Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

Abstract

This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object choice task when confronted with a) an unfamiliar or b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: 1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse, and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses' performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source, and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues.

Cognition and learning in horses (Equus caballus): What we know and why we should ask more

“…When each horse was given a choice to occupy the presence of the familiar person, the unfamiliar person, or an empty space, horses spent more time on the side of the pen with the familiar person or in the empty space than with the unfamiliar person (Stone, 2010). Horses appear to distinguish between attentive and inattentive humans with access to food rewards, preferring to approach humans who are facing and looking at them to those who are not ; similar results have been found by Krueger et al (2010).…”

Is caching the key to exclusion in corvids? The case of carrion crows (Corvus corone corone)

“…The influence of human social cues or local enhancement on animals’ performances in choice tasks is well known. Apart from dogs, gorillas Gorilla gorilla (Peignot and Anderson 1999), chimpanzees (Itakura et al 1999), wolves Canis lupus (Viranyi et al 2008), horses Equus caballus (Krueger et al 2010) and goats Capra hircus (Kaminski et al 2005) and at least two bird species, ravens (Schloegl et al 2008a) and clark’s nutcrackers Nucifraga columbiana (TornickTornick et al 2010), use touch cues or local enhancement to find hidden food in object-choice tasks.…”

Equine-assisted activities and the impact on perceived social support, self-esteem and self-efficacy among adolescents – an intervention study

“…emotional closeness and safety, the opportunity for nurturance through caring for and grooming of a horse and a reliable alliance (Burgon, 2011). The horse is unambiguous in its behaviour and reacts on the feelings presented through body language, thereby giving a direct response on the emotional state of the person (Birke et al, 2011; Krueger, Flauger, Farmer, & Maros, 2011; Lentini & Knox, 2008). This might lead to a feeling of intimacy which is part of an experience of social support.…”