PETS
at a racing stable . Music-listening and daily massages were associated with notably lower stress hormone levels , highlighting the potential of such interventions in helping horses adapt to new environments .
Social dynamics and influences on horses
Konstanze Krueger and Jürgen Heinze from the University of Regensburg delved into horses ’ social behavior and their susceptibility to influence . Their experiments showcased horses ’ tendency to imitate their peers , especially when the leading horse exhibited dominance over the follower . This phenomenon demonstrates horses ’ inclination to
adopt behaviors influenced by their peers , akin to human susceptibility to peer pressure .
Social skills and recognition
Horses ’ social skills extend to recognizing and remembering other horses as well as humans . Claudia Feh ’ s research on Przewalski ’ s horses revealed that stallions could identify and separate their mares from a larger group even after prolonged separation . Furthermore , horses can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar individuals based on voice recordings . Horses ’ recognition abilities even extend to photographs , as demonstrated by their proficiency in distinguishing between identical twins .
75 MARKtoe ! September 2023