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Horse Research
Our horse research page has photos of research activities that participants
are involved in during their equestrian
vacations and internships as
well as
past scientific projects at the Equine Research Foundation. These photos
provide a sampling of our past and current research into equine cognition
and perception. All research is noninvasive and relies on positive reinforcement.
For photos of our horse activities, please visit our horsemanship
pictures page. Also, see
what people
say about the Foundation's programs.
Researching The Horse's Mind
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Participants
of the Equine Research Foundation's learning and riding
vacations and internships assist with research into the learning and perceptual
abilities of horses. The horse in the top image demonstrates a relative size
concept, which is an advanced learning ability. To read about our research,
see our horse
articles.
Participants work as a team analyzing the horse research results.
One of the purposes of the Equine Research Foundation is to dispel myths
about horses. One common myth was that horses are colorblind, that they see
only in black and white. The Foundation discovered that horses see colors
similarly to humans with red-green
color deficiency, which means that they do have some color vision.
Equestrian vacations participants, interns, and volunteers are involved
in all aspects of horse research, including operating the testing apparatus.
Writers and film crews sometimes visit the Equine Research Foundation. This
New Zealand film crew visited the Foundation to film a segment
for Animal
Planet's
Most
Extreme:
Thinkers.
The star of the show giving an interview.
Dr. Evelyn B. Hanggi (below) presents the Equine Research Foundation's findings
and horse training methods at the American Association of Equine Practitioners
(AAEP) 2005 conference in Seattle, WA.
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Categorization and Concept Learning Studies
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The horse in the upper image selects the shape with an open center instead of the solid shapes, showing it can categorize stimuli into specific classes.
Demonstrating a concept of relative size, which is a higher level cognitive ability,
the horse in the lower image chooses the largest of four stimuli. As with all
of our horse research, many sets of stimuli are used including brand new ones
never before seen by the horses.
These advanced learning abilities show that horses have more going on cognitively than many people think!
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Interocular Transfer Study
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This study investigates the horse's ability to recognize with one eye an object that it had previously only learned about with the other eye.
This study dispelled a common myth about equine perception. |
Equine Color Vision Study
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This
recent study investigates color vision in horses. Using pseudoisochromatic
plate tests adapted from those used in human color vision testing, we showed
that horses
are
red-green
color deficienct. This means that although horses have trouble seeing some
colors they are capable of seeing others.
Even though they cannot see all colors as
we
do, horses get along just fine in their environment.
See our horse
articles for our latest publications.
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Discrimination Learning
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Horses learn that one object is preferred over another in tests of overlapping discriminations.
Memory of learned behaviors can last years. |
Transfer Between Objects and Photos
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After learning that one object rather than another is correct, the horse transfers its response to a photo of the object and vice versa.
As always, many sets of stimuli are tested during our horse research and
conclusions depend on how horses respond to novel stimuli. |
If you'd like to learn more about horse research - including equine thinking,
perception, and behavior - and would like to learn how to build strong relationships
with
horses
and train
them using gentle methods or would like to understand how to work through
human-horse problems, we invite you to:
Copyright Notice: All literature and photographs on this website are the exclusive property of
the Equine Research Foundation or the scientific journals in which articles
appear. The literature and photographs may not be downloaded or reproduced,
copied, used or altered in any way without the written permission of the Equine
Research
Foundation.
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