FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Sci Rep / Horses with sustained attention follow the pointing of a hum...
Scientific reports2021; 11(1); 16184; doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95727-8

Horses with sustained attention follow the pointing of a human who knows where food is hidden.

Abstract: When interacting with humans, domesticated species may respond to communicative gestures, such as pointing. However, it is currently unknown, except for in dogs, if species comprehend the communicative nature of such cues. Here, we investigated whether horses could follow the pointing of a human informant by evaluating the credibility of the information about the food-hiding place provided by the pointing of two informants. Using an object-choice task, we manipulated the attentional state of the two informants during food-hiding events and differentiated their knowledge about the location of the hidden food. Furthermore, we investigated the horses' visual attention levels towards human behaviour to evaluate the relationship between their motivation and their performance of the task. The result showed that horses that sustained high attention levels could evaluate the credibility of the information and followed the pointing of an informant who knew where food was hidden (Z =  - 2.281, P = 0.002, n = 36). This suggests that horses are highly sensitive to the attentional state and pointing gestures of humans, and that they perceive pointing as a communicative cue. This study also indicates that the motivation for the task should be investigated to determine the socio-cognitive abilities of animals.
© 2021. The Author(s).
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2021-08-10 PubMed ID: 34376761PubMed Central: PMC8355342DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95727-8Google 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.

This research investigates how horses, when paying sustained attention, can follow a pointing gesture by a human who knows a hidden food location.

Introduction

In the study, the researchers explored how domesticated horses interact with humans, specifically responding to communicative gestures like pointing- a behavior previously established in dogs. The research aimed to investigate if the horses perceived these cues as communicative or otherwise, by evaluating their ability to follow the pointing by a human informant aware of a food-hiding place.

Methodology

  • The researchers employed an object-choice task, manipulating the informant’s attentional state during the process of hiding food.
  • The knowledge level of two different informants about the location of the hidden food was varied, aiming to present differed information credibility to the participating horses.
  • Sight attention towards human behaviour was observed, in an attempt to understand the correlation between the horse’s motivation towards performing the task and their ability to successfully perform it.

Results and Discussion

The results showed horses that were consistently attentive were competent at evaluating the credibility of the information given by a human pointer i.e., the informant who knew where the food was hidden. The high attention level-carrying horses managed to follow the pointing of the knowledgeable informant successfully.

Conclusion

This study indicates that horses are highly sensitive to the pointing gestures by humans when paying sustained attention, understanding the gesture as a communicative cue. The research also highlights the need for investigating the subject’s motivation when studying its socio-cognitive abilities. This could then provide a broader understanding of horse behavior or even the behavior of other domesticated animals.

Cite This Article

APA
Ringhofer M, Trösch M, Lansade L, Yamamoto S. (2021). Horses with sustained attention follow the pointing of a human who knows where food is hidden. Sci Rep, 11(1), 16184. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95727-8

Publication

Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
NlmUniqueID: 101563288
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Pages: 16184
PII: 16184

Researcher Affiliations

Ringhofer, Monamie
  • Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Yoshida Ushinomiya-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 6068501, Japan. monamie.ringhofer@gmail.com.
Trösch, Miléna
  • INRAE, PRC, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Lansade, Léa
  • INRAE, PRC, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Yamamoto, Shinya
  • Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Yoshida Ushinomiya-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 6068501, Japan.

MeSH Terms

  • Animal Communication
  • Animals
  • Attention / physiology
  • Choice Behavior
  • Comprehension
  • Female
  • Food
  • Gestures
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Recognition, Psychology
  • Signal Detection, Psychological
  • Social Behavior

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

This article includes 45 references
  1. Hare B, Tomasello M. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use human and conspecific social cues to locate hidden food.. J. Comp. Psychol. 1999;113:173–177.
    doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.113.2.173google scholar: lookup
  2. Miklösi A, Polgárdi R, Topál J, Csányi V. Use of experimenter-given cues in dogs.. Anim Cogn 1998 Oct;1(2):113-21.
    doi: 10.1007/s100710050016pubmed: 24399275google scholar: lookup
  3. Maros K, Gácsi M, Miklósi A. Comprehension of human pointing gestures in horses (Equus caballus).. Anim Cogn 2008 Jul;11(3):457-66.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-008-0136-5pubmed: 18247069google scholar: lookup
  4. Proops L, McComb K. Attributing attention: the use of human-given cues by domestic horses (Equus caballus).. Anim Cogn 2010 Mar;13(2):197-205.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-009-0257-5pubmed: 19588176google scholar: lookup
  5. Miklósi A, Pongrácz P, Lakatos G, Topál J, Csányi V. A comparative study of the use of visual communicative signals in interactions between dogs (Canis familiaris) and humans and cats (Felis catus) and humans.. J Comp Psychol 2005 May;119(2):179-86.
    doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.119.2.179pubmed: 15982161google scholar: lookup
  6. Kaminski J, Riedel J, Call J, Tomasello M. Domestic goats, Capra hircus, follow gaze direction and use social cues in an object choice task.. Anim. Behav. 2005;69:11–18.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.05.008google scholar: lookup
  7. Nawroth C, Martin ZM, McElligott AG. Goats Follow Human Pointing Gestures in an Object Choice Task.. Front Psychol 2020;11:915.
    doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00915pmc: PMC7248431pubmed: 32508719google scholar: lookup
  8. Nawroth C, Ebersbach M, von Borell E. Juvenile domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) use human-given cues in an object choice task.. Anim Cogn 2014 May;17(3):701-13.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-013-0702-3pubmed: 24197275google scholar: lookup
  9. Petter M, Musolino E, Roberts WA, Cole M. Can dogs (Canis familiaris) detect human deception?. Behav Processes 2009 Oct;82(2):109-18.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.07.002pubmed: 19686949google scholar: lookup
  10. Takaoka A, Maeda T, Hori Y, Fujita K. Do dogs follow behavioral cues from an unreliable human?. Anim Cogn 2015 Mar;18(2):475-83.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-014-0816-2pubmed: 25348065google scholar: lookup
  11. Maginnity ME, Grace RC. Visual perspective taking by dogs (Canis familiaris) in a Guesser-Knower task: evidence for a canine theory of mind?. Anim Cogn 2014 Nov;17(6):1375-92.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-014-0773-9pubmed: 24950722google scholar: lookup
  12. Catala A, Mang B, Wallis L, Huber L. Dogs demonstrate perspective taking based on geometrical gaze following in a Guesser-Knower task.. Anim Cogn 2017 Jul;20(4):581-589.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-017-1082-xpmc: PMC5486476pubmed: 28342160google scholar: lookup
  13. Leblanc MA. The Mind of the Horse: An Introduction to Equine Cognition. Harvard University Press; 2013.
  14. Levine MA. Domestication and early history of the horse. In: Mills D, McDonnell S, editors. The Domestic Horse: The Evolution, Development and Management of its Behaviour. Cambridge University Press; 2005. pp. 5–22.
  15. Outram AK, Stear NA, Bendrey R, Olsen S, Kasparov A, Zaibert V, Thorpe N, Evershed RP. The earliest horse harnessing and milking.. Science 2009 Mar 6;323(5919):1332-5.
    doi: 10.1126/science.1168594pubmed: 19265018google scholar: lookup
  16. Proops L, Walton M, McComb K. The use of human-given cues by domestic horses, Equus caballus, during an object choice task.. Anim. Behav. 2010;79:1205–1209.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.02.015google scholar: lookup
  17. Krueger K, Flauger B, Farmer K, Maros K. Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention.. Anim Cogn 2011 Mar;14(2):187-201.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-010-0352-7pubmed: 20845052google scholar: lookup
  18. Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S. Domestic horses send signals to humans when they face with an unsolvable task.. Anim Cogn 2017 May;20(3):397-405.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-016-1056-4pubmed: 27885519google scholar: lookup
  19. Trösch M, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S, Lemarchand J, Parias C, Lormant F, Lansade L. Horses prefer to solicit a person who previously observed a food-hiding process to access this food: A possible indication of attentional state attribution.. Behav Processes 2019 Sep;166:103906.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103906pubmed: 31301426google scholar: lookup
  20. Itakura S. An exploratory study of gaze-monitoring in nonhuman primates.. Jpn. Psychol. Res. 1996;38:174–180.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5884.1996.tb00022.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  21. Warneken F, Tomasello M. Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees.. Science 2006 Mar 3;311(5765):1301-3.
    doi: 10.1126/science.1121448pubmed: 16513986google scholar: lookup
  22. Yamamoto S, Humle T, Tanaka M. Chimpanzees help each other upon request.. PLoS One 2009 Oct 14;4(10):e7416.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007416pmc: PMC2757899pubmed: 19826478google scholar: lookup
  23. Yamamoto S, Humle T, Tanaka M. Chimpanzees' flexible targeted helping based on an understanding of conspecifics' goals.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012 Feb 28;109(9):3588-92.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108517109pmc: PMC3295314pubmed: 22315399google scholar: lookup
  24. Melis AP, Tomasello M. Chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) strategic helping in a collaborative task.. Biol Lett 2013 Apr 23;9(2):20130009.
    doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0009pmc: PMC3639774pubmed: 23426915google scholar: lookup
  25. Virányi Z, Gácsi M, Kubinyi E, Topál J, Belényi B, Ujfalussy D, Miklósi A. Comprehension of human pointing gestures in young human-reared wolves (Canis lupus) and dogs (Canis familiaris).. Anim Cogn 2008 Jul;11(3):373-87.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-007-0127-ypubmed: 18183437google scholar: lookup
  26. Gácsi M, McGreevy P, Kara E, Miklósi A. Effects of selection for cooperation and attention in dogs.. Behav Brain Funct 2009 Jul 24;5:31.
    doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-5-31pmc: PMC2731781pubmed: 19630939google scholar: lookup
  27. Takimoto A, Hori Y, Fujita K. Horses (Equus caballus) adaptively change the modality of their begging behavior as a function of human attentional states.. Psychologia 2016;59:100–111.
    doi: 10.2117/psysoc.2016.100google scholar: lookup
  28. Heyes CM. Cues, convergence and a curmudgeon: A reply to Povinelli.. Anim. Behav. 1994;48:242–244.
    doi: 10.1006/anbe.1994.1234google scholar: lookup
  29. Tomasello M, Hare B, Agnetta B. Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, follow gaze direction geometrically.. Anim Behav 1999 Oct;58(4):769-777.
    doi: 10.1006/anbe.1999.1192pubmed: 10512650google scholar: lookup
  30. Povinelli DJ, Nelson KE, Boysen ST. Inferences about guessing and knowing by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).. J Comp Psychol 1990 Sep;104(3):203-10.
    doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.104.3.203pubmed: 2225758google scholar: lookup
  31. Reaux JE, Theall LA, Povinelli DJ. A longitudinal investigation of chimpanzees' understanding of visual perception.. Child Dev. 1999;70:275–290.
    doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00021google scholar: lookup
  32. Tomasello M, Call J, Hare B. Chimpanzees understand psychological states - the question is which ones and to what extent.. Trends Cogn Sci 2003 Apr;7(4):153-156.
    doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00035-4pubmed: 12691762google scholar: lookup
  33. Call J, Tomasello M. Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? 30 years later.. Trends Cogn Sci 2008 May;12(5):187-92.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.02.010pubmed: 18424224google scholar: lookup
  34. McKinley J, Sambrook TD. Use of human-given cues by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and horses (Equus caballus). Anim. Cogn. 2000;3:13–22.
    doi: 10.1007/s100710050046google scholar: lookup
  35. Miklósi A, Kubinyi E, Topál J, Gácsi M, Virányi Z, Csányi V. A simple reason for a big difference: wolves do not look back at humans, but dogs do.. Curr Biol 2003 Apr 29;13(9):763-6.
    doi: 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00263-Xpubmed: 12725735google scholar: lookup
  36. Hare B, Brown M, Williamson C, Tomasello M. The domestication of social cognition in dogs.. Science 2002 Nov 22;298(5598):1634-6.
    doi: 10.1126/science.1072702pubmed: 12446914google scholar: lookup
  37. Hare B, Tomasello M. Human-like social skills in dogs?. Trends Cogn Sci 2005 Sep;9(9):439-44.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2005.07.003pubmed: 16061417google scholar: lookup
  38. Bentosela M, Barrera G, Jakovcevic A, Elgier AM, Mustaca AE. Effect of reinforcement, reinforcer omission and extinction on a communicative response in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris).. Behav Processes 2008 Jul;78(3):464-9.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2008.03.004pubmed: 18450389google scholar: lookup
  39. Marshall-Pescini S, Passalacqua C, Barnard S, Valsecchi P, Prato-Previde E. Agility and search and rescue training differently affects pet dogs' behaviour in socio-cognitive tasks.. Behav Processes 2009 Jul;81(3):416-22.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.03.015pubmed: 19520242google scholar: lookup
  40. Mongillo P, Pitteri E, Marinelli L. Sustained attention to the owner is enhanced in dogs trained for animal assisted interventions.. Behav Processes 2017 Jul;140:69-73.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.03.024pubmed: 28366777google scholar: lookup
  41. 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
  42. Proops L, McComb K, Reby D. Cross-modal individual recognition in domestic horses (Equus caballus).. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009 Jan 20;106(3):947-51.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.0809127105pmc: PMC2630083pubmed: 19075246google scholar: lookup
  43. Sappington BKF, McCall CA, Coleman DA, Kuhlers DL, Lishak RS. A preliminary study of the relationship between discrimination reversal learning and performance tasks in yearling and 2-year-old horses.. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 1997;53:157–166.
    doi: 10.1016/S0168-1591(96)01157-4google scholar: lookup
  44. Hothersall B, Gale EV, Harris P, Nicol CJ. Cue use by foals (Equus caballus) in a discrimination learning task.. Anim Cogn 2010 Jan;13(1):63-74.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-009-0245-9pubmed: 19521725google scholar: lookup
  45. R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, 2018.

Citations

This article has been cited 5 times.
  1. Liehrmann O, Cosnard C, Riihonen V, Viitanen A, Alander E, Jardat P, Koski SE, Lummaa V, Lansade L. What drives horse success at following human-given cues? An investigation of handler familiarity and living conditions. Anim Cogn 2023 Jul;26(4):1283-1294.
    doi: 10.1007/s10071-023-01775-0pubmed: 37072511google scholar: lookup
  2. 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
  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. Zeiträg C, Jensen TR, Osvath M. Gaze following: A socio-cognitive skill rooted in deep time. Front Psychol 2022;13:950935.
    doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.950935pubmed: 36533020google scholar: lookup
  5. Maeda T, Yamamoto S. Drone Observation for the Quantitative Study of Complex Multilevel Societies. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jun 8;13(12).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13121911pubmed: 37370421google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.