Scientists are determined that horses can be trained to communicate their opinion with humans.
In a new study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, researchers in Norway successfully taught 23 horses to indicate whether they wanted to wear a rug by touching their muzzle against one of three simple symbols displayed on a board.
The animals would touch their heads against a horizontal black line to indicate that they wanted a rug put over them. A vertical line indicated they wanted it taken off, and a blank symbol indicated ‘no change’.
"We wanted to explore whether the ability of horses to discriminate simple visual symbols could be extended with associations between specific symbols and corresponding outcomes, and furthermore the consequences for own comfort as perceived by the individual horse of these outcomes," the study authors said.
"The horses used their new insight to communicate their preference regarding blanketing in order to obtain or maintain thermal comfort, based on their individual perception of weather including ambient temperature, wind and precipitation.
"In conclusion, horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preference regarding blanketing."
Dr Cecilie Mejdell of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute told the BBC: "I think our study adds to the knowledge on horse cognition - about what horses are able to learn and how they think.
"Horses are often considered to be not very intelligent but this shows that using the right methods they can actually communicate and express their opinions and they can take choices that seem sensible to us even."
Karen McComb, professor of animal behaviour and cognition at the University of Sussex, said: "This is a really interesting and innovative study that has conceived a very novel way of getting at what is going on in the mind of the horse."
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