Horses fail to use social learning when solving spatial detour tasks.
Abstract: Social animals should have plenty of opportunities to learn from conspecifics, but most studies have failed to document social learning in horses. This study investigates whether young Icelandic horses can learn a spatial detour task through observation of a trained demonstrator horse of either the same age (Experiments 1 and 2, n = 22) or older (Experiment 3, n = 24). Observer horses were allowed to observe the demonstrator being led three times through the detour route immediately before being given the opportunity to solve the task themselves. Controls were allowed only to observe the demonstrator horse eating at the final position, but not the demonstration of the route. Although we found a tendency towards better performance by observer horses in the second experiment, we were unable to repeat this result in a similar set-up with a new group of horses and older, dominant demonstrator horses. We conclude that horses exposed to prior demonstration did not perform better than control horses in solving spatial detour tasks.
Publication Date: 2015-02-26 PubMed ID: 25716720DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0852-6Google 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.
- Journal Article
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 focuses on whether horses, being social animals, can learn to solve spatial tasks through observation, specifically: it investigates if young Icelandic horses can learn a route by watching another horse. The study found no clear evidence that the horses performed better after observing another horse complete the task.
About the Research
- The study was set out to understand whether horses, particularly young Icelandic horses, can learn to solve a spatial detour task by observing another trained horse. Spatial detour tasks involve finding their way around obstacles to reach a certain point.
- The researchers used a control group of horses who were only allowed to see another horse at the final point, but not observe the route demonstrated. A comparison with this control group allowed the researchers to measure any improvement in performance after observation.
Conducting the Experiments
- Three experiments were conducted to validate the hypothesis. In Experiments 1 and 2, the observer horses watched another horse of same age complete the task three times. In the third experiment, the demonstrator horse was older.
- In each experiment, the observer horses were let loose immediately after the demonstration to see if they are able to reproduce the demonstrated detour.
Findings of the Research
- The second experiment showed a tendency towards better performance by observer horses, suggesting that the horses may have learned something from watching the demonstrator. However, this result was not consistent as it could not be replicated in another experiment that used a similar setup with different horses and older, dominant demonstrators.
- Contrary to initial expectations, overall the horses exposed to the demonstration did not perform notably better than the control horses who had not observed the demonstration of the route. Thus, the study concluded that watching another horse perform the task did not significantly improve the horse’s problem-solving capabilities.
- These findings challenge the presumption that horses, being social animals, would naturally benefit from social learning in performing tasks that include spatial navigation.
Cite This Article
APA
Rørvang MV, Ahrendt LP, Christensen JW.
(2015).
Horses fail to use social learning when solving spatial detour tasks.
Anim Cogn, 18(4), 847-854.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0852-6 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark, Maria.vilainrorvang@anis.au.dk.
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Female
- Horses / psychology
- Male
- Social Dominance
- Social Learning
- Spatial Behavior
Citations
This article has been cited 14 times.- Ricci-Bonot C, Brosche K, Baragli P, Nicol C. A systematic review on the effect of individual characteristics and management practices on equine cognition. Anim Cogn 2025 Nov 26;28(1):96.
- Brosche K, Veit A, Fraga PP, Wondrak M, Andics A, Virányi Z. Human ostension enhances attentiveness but not performance in domestic pigs. Sci Rep 2025 May 9;15(1):16161.
- Camacho-Alpízar A, Guillette LM. From whom do animals learn? A meta-analysis on model-based social learning. Psychon Bull Rev 2023 Jun;30(3):863-881.
- Stenfelt J, Yngvesson J, Blokhuis HJ, Rørvang MV. Dairy cows did not rely on social learning mechanisms when solving a spatial detour task. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:956559.
- Holcomb FR, Multhaup KS, Erwin SR, Daniels SE. Spaced training enhances equine learning performance. Anim Cogn 2022 Jun;25(3):683-690.
- Vinogradov IM, Jennions MD, Neeman T, Fox RJ. Repeatability of lateralisation in mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki despite evidence for turn alternation in detour tests. Anim Cogn 2021 Jul;24(4):765-775.
- 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.
- Nawroth C, Langbein J, Coulon M, Gabor V, Oesterwind S, Benz-Schwarzburg J, von Borell E. Farm Animal Cognition-Linking Behavior, Welfare and Ethics. Front Vet Sci 2019;6:24.
- Lea SEG, Osthaus B. In what sense are dogs special? Canine cognition in comparative context. Learn Behav 2018 Dec;46(4):335-363.
- Rørvang MV, Christensen JW, Ladewig J, McLean A. Social Learning in Horses-Fact or Fiction?. Front Vet Sci 2018;5:212.
- Burla JB, Siegwart J, Nawroth C. Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task. Animals (Basel) 2018 Jun 13;8(6).
- Rørvang MV, Herskin MS, Jensen MB. The motivation-based calving facility: Social and cognitive factors influence isolation seeking behaviour of Holstein dairy cows at calving. PLoS One 2018;13(1):e0191128.
- Kabadayi C, Bobrowicz K, Osvath M. The detour paradigm in animal cognition. Anim Cogn 2018 Jan;21(1):21-35.
- Cross FR, Jackson RR. The execution of planned detours by spider-eating predators. J Exp Anal Behav 2016 Jan;105(1):194-210.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
