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Do animals have better cognitive power? Yes, new research reveals that.
When we think of intelligent animals, horses might not be the first creatures that come to mind. Judging an animal’s intelligence against humans is the epitome of arrogance – we might cleverly bypass that.
However, recent research conducted by scientists from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in England has acknowledged that these magnificent beings are far more cognitively advanced than we ever imagined.
This study challenges long-held beliefs about equine intelligence and highlights the unique cognitive abilities of horses.
One Japanese study reveals how horses use visual and tactile signals to react to human actions. (Source)
This study involved 20 horses under scrutiny!
The study circulated in the Applied Animal Behaviour Science journal as it applied a series of reward-related activities that represented the horses’ ability to think critically, how they plan ahead, assess current situations, and adapt functional strategies.
In the first attempt, horses were offered a reward to touch a card with their nose. Remarkably, the horses continued to touch the card in light on and off mode for the sake of rewards, not fully understanding the change in the rules of the game.
This study is led by researcher Louise Evans – to see the changing behavioural response when a penalty was introduced.
This turning point came out of something unexpected happened when researchers introduced a penalty for incorrect responses in the form of a 10-second timeout. Surprisingly, the horses quickly adapted their behaviour, touching the card only when the light was off to avoid the penalty. This rapid adaptation showed the horses’ ability to understand and follow complex rules, challenging the notion that they could only respond to immediate stimuli.
Lead researcher Louise Evans expressed her surprise at the horses’ response to the penalty, explaining, “We were expecting horses’ behaviour to improve when we set up the time-out response time, but we were shocked by how quick and significant the change in behaviour has happened.”
This discovery suggests that horses had followed the rules all along, showing a depth of cognitive reasoning that was previously underestimated.
Furthermore, Carrie Ijichi, a senior lecturer in equine science at NTU, highlights a particular of these findings. “Horses are not natural geniuses; they are thought of as mediocre,” she explained.
So this study showed us horses do not have an average cognitive power. In fact, rather than we claimed they had Higher-order cognition abilities to access the situation, we need to give them credit for this study.”
These results challenge our notion of horses as mere friends or working animals and reveal surprising intelligence that warrants further exploration.
- Do you give credit to any animals in your life for their unexpected service?
- Do you still believe other animals have same or better intelligence?
- If animals are rewarded, might they perform complex tasks?
- Do you have any horse welfare and training centres?
- How do you appreciate animals when they help you?
Write your response in the comment box to hear an interesting moral story about your own or your bundle of joy with pet love.
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