a human who knows where food is hidden.. Sci Rep 2021 Aug 10;11(1):16184.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95727-8pubmed: 34376761google scholar: lookup
  10. Mendes JWW, Resende B, Savalli C. A review of the unsolvable task in dog communication and cognition: comparing different methodologies.. Anim Cogn 2021 Sep;24(5):907-922.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-021-01501-8pubmed: 33754284google scholar: lookup
  11. Lansade L, Trösch M, Parias C, Blanchard A, Gorosurreta E, Calandreau L. Horses are sensitive to baby talk: pet-directed speech facilitates communication with humans in a pointing task and during grooming.. Anim Cogn 2021 Sep;24(5):999-1006.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-021-01487-3pubmed: 33738670google scholar: lookup
  12. Trösch M, Flamand A, Chasles M, Nowak R, Calandreau L, Lansade L. Horses Solve Visible but Not Invisible Displacement Tasks in an Object Permanence Paradigm.. Front Psychol 2020;11:562989.
    doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562989pubmed: 33117229google scholar: lookup
  13. Yoshida N, Koda N. Goats' Performance in Unsolvable Tasks Is Predicted by Their Reactivity Toward Humans, but Not Social Rank.. Front Psychol 2020;11:150.
    doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00150pubmed: 32116948google scholar: lookup
  14. 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
  15. Trösch M, Cuzol F, Parias C, Calandreau L, Nowak R, Lansade L. Horses Categorize Human Emotions Cross-Modally Based on Facial Expression and Non-Verbal Vocalizations.. Animals (Basel) 2019 Oct 24;9(11).
    doi: 10.3390/ani9110862pubmed: 31653088google scholar: lookup
  16. Bernauer K, Kollross H, Schuetz A, Farmer K, Krueger K. How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human action?. Anim Cogn 2020 Jan;23(1):1-9.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01310-0pubmed: 31531748google scholar: lookup
  17. Henriksson J, Sauveroche M, Roth LSV. Effects of size and personality on social learning and human-directed behaviour in horses (Equus caballus).. Anim Cogn 2019 Nov;22(6):1001-1011.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01291-0pubmed: 31312981google scholar: lookup
  18. Mendonça RS, Ringhofer M, Pinto P, Inoue S, Hirata S. Feral horses' (Equus ferus caballus) behavior toward dying and dead conspecifics.. Primates 2020 Jan;61(1):49-54.
    doi: 10.1007/s10329-019-00728-xpubmed: 31134472google scholar: lookup
  19. Alterisio A, Baragli P, Aria M, D'Aniello B, Scandurra A. Could the Visual Differential Attention Be a Referential Gesture? A Study on Horses (Equus caballus) on the Impossible Task Paradigm.. Animals (Basel) 2018 Jul 17;8(7).
    doi: 10.3390/ani8070120pubmed: 30018209google scholar: lookup
  20. Ringhofer M, Inoue S, Mendonça RS, Pereira C, Matsuzawa T, Hirata S, Yamamoto S. Comparison of the social systems of primates and feral horses: data from a newly established horse research site on Serra D'Arga, northern Portugal.. Primates 2017 Oct;58(4):479-484.
    doi: 10.1007/s10329-017-0614-ypubmed: 28585062google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.