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Can You Really Teach An Old Dog New Tricks? Maybe, Study Says

A German study has found that more dominant horses may be slower to learn new tasks than their submissive counterparts, reports EQUUS magazine.

Though herd leaders tend to be older, age has nothing to do with the horses' cognitive ability in this instance. Instead, horses that are more alpha are often unmotivated to try new methods of obtaining resources.

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Researchers observed 30 horses of varying ages that had been in stable herds for at least two years and noted the hierarchy. The team then chose a horse that ranked in the middle of the pecking order and taught him to open a box that had food inside. The other horses in the herd were allowed to watch the horse open the box several times.

The other horses were then given an opportunity to open the box. The scientists found that young, low-ranking horses were more likely to open the box after watching the demonstrator horse. Older horses were equally as successful at opening the box, but were less inclined to try to open it.

The team hypothesized that the older, higher-ranking horses may be less likely to copy their younger, lower-ranking counterparts because young horses may not know what they're doing. For example, a young horse may consume forage that is dangerous. The older horses may also not copy behaviors because they have an established herd rank which provides them ample access to resources at all times.

Baby Talk May Be Annoying, But Study Shows It’s Beneficial For Horses

A new study has shown that using an upbeat tone of voice, similar to that often employed by adults when speaking to children, helps communication with horses.

Drs. Léa Lansade, Miléna Trösch, Céline Parias, Alice Blanchard, Elodie Gorosurreta and Ludovic Calandreau have found that the high-pitched tones foster relationships and stimulate certain learning processes. Dubbed “pet-directed speech” (PDS), this way of talking is characterized by repetition of words, a high-pitched voice and a wide pitch range.

To test the benefits of PDS, the research team created a social media survey for riders and horse owners, and found that 93 percent of the 845 people surveyed used this type of language. However, only 44 percent of those who used it thought the horses were sensitive to this manner of speaking.

To assess the impact of voice, the researchers conducted two tests on 20 horses that had never heard PDS. An experimenter spoke to the horses individually, using PDS or a neutral tone (like that used when adults speak to other adults) when grooming. The horses responded more favorably to the PDS: they were calmer, looked at the experimenter more and tried to groom them. None of these actions were shown in horses that were addressed in a neutral manner.

The second test involved an experimenter trying to tell a horse where food was located. She stood with a covered bucket in each hand, one of them containing food. The experimenter repeatedly moved her arm to point at the bucket the horse had to “choose” to get the food reward while speaking in PDS or neutrally

The horse chose a bucket at random when spoken to neutrally. When listening to PDS, the animals chose the bucket indicated to them.

The team determined that PDS captures the attention of animals and helps them better understand the experimenters' intentions. It also facilitates communication with horses during everyday interactions. The scientists report that using PDS could improve equine welfare as horses are sensitive to human emotions.

Read the paper here.

Horse-Handling Skills Helps Keep Equine Vets Safe

Being a large-animal veterinarian is fraught with danger—vets are often placed in precarious positions where they can be kicked, bitten or worse by the patients they're trying to help. It's estimated that about 80 percent of equine vets have suffered injuries from a difficult horse and 37 percent of those injured have had ongoing pain or a disability from the injury.

It's difficult enough to entice vet students to consider large animal practices; the risk of injury is just another strike against the profession. Gemma Pearson, Melanie Connor, John Keen, Richard Reardon, and Natalie Waran, all students at the University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, are working to create a program to teach vet students horse-handling methods that are based on equine learning theory. It's hoped that this program will reduce the number of vets who don't consider large-animal work or who leave the profession early.

The research team tested the effects of a single lecture that focused on practical learning theory tips for equine vets on pre-final-year vet students. The 45-minute lecture focused on how horses learned; videos were shown that demonstrated how to apply that theory to equine patients.

Examples shown included overshadowing, where the horse is asked to do a task it knows (like stepping backward) to draw attention away from the action the vet is performing, like administering a shot. Using negative reinforcement to get a horse to enter stocks by lightly tapping him with a whip, and stopping as soon as he took a step forward was also included in the lecture .

Students watched videos of “difficult” horses both before and after the lecture; they were also asked questions. After the lecture, the students were more likely to suggest learning theory-based solutions on how to hand the horse. The vet students also indicated that they had greater confidence in their horse-handling skills after the lecture.

The study group concluded that just one lecture had the potential to positively alter students' perception of how to handle “difficult” horses; it may also influence how they deal with difficult horses, thus creating a safer work environment.

The researchers went on to note that horse owners play a key role in keeping vets safe; by teaching their horses to stand still unless asked to move, and to respond to leadrope cues to go forward or backward, they can help veterinarians remain safe on the job.