Horses recognise eachothers' whinnies

By Justine Thompson

General news

16 December 2008 13:11

Horses can recognise each other from their neighs, a new study has shown.

A study of 24 horses, conducted by scientists from the University of Sussex, showed that the sound of a whinny conjured up a visual memory of the horse it was attached to.

Previously it was believed that only people could attach sound to a related visual ‘picture’ of someone.

In the study, horses reacted with surprise when they heard the 'wrong' whinny from a concealed herd-mate.

Horses were shown one of two familiar members of their herd, who was led past them and out of sight behind a barrier.

After a 10 second delay, the horse was then played a recorded whinny either from the herd-mate they had seen - or from the other animal.

When the sound did not match the herd-member seen walking behind the barrier, the horses seemed startled. Horses responded more quickly and looked in the direction of the call for longer.

The scientists, led by Dr Karen McComb, from the University of Sussex in Brighton, wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 'Overall, horses responded quicker and looked for a longer time during trials in which the familiar call heard did not match the familiar horse previously seen, indicating that the incongruent combination violated their expectations.”

The findings suggest that the animals are capable of complex skills related to recognition previously thought to be unique to people.

For more info visit: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/press_office/media/media717.shtml