Horses are much smarter than we’ve believed, according to new research.
Scientists at Nottingham Trent University have discovered that horses can quickly adapt to challenges to get more rewards with less effort.
This new understanding could lead to better training methods and improved welfare for these animals.
The researchers wanted to learn more about how horses think and learn, so they created a game for the horses to play.
In the game, horses were trained to touch a piece of card with their noses to receive a treat.
At first, the game was simple: the horse touched the card, and a treat was given. But as the game went on, the researchers made it more challenging.
In the next stage, horses had to avoid touching the card when a light was on. They only received a treat if they touched the card while the light was off.
Surprisingly, the horses struggled with this task and kept touching the card whether the light was on or off.
They continued to receive treats for their correct responses, but they didn’t seem to understand the rule about the light.
Then the researchers added a twist to the game. If a horse touched the card while the light was on, they would get a 10-second “time out,” meaning they couldn’t play the game or receive a treat during that time.
This change made a huge difference. Suddenly, all the horses started playing the game correctly. They learned to touch the card only when the light was off, avoiding the penalty.
This quick shift in behavior surprised the researchers. They now believe that the horses may have understood the game all along but found a way to get rewards without putting in much mental effort.
Once there was a penalty for mistakes, the horses showed they could change their strategy immediately, demonstrating a higher level of thinking than we previously thought possible.
The study suggests that horses may be capable of “model-based learning,” a complex type of learning that requires thinking ahead and planning steps to achieve a goal.
This kind of learning was once believed to be beyond a horse’s cognitive abilities.
The researchers are now rethinking what horses are capable of, even though they have a less developed pre-frontal cortex—the part of the brain humans use for complex thinking.
Dr. Carrie Ijichi, a senior researcher, explained that horses had been seen as not very smart, but this study shows they are more advanced than we give them credit for.
Louise Evans, another researcher, added that the horses’ quick improvement after introducing the time-out was surprising and shows that they may have known the rules all along.
This study, published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, challenges previous assumptions about animal intelligence and suggests that horses have more going on in their minds than we realized.
