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Home / Equine Research Bank / Anim Cogn / How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human ac...
Animal cognition2019; 23(1); 1-9; doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01310-0

How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human action?

Abstract: A previous study demonstrated that horses can learn socially from observing humans, but could not draw any conclusions about the social learning mechanisms. Here we develop this by showing horses four different human action sequences as demonstrations of how to press a button to open a feed box. We tested 68 horses aged between 3 and 12 years. 63 horses passed the habituation phase and were assigned either to the group Hand Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used a hand to press the button, Head Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used the head, Mixed Demo (N = 12) for which a squatting person used both head and hand, Foot Demo (N = 12) in which a standing person used a foot, or No Demo (N = 13) in which horses did not receive a demonstration. 44 horses reached the learning criterion of opening the feeder twenty times consecutively, 40 of these were 75% of the Demo group horses and four horses were 31% of the No Demo group horses. Horses not reaching the learning criterion approached the human experimenters more often than those who did. Significantly more horses used their head to press the button no matter which demonstration they received. However, in the Foot Demo group four horses consistently preferred to use a hoof and two switched between hoof and head use. After the Mixed Demo the horses' actions were more diverse. The results indicate that only a few horses copy behaviours when learning socially from humans. A few may learn through observational conditioning, as some appeared to adapt to demonstrated actions in the course of reaching the learning criterion. Most horses learn socially through enhancement, using humans to learn where, and which aspect of a mechanism has to be manipulated, and by applying individual trial and error learning to reach their goal.
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Publication Date: 2019-09-17 PubMed ID: 31531748PubMed Central: 6689011DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01310-0Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • 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.

The research article investigates the ability of horses to learn from observing human actions, through a variety of demonstration methods. It concludes that while horses do possess social learning capabilities, most do not directly mimic human actions but tend to use a combination of observation and trial-and-error to achieve their aims.

Methodology and Participants

  • The research involved 68 horses aged between 3 and 12 years old. The horses engaged in a task where they had to press a button to open a feed box.
  • During the habituation phase, 63 horses were divided into five groups. Four of these groups were given different demonstrations on how to press the button, while the fifth group (No Demo) had no demonstration.
  • The demonstrations varied in the body part used to press the button – hand, foot, head or a combination (Mixed Demo).

Results

  • 44 horses managed to open the feeder twenty times consecutively, indicating they had learned the task. A noteworthy finding was that out of these 44 horses, only four were from the No Demo group, showing the influence of demonstrations on horses’ learning.
  • Many horses that failed to achieve the learning criterion often approached the human experimenters, suggesting possible confusion or struggle with the task.
  • Most of the horses utilized their head regardless of the demonstration given. In the Foot Demo group, only a few opted to use a hoof, with some switching between hoof and head use.

Conclusion

  • The study concludes that a small number of horses do manage to copy behaviors when learning socially from humans. However, most horses learn through a combination of observational conditioning and individual trial-and-error, using humans as an indicator of the mechanism to be manipulated.
  • These findings suggest that while horses can learn from observing human actions, their learning style may differ. Rather than copying actions directly, they are likely to combine observed actions with individual attempts to achieve their objective.

Cite This Article

APA
Bernauer K, Kollross H, Schuetz A, Farmer K, Krueger K. (2019). How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human action? Anim Cogn, 23(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-019-01310-0

Publication

Animal cognition
ISSN: 1435-9456
NlmUniqueID: 9814573
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 23
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-9

Researcher Affiliations

Bernauer, Kira
  • Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Neckarsteige 6-10, 72622, Nürtingen, Germany.
Kollross, Hanna
  • Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Neckarsteige 6-10, 72622, Nürtingen, Germany.
Schuetz, Aurelia
  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Platz der Goettinger Sieben 5, 37073, Goettingen, Germany.
Farmer, Kate
  • St Andrews University, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK.
Krueger, Konstanze
  • Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Neckarsteige 6-10, 72622, Nürtingen, Germany. Konstanze.Krueger@hfwu.de.
  • University of Regensburg, Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany. Konstanze.Krueger@hfwu.de.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Posture
  • Social Learning

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