4 replies to this topic

[Still Waters]

Quote

Horses can recognise the sound of their owner's voice - and the voices of other people.

A new University of Sussex study published today shows that domestic horses use a sophisticated cognitive system to identify individuals of species other than their own.

A previous study by the university demonstrated that horses have the ability to combine auditory and visual information to recognise each other.

But in the latest study, published by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Drs Leanne Proops and Karen McComb have been able to show that horses also employ this system for distinguishing between the different humans they know.

http://www.dailymail...ans-voices.html

[ouija ouija]

Everybody who has anything to do with horses knows this already!

[Panda124]

Can't dogs do that too?

[shadowlark]

ouija ouija, on 16 May 2012 - 09:37 PM, said:

Everybody who has anything to do with horses knows this already!

Exactly what I was going to say. My mare won't stop doing whatever she's doing when anyone other than myself calls her. You can see her ears flicking so you know she hears you, but she'll ignore you. As soon as I call her name, up comes her head, she looks over and finds me, and starts walking over. Comes in very handy when she's at the far end of the pasture - I just have to call loud enough for her to hear and she'll come to me!

[Ryu]

What's so unusual about this?

I thought this was one of the methods animals like horses use to recognize their humans as well as others.