Researchers
in Japan have shown that when horses face problems they cannot solve
themselves, they use visual and tactile signals to get human attention and ask
for help.
The study
also suggests that horses alter their communicative behaviour based on humans'
knowledge of the situation.
Scientists
investigated horses' social cognitive skills with humans in a problem-solving
situation where food was hidden in a place accessible only to humans. The
experiment was carried out in a paddock belonging to the equestrian club at
Kobe University, where eight horses from the club participated with the
cooperation of their student caretakers.
