Research

Horses show a human-like perception of the common Müller-Lyer illusion, according to researchers in Italy.

Study raises concerns about the reliability in clinical practice of assessing back mobility in horses on a straight line in walk and trot.

It’s all about “extended flight,” and horses don’t have it, according to researchers in Japan.

“Understanding the true burden of West Nile Virus is critical,” say researchers.

Evasive behaviors with the head, neck, and mouth were significantly more common with a bit, compared with a halter.

Horses can and do learn both from each other, and from the people around them, and this has important implications for both welfare and training.

While this new study might not show that horses can reflect on their own minds, it does put them in the small group of animals who can think in an objective way about their own bodies.

“Little is known about the physical activity-dependent changes of blood parameters in horses used for pleasure and in riding schools.”

The study results amount to the first evidence of mirror self-recognition at the group level in a non-primate species.

Communicating with your horse is likely to be easier if you use what researchers have dubbed pet-directed speech.

Genetic testing was carried out on 126 horses from five different breeds for the study.

The research demonstrated the basic capabilities of postural sway monitoring using a single inertial sensor. Postural sway forms part of the body’s ability to balance in any posture or activity.

The degree of access a horse has to food and space are important factors in its overall well-being.

“Ideas that once may have seemed unattainable – like a hand-held, stall-side testing device – are now coming into sight as real and tangible possibilities.”