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Scientific reports2025; 15(1); 17689; doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-98794-3

Emotional contagion of fear and joy from humans to horses using a combination of facial and vocal cues.

Abstract: Emotional contagion, the emotional state-matching of two individuals, has been documented in various species. Recent findings suggest emotional contagion could also take place between humans and domestic mammals. However, the range of targeted animal species and human emotions that have been studied is still limited, and the methodology to investigate emotional contagion in this context is not fully established. This study examined emotional contagion of fear and joy from humans to horses by measuring physiological (heart rate, infrared thermography) and behavioral responses (posture, laterality bias, facial expressions) to videos of human fear, joy, or neutral emotions. Horses (n = 45) exhibited higher heart rates and ear movements during the fear and joy videos compared to the neutral ones, suggesting heightened arousal. During fear videos, they showed a greater increase in eye temperature than during joy or neutral videos, and maintained an alert posture for longer than during neutral videos, expressing specific facial expressions including inner brow raising and blowing. During joy videos, they showed a higher right eye preference (indicating a higher left-hemisphere bias) than during neutral videos, suggesting a more positive emotional valence. These findings suggest that human facial and vocal cues of fear and joy trigger emotional contagion in horses, which may influence the human-horse relationship.
© 2025. The Author(s).
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Publication Date: 2025-05-21 PubMed ID: 40399542PubMed Central: 5486498DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-98794-3Google 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.

This research investigates the emotional transfer from humans to horses based on facial expressions and vocal cues related to fear and joy. The study found that horses demonstrated notable changes in behavior and physiology when humans expressed fear or joy, offering new insights into the emotional connection between people and horses.

Study Background

  • The concept of emotional contagion, where two beings share a matching emotional state, is a well-established phenomenon across different species.
  • Recent research have suggested that this emotional transfer can occur between humans and their domesticated animals.
  • However, there’s a gap in terms of the range of animals and the variety of human emotions studied in related research.
  • This study is designed to help fill that knowledge gap by specifically focusing on the emotions of fear and joy in the context of human-horse relations.

Research Methodology

  • This study used video stimuli of humans expressing fear, joy, or having a neutral expression.
  • Horses (45 in total) were monitored for physiological (heart rate, infrared thermography) and behavioural responses (like posture, laterality bias, facial expressions).

Key Observations and Findings

  • Horses presented heightened arousal, as seen by increased heart rates and ear movements, when exposed to videos of fear and joy, as compared to the neutral videos.
  • The exposure to fear videos resulted in a sharper increase in eye temperature than exposure to joy or neutral videos. This meant stress or nervousness in horses.
  • Horses also retained an alert posture longer in response to fear videos compared to neutral ones, and exhibited specific facial expressions such as inner brow raise and blowing, which are indicative of stress.
  • When presented with joy videos, horses displayed a higher preference for right eye use, suggesting a higher usage of the left hemisphere of the brain. This is linked with positive emotional feelings.

Conclusion and Implications

  • The study’s findings suggest that horses can pick up and mirror human emotions of joy and fear based on facial and vocal cues.
  • This emotional contagion plays an important role in influencing the human-horse relationship.
  • The findings contribute to the broader understanding of interspecies emotional communication and could be useful in horsemanship practices.

Cite This Article

APA
Jardat P, Yamamoto S, Ringhofer M, Tanguy-Guillo N, Parias C, Reigner F, Calandreau L, Lansade L. (2025). Emotional contagion of fear and joy from humans to horses using a combination of facial and vocal cues. Sci Rep, 15(1), 17689. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98794-3

Publication

Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
NlmUniqueID: 101563288
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
Pages: 17689

Researcher Affiliations

Jardat, Plotine
  • Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation, Pôle développement, innovation et recherche, Nouzilly, France. plotine.jardat@ifce.fr.
  • INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, France. plotine.jardat@ifce.fr.
Yamamoto, Shinya
  • Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
  • Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
  • Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ringhofer, Monamie
  • Department of Animal Science, Teikyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Tanguy-Guillo, Noa
  • INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Parias, Céline
  • INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Reigner, Fabrice
  • UEPAO, INRAE, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Calandreau, Ludovic
  • INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Lansade, Léa
  • INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses / psychology
  • Horses / physiology
  • Humans
  • Fear / psychology
  • Fear / physiology
  • Facial Expression
  • Emotions / physiology
  • Male
  • Female
  • Cues
  • Adult
  • Heart Rate / physiology
  • Happiness
  • Young Adult

Grant Funding

  • 32 001176-Cognition Equine / IFCE

Conflict of Interest Statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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