A study involving 20 horses found they can be convinced to perform tasks for rewards and adjust their behavior when the rules change, with their performance significantly improving when a penalty was introduced for mistakes.
Horses can think and plan ahead, quickly learn to follow rules to avoid penalties, and have the ability to form an internal model of the world to make decisions and predictions, challenging previous notions about their intelligence, according to a study by researchers from Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
The study's findings challenge the notion that horses are not particularly intelligent animals, suggesting that they have a level of cognitive ability that was previously underestimated.
The findings may lead to changes in horse training regimes, and can have a positive impact on their overall wellbeing, the researchers said.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Daily Mail, BBC, Sky News, Yahoo News.