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Animal cognition2008; 11(3); 431-439; doi: 10.1007/s10071-007-0133-0

Horse sense: social status of horses (Equus caballus) affects their likelihood of copying other horses’ behavior.

Abstract: Animals that live in stable social groups need to gather information on their own relative position in the group's social hierarchy, by either directly threatening or by challenging others, or indirectly and in a less perilous manner , by observing interactions among others. Indirect inference of dominance relationships has previously been reported from primates, rats, birds, and fish. Here, we show that domestic horses, Equus caballus, are similarly capable of social cognition. Taking advantage of a specific "following behavior" that horses show towards humans in a riding arena, we investigated whether bystander horses adjust their response to an experimenter according to the observed interaction and their own dominance relationship with the horse whose reaction to the experimenter they had observed before. Horses copied the "following behavior" towards an experimenter after watching a dominant horse following but did not follow after observing a subordinate horse or a horse from another social group doing so. The "following behavior," which horses show towards an experimenter, therefore appears to be affected by the demonstrator's behavior and social status relative to the observer.
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Publication Date: 2008-01-09 PubMed ID: 18183432DOI: 10.1007/s10071-007-0133-0Google 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.

The research investigates how the social status of horses impacts their likelihood to copy the behavior of other horses. In the study, horses were more likely to mimic behavior if it was presented by a dominant horse, but less likely to follow the behavior demonstrated by a subordinate horse or a horse from a different social group.

Methodology

  • The researchers used the specific “following behavior” that horses show towards humans in a riding arena.
  • They experimented to see whether bystander horses alter their reaction towards an experimenter observing the interaction and understanding their own dominance relationship with the horse whose reaction they had observed before.

Findings

  • The research found that horses copied the “following behavior” if a dominant horse demonstrated it.
  • However, they did not follow the behavior if they had observed a subordinate horse or a horse from a separate social group demonstrating it.
  • The study concluded that the “following behavior” which horses show towards an experimenter is influenced by the demonstrator’s social status and behavior relative to the observer’s.

Implications

  • The findings show that horses can indirectly infer dominance relationships in a similar manner to other species—in this case, following the behavior of a dominant horse.
  • This demonstrates that horses are capable of complex social cognition in the same vein as primates, rats, birds, and fish.
  • Such understanding enhances our grasp of equine behavior and can have practical implications in fields where human-horse interactions are important, such as in equestrian sports and horse training.

Cite This Article

APA
Krueger K, Heinze J. (2008). Horse sense: social status of horses (Equus caballus) affects their likelihood of copying other horses’ behavior. Anim Cogn, 11(3), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-007-0133-0

Publication

Animal cognition
ISSN: 1435-9448
NlmUniqueID: 9814573
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 3
Pages: 431-439

Researcher Affiliations

Krueger, Konstanze
  • University of Regensburg, Biologie I, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany. Konstanze.Krueger@biologie.uni-regensburg.de
Heinze, Jürgen

    MeSH Terms

    • Animals
    • Discrimination, Psychological
    • Dominance-Subordination
    • Female
    • Hierarchy, Social
    • Horses / psychology
    • Imitative Behavior
    • Male
    • Social Behavior
    • Social Environment

    Citations

    This article has been cited 18 times.
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    16. Krueger K, Roll A, Beyer AJ, Föll A, Bernau M, Farmer K. Learning from eavesdropping on human-human encounters changes feeding location choice in horses (Equus Caballus). Anim Cogn 2025 Mar 17;28(1):23.
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