Horses’ (Equus Caballus) Laterality, Stress Hormones, and Task Related Behavior in Innovative Problem-Solving

Abstract

Domesticated horses are constantly confronted with novel tasks. A recent study on anecdotal data indicates that some are innovative in dealing with such tasks. However, innovative behavior in horses has not previously been investigated under experimental conditions. In this study, we investigated whether 16 horses found an innovative solution when confronted with a novel feeder. Moreover, we investigated whether innovative behavior in horses may be affected by individual aspects such as: age, sex, size, motor and sensory laterality, fecal stress hormone concentrations (GCMs), and task-related behavior. Our study revealed evidence for 25% of the horses being capable of innovative problem solving for operating a novel feeder. Innovative horses of the present study were active, tenacious, and may be considered to have a higher inhibitory control, which was revealed by their task related behavior. Furthermore, they appeared to be emotional, reflected by high baseline GCM concentrations and a left sensory and motor laterality. These findings may contribute to the understanding of horses’ cognitive capacities to deal with their environment and calls for enriched environments in sports and leisure horse management.

Not by transmission alone: the role of invention in cultural evolution

“…Male grackles (Quiscalus lugubris) that were less afraid of novelty, more exploratory, and more persistent were more likely to succeed in opening a box containing food (Overington et al, 2011), and the main predictor of success for wild hyenas in obtaining food from a puzzle box was diversity of techniques tried, with the primary inhibitor being neophobia (Benson-Amram and Holekamp, 2012). Neophobia also seems to explain speed of problem-solving in raccoons (Procyon lotor): less neophobic and more persistent individuals were more likely to solve a puzzle-box task (Daniels et al, 2019), and horses (Equus caballus) that were more active, more tenacious, and better at inhibition control were better able to feed from a novel feeder (Esch et al, 2019). Amici et al's (2019) meta-analysis of 38 studies of foraging tasks in 20 species of birds and mammals showed that individuals that are more explorative, neophilic and (to a lesser, non-significant extent) persistent are more prone to innovate; exploration more strongly predicted innovation in captive rather than wild animals.…”

Exploration influences problem solving in the fawn‐footed mosaic‐tailed rat (Melomys cervinipes)

“…Similarly, individuals that are less stressed or anxious are better problem solvers due to increased persistence (e.g. house sparrows, Passer domesticus , Bókony et al, 2014; dogs, Canis familiaris , Bray et al, 2017; horses, Equus caballus , Esch et al, 2019). However, less exploratory individuals could be better problem solvers than exploratory ones, as exploratory individuals may dominate easily accessible resources (Huntingford et al, 2012), forcing less exploratory individuals to solve problems to access alternative resources (e.g.…”

Animal behaviour in a human world: A crowdsourcing study on horses that open door and gate mechanisms

“…The fact that horses which opened feed storage rooms were older and had more access to pasture supports the role of opportunity in learning novel techniques. Nevertheless, individual personality [51,52] , especially the horses’ activity and emotionality [63] , may also account for differences in manipulative skills.…”