a novel method to study horse preferences for blanketing

10th International Equitation Science Conference
Equine Stress, Learning and Training
ISES – Denmark 2014 August 7-9
http://www.equitationscience.com/press-releases
Communication through symbol use: a novel method to study horse preferences
for blanketing
“Horses can learn to understand the meaning of abstract symbols and to use these to
communicate with humans” stated researcher Cecilie Mejdell at the recent 10th
International Equitation Science Conference. The study, which aimed to teach horses to
use symbols to express their preferences regarding blanketing/rugging, was conducted
by Mejdell and research colleagues Turid Buvik, Grete Jørgensen and Knut Bøe from
the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway.
Using reward based operant behaviour conditioning; professional animal trainers
employed a ten step training program to teach 23 horses (13 cold-bloods and 10 warmbloods of various breeds, aged 3-16 years), to approach and touch a board with their
muzzle. The training involved association learning between visual symbols on boards
and meaning. One visual symbol meant “blanket on”, another meant “blanket off”, and
a third symbol meant “no change”. A horse was deemed to have learnt the meaning of
different symbols when they expressed meaningful symbol choices when tested 14
times in a row under pre-determined hot or cold environmental conditions. Speed of
learning varied between horses.
All horses entered the free choice phase between
days 11-13 (median 11), where responses given by horses were not influenced or
corrected
by
the
trainers
and
the
horse’s
response
(decision
regarding
blanketing/rugging) was rewarded. From this it was assumed that the horses were
expected to understand that their free choice, as expressed by touching a specific
symbol, determines the nature of blanketing (i.e. blanket/rug put on, taken off or no
change made) and even to understand the consequence in terms of thermal comfort for
the next hours. The horses’ preferences were tested under differing weather conditions
including sunshine, wind, rain/snow and temperatures ranging from -15 to +20 °C.
Horses were left outdoors for two hours before given the choice to change, or not
change, blanket status. Results revealed that the choices made by the horses were
individually consistent and influenced by weather conditions. In general, cold-blood
horses preferred to stay without a blanket more often compared to warm-bloods. This
study suggests that communication by the use of visual symbols, as has been
demonstrated in other species, is a promising tool for the study of preferences in
horses.
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