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It’s Me! Horses Recognize Other Horses In Images

A study from Italy has shown that hoses can recognize their own species in images, but not other animals, reports The Horse.

Dr. Giulia Ragonese, with the Department of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Messina in Italy, has shown that horses can recognize 2D images of their own species. Dogs, cows, sheep and monkeys can also identify their own species in images.

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Ragonese showed 10 Franches-Montagnes horses images of other horses, pigs, donkeys, cows and sheep. Food was first hidden behind the images of the horses, then the test was reversed and food was put behind the images of other animals. The horses had to push the correct photo to find the food behind the image.

The scientists found that 80 percent of horses were able to distinguish horse faces from the others – including donkeys. However, they were unable to distinguish cows, pigs, sheep and donkeys from one another.

Ragonese said that this information offers insight into how the equine brain works, which is beneficial for equine welfare.

Read more at The Horse.

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Horses Better At Adding Than Some Humans

A study from Germany suggests that horses may be more mathematically inclined than originally thought. Researchers from the University of Gottingen trained three Shetland ponies to choose images that matched a specific visual cue.

First Drs. Vivian Gabor and Martina Gerken taught the ponies to walk up to a device and press a button; they were rewarded each time they approached the device and eventually for pressing one of the buttons.

Next, the ponies were shown a computer screen on the device that had a stimulus image in the center, and two images below it—one of which matched the stimulus. Each time the pony touched the image that matched the stimulus image, he got a treat delivered through a tube. To make sure the ponies weren't just selecting a familiar symbol, the researchers changed the options on the computer screen each time.

Once the ponies learned this, the scientists ran the same test, but used different quantities of the same image. For example, the stimulus image may show two dots; the options below may show two options: one with two dots and one with three. If the ponies chose the two-dot choice, they got a treat.

The researchers varied the size and arrangement of the images to ensure the ponies were choosing options based on numbers alone and not on other visual cues. The final phase of the study used images that were groupings of different geometric symbols, such as a cross, triangle and rhombus.

All three ponies had an 80 percent accuracy in matching images with at least four elements in at least two training sessions. One pony could tell the difference between four and five geometric symbols.

While proving that a horse's cognitive abilities may be much higher than previously believed, these finding don't mean the pony was “counting,” the team says. True counting indicated that the individual had an idea of numerical order. The ponies were subitizing: Quickly and spontaneously adding a short number of objects. Some primates and avian species can do this.

Read more at EQUUS magazine.

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