Horses Failed to Learn from Humans by Observation.

The research study investigates the ability of horses to learn from humans through observation but found that horses were no more successful in performing a task when observing a human’s demonstration compared to not observing a demonstration.

Research Methodology

• The research involved thirty horses and one human demonstrator. The horses were randomly assigned to one of three groups with different treatments:
  • A) Full human demonstration,
  • B) Partial human demonstration,
  • C) No human demonstration.
• The task assigned for the horses was to touch an object located 1 meter away from a feed box that would open the box and provide a food reward.
• The researchers observed and recorded the horses’ behavior towards the apparatus and the human, and whether they showed signs of frustration.

Research Findings

• The key finding from the study was that horses observing a full or partial human demonstration were not more successful in solving the task than horses not observing any demonstration. This suggests that inter-species (i.e., from human to animal) social learning may not be as effective in horses may not be as effective in horses as previously thought.
• Horses that were unsuccessful at the task displayed more box- and human-oriented behavior, suggesting they may have experienced motivation to complete the task or frustration from being unable to do so.

Interpretation and Implications

• The findings suggest that horses’ capability for social learning from humans through observation is questionable, contradicting some previous studies.
• The visible frustration in unsuccessful horses indicates a drive to solve the task, which can potentially be employed in different instructional methods.
• In further research, a different methodology or different tasks might be required to accurately assess and support the ability of horses to learn from human demonstrators.