Horses are much smarter than previously thought, scientists say, after research shows the animals do better than expected in a complex reward-based game, reported DPA.
The authors of the study, from Nottingham Trent University, UK, found that when they were denied a treat for not following the rules of the game, the horses were able to immediately change their strategies to get more rewards. This shows that animals have the ability to think and plan ahead, something previously thought to be beyond their ability.
Knowing how horses learn can help keepers train them more humanely and improve their welfare, the team adds. “Horses are not geniuses by nature, they are considered mediocre, but the present study shows that they are actually more advanced cognitively than we give them credit for,” write the authors of the study, published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.
For the purposes of the study, the scientists set 20 horses a task consisting of three stages with gradually increasing complexity of the rules and the introduction of punishment. In the course of it, researchers have found that horses comply with the imposed rules in order to get a treat. The animals performed better than expected in the complex reward-based game, and when they were denied a treat for not following its rules, they were able to switch strategies immediately. According to the researchers, this suggests that the horses knew the rules of the game all along.
According to the scientists, the results of the study show that horses have the ability to form an internal model of the world around them to make decisions and make predictions – a technique known as model-based learning. Until now, this kind of training was thought to be too complex for horses because they have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with strategic thinking. According to scientists, horses use a different area of the brain to achieve a similar result.
Illustrative Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-horse-in-close-up-photography-1411709/
