Source: My Senior Horse
A study by researchers at Nottingham Trent University reveals that horses may be far more intelligent than previously believed. The experiment involved teaching horses to touch a card with their noses for a treat, with later stages adding a light signal to indicate when touching the card would or wouldn’t yield a reward. Initially, horses appeared to ignore the rules, touching the card regardless of the light. However, once a penalty—a 10-second time-out—was introduced for errors, horses quickly adapted, only touching the card at appropriate times.
This sudden improvement suggests the horses may have understood the rules all along but chose a low-effort strategy until a cost was introduced. Researchers believe this shows evidence of model-based learning, a complex cognitive process once thought beyond horses’ abilities. The findings challenge assumptions about equine intelligence and suggest horses are capable of forward-thinking, goal-directed behavior, even without a highly developed prefrontal cortex like humans.