If you regularly interact with horses, then you appreciate their high intelligence level. These mammals have the potential to understand emotions and they can easily be offended by your reactions.
Yes! Horses have the unique ability to observe your behaviours and fathom your intentions.
As such, you should always think before giving them that stink-eye lest you get yourself into their list of enemies.
Horses Have a Superb Memory
Researchers have discovered that horses have a relatively developed brain. They not only notice whenever you’re in a foul mood, but they also register it in their brains. As such, they will always remember the occurrences later even when you try to be friendly to them.
This fact was proven using evidence-based research undertaken in the University of Sussex and Portsmouth. In this study, horses portrayed a rather peculiar habit.
They behaved differently to individuals depending on their past experiences. For example, the horses reacted jovially to people who wore a smile in previous interactions. Vice versa was found to be true too.
Mind Your Manners!
If you’ve always thought that you can walk scot-free after mishandling your horse, then you’re dawn mistaken! Your horse will continually store the images of an angry owner and they will coldly respond to your needs.
As such, you should always mind how you treat these majestic animals. Humanely handling them will promote a symbiotic relationship where both parties will enjoy the benefits.
Do Other Domesticated Animals Behave the Same?
Well, most of the domesticated animals have a strong sense of emotions. They can differentiate between anger and happiness.
Some of the animals with great empathy and sense of emotions include dogs, cats, and sheep. As such, you should be careful on how you treat these animals lest you cause them post-traumatic disorders.
Effects of Looks on Horses
A research conducted to find out the response of horses to different looks yielded interesting results. The researchers used photographs of people with varying emotions to determine the reactions of horses.
Interestingly, horses responded with negative reactions and an increase in heart rate whenever a photo of an angry individual was placed before their eyes. Also, they showed a clear bias against these photos opting to look at them from the corner of their left eyes!
Here is the interesting part;
After some time, the researchers went back to the same horses-this time with a different strategy.
They showed the horses photos of individuals with frown faces. After several hours, the same people appeared in person with smiley faces. Surprisingly, the horses appeared to remember the individuals’ photos which resulted in disinterest as well as an increased heart rate!
The Story of Clever Hans
Horses are undoubtedly highly intelligent animals. This was highlighted by Clever Hans, a horse that mesmerised the world due to its ability to recognise numbers and undertake simple arithmetic. This occurence proves that horses are not your ordinary animals. They possess amazing cognitive abilities!
Bottom Line
Horses are intelligent animals that can identify and remember emotions. As such, you should be wary when mistreating them since they will not forget about the experience!
