Thursday, July 30, 2009

How smart are horses?

Are some breeds of horses smarter than others? (like how some dog breeds are supposedly "smarter" than others)
and how smart are horses compared to other animals such as cows, dogs, apes or whatever.
Answers:
OK lets see a 1200lb animal with a brain the size of a walnut! Yup Defiantly Einstein material!!
horses are very smart , cows are dumb, dog are a lot smarter
but in a different league from horse.
Horses are very smart!
I used to work as a stable boy for a lady who had a few horses, she had one purebred she would race.
Those horses would plan to be nasty to you if you ever did anything they didn't like... forget there treats...
You can just tell how smart they are by watching them a lot of the time!
A horse compared to a dog... I would have to say the Horse is about 20 times smarter (At least!)
horses are very smart. a smart horse will start running to u when u take ur hand out, and when there see there is no food, they stop and nicker in an insulted way. thats one way to tell if a horse is smart. and horses can be smart in different ways. a horse is not smart depending on the breed *shakes head* smart horses know how to navigate lands by themselves in darkness. and are very surefooted and sturdy.
horses are smart like dogs,but they have there own little world you really need to bond to understand,keep away from appaloosas they are mean and stubborn.quarters are the best.
horses are bad look at what one did to christpher reaves the guy that played superman
It's hard to say, as there are many opinions on the subject of intelligence.
For instance some dog breeds like the Border Collie are considered highly intelligent, but only because they learn obedience commands quickly.
Other dogs ignore a human's commands altogether and prove to be stubborn--they gain "selective hearing" and decide when and where to obey their owners.
Does that make those dogs stupid, or smart?
There are different kinds of intelligence, so it's hard to base things from one breed to another.
EDIT:
Check out this website I've found:
http://abc.net.au/animals/program3/facts...
It seems to have a few studies on horses.
Here's a small test quoted on their memory:
"In one experiment, a horse was taught to select which symbol in 20 pairs would earn a food reward. It remembered all 20 on re-testing, while a donkey only learned 13 and a zebra 10. Tested again at 3, 6 and 12 months, the horse continued to get most of them right. "
Horses are herd animals - that is, they like to move in a herd for protection. Even though they have been domesticated for centuries horses still have that herd instinct, and that is why they sometimes seem flighty and ready to bolt - they think they need to escape from a predator that is ready to prey on them.
So, from a horse's point of view, the most intelligent would be those horses that really know how to stick to the herd, but are also on the lookout for predators, have quick reactions to escape, and can run fast.
If you look at it like that, then I guess those that run fastest and are a bit flighty might be the most intelligent - Thoroughbreds fit that bill, also Arabs can be flighty, and Quarter horses are fast sprinters. Perhaps the poor old Clydesdales would therefore be considered less intelligent.
However, people may rate intelligence by how easy an animal is to work with. In that case, maybe a Clydesdale could be considered brilliant!
well, I think in some cases, we have bred the "street sense" right out of many breeds. I see more curiosity and interest in his environment from my 1/2 arab than I ever have from qh. i've owned. the gal I bought him from did a non-scientific experiment... she moved gates and water tanks... Shadow and his dam (egyptian arab) were able to find their way to the water... her quarters were stumped. Proof of anything? who knows. rather funny, yah.
Horses are very smart. They can be trained, like dogs, to react to words, l ike "whoa", "walk" or "jog" stuff like that. I have seen horses pick up their little barn balls (toys I guess?) and throw them out of their stall over and over so that you will come put it back in and pay attention to them. I have also seen them wait until someone has their back turned to sneak up and bite them. They also like and dislike others. If you put a horse around one that it dislikes, it knows and will kick and run at the other horse. Look up the show breed Lippazanners(sp?) and see what they are capable of. VERY intelligent animals...smarter than cows, probably equal to a dog, and maybe a lil dumber than an ape, but not much!
K here we go
ya'll are not going to like my post buttt to bad
99.9% of horse related problems are caused by humans.so call trainers...and it seems that everybody that owns a horse is a trainer these days
Cows are as smart as a dog or horse they can be taught to ride and drive...they can be taught tricks as dog and horses
so my point is
Animals are as smart as there Handlers Make them !!
Horses are incredibly smart. Have you noticed how they will start to react to something that they know you are going to do even before you do it?
And if they have ever had a bad experience with something, they remember for years to come.
If your horse doesn't want to be caught, they seem to be able to outsmart a human...cause sometimes humans can't catch thier horses, and if they weren't that smart the human could catch them no problem.
Also how fast they can learn how to do things. They can think through things or react to be able to catch on.
Many other things about the horse just prove how truly smart they are.
Horses are smart creatures.You can learn alot from just watching them.My mare can sense my mood before I show it,and when you seem upset they know how to do something silly to cheer you up.
Horses are flight animals so when they see danger they do not stay and duke it out their first reaction is to run.If you are nervous when riding they will pick it up really quick,like"okay she is freaking out I am gonna to "they are very smart and humoring animals-would not have a life without them:)

1 comment:

  1. Super smart. Mans amd woman’s besties since the beginning- willing to go to war, valiant and brave, plop fields so humans could survive. Faithful, graceful and brave are traits only possessed by highly sentient and intelligent beings , like horses

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