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Animal cognition2013; 17(3); 645-655; doi: 10.1007/s10071-013-0696-x

The effects of age, rank and neophobia on social learning in horses.

Abstract: Social learning is said to meet the demands of complex environments in which individuals compete over resources and cooperate to share resources. Horses (Equus caballus) were thought to lack social learning skills because they feed on homogenously distributed resources with few reasons for conflict. However, the horse's social environment is complex, which raises the possibility that its capacity for social transfer of feeding behaviour has been underestimated. We conducted a social learning experiment using 30 socially kept horses of different ages. Five horses, one from each group, were chosen as demonstrators, and the remaining 25 horses were designated observers. Observers from each group were allowed to watch their group demonstrator opening a feeding apparatus. We found that young, low-ranking and more exploratory horses learned by observing older members of their own group, and the older the horse, the more slowly it appeared to learn. Social learning may be an adaptive specialisation to the social environment. Older animals may avoid the potential costs of acquiring complex and potentially disadvantageous feeding behaviours from younger group members. We argue that horses show social learning in the context of their social ecology and that research procedures must take such contexts into account. Misconceptions about the horse's sociality may have hampered earlier studies.
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Publication Date: 2013-10-30 PubMed ID: 24170136DOI: 10.1007/s10071-013-0696-xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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  • 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 tests the social learning capabilities of horses by assessing how age, social rank, and degree of fear of new things (neophobia) influence the animals’ ability to learn by observing their peers. Findings suggest that younger, socially subordinate, and more exploratory horses are likely to learn from the older horses in their group.

Objective and Methodology

The researchers aimed to examine whether horses (Equus caballus) possess social learning abilities, a subject previously unexplored due to misconceptions about the sociality of horses. They formulated an experimental set-up where 30 socially kept horses of varying ages were divided into ‘demonstrator’ horses and ‘observer’ horses.

  • The ‘demonstrators’ were tasked with opening a feeding apparatus.
  • ‘Observers’ were then allowed to observe the ‘demonstrators’ and learn from their actions.

Key Findings

The study revealed a variety of aspects related to social learning in horses. These findings include:

  • The horses that were young, low-ranking, and more exploratory successfully learned by watching older horses from their group.
  • Conversely, older horses took more time to learn new skills, potentially to avoid learning potentially harmful behaviours from their younger counterparts.

Conclusions and Further Implications

Based on the findings, the researchers suggested that social learning in horses might be an adaptation to their social environment. They emphasized that future research on social learning in horses should account for this social context. The study closed by arguing that certain misconceptions about horses’ social behavior may have hindered prior research in the field.

Cite This Article

APA
Krueger K, Farmer K, Heinze J. (2013). The effects of age, rank and neophobia on social learning in horses. Anim Cogn, 17(3), 645-655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0696-x

Publication

Animal cognition
ISSN: 1435-9456
NlmUniqueID: 9814573
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Pages: 645-655

Researcher Affiliations

Krueger, Konstanze
  • Biology 1, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany, Konstanze.krueger@hfwu.de.
Farmer, Kate
    Heinze, Jürgen

      MeSH Terms

      • Age Factors
      • Animals
      • Feeding Behavior
      • Female
      • Hierarchy, Social
      • Horses / psychology
      • Learning
      • Male
      • Social Behavior
      • Social Environment

      Citations

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