Photo: PIRITA/Depositphotos
Horses are majestic beasts, gentle and loving yet powerful.
They’ve been mankind’s faithful companion for the last5,000 years, enabling both travel and civilization building.
To test a horse’s intellect, the team used a three stage process.
Photo: PIRITA/Depositphotos
The first stage trained 20 horses to expect a treat when they tapped a card with their nose.
Naturally, they learned this connection.
The punishment was not harsh, just a 10-second pause in the game without the possibility of treats.
Photo: CORNFIELD/Depositphotos
The horses impressive adaptation to the new game resulted in a significant reduction in errors of card tapping.
These clever horses show an impressive ability to plan to achieve their goals.
Learning this about the species can help us interact humanely and effectively with them.
Photo: VIKARUS/Depositphotos
It just might increase human respect for them as well.
They then changed the rules.
