Social Referencing in the Domestic Horse.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research article explores whether horses, much like dogs and cats, use human emotional cues to guide their behavior in unfamiliar situations. The study reveals that horses do indeed exhibit socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans, using emotional cues to respond to a new object, with differences in behavior observed among various breed types.
Objective and Methodology of the Study
Firstly, the study aimed to ascertain if horses deploy social referencing – a behavior where they use human emotional information to guide their reaction towards an unfamiliar object. In order to investigate this, the researchers adopted an empirical approach where horses were subjected to an experiment involving humans and a novel object.
- A total of 46 horses were randomly assigned to two groups for the experiment.
- The experiment involved a human experimenter positioned in the middle of a test arena with a novel object, displaying either positive or negative emotional expressions towards the object while maintaining eye and verbal contact.
Results and Analysis
The researchers studied different aspects of the horses’ behavior including the time the horses spent near the experimenter and the object, the frequency of their gaze towards the object or human, and their physical interactions.
- Horses exposed to positive human emotional cues spent more time between the object and the experimenter compared to those that encountered negative cues, indicating less avoidance of the object in the positive scenario.
- Horses confronted with negative human cues looked at the object more frequently, reflecting an increase in their alertness or vigilance behaviour.
- Observations also noted differences in breed types; Thoroughbreds exhibited less human-directed behavior compared to Warmbloods and Ponies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the authors suggest that horses, akin to dogs and cats, utilize human emotional cues to guide their behavior in unfamiliar scenarios. The results highlight the intelligence of horses and their sensitivity toward human emotions, introducing potential considerations for human-horse interactions in various contexts. Furthermore, the distinctions between breed types could be indicative of differing socio-cognitive abilities among horse breeds.
Cite This Article
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
- Physiology Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany.
- Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Behavioural Physiology, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany.
Grant Funding
- LA 1187/6-1 / Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Open Access Fund / Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
Conflict of Interest Statement
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