Authors: Esch Laureen, Wöhr Caroline, Erhard Michael, Krüger Konstanze
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Whilst anecdotal reports suggest some horses demonstrate innovative problem-solving abilities, rigorous experimental evidence for this capacity has been lacking until now. Esch and colleagues presented 16 horses with a novel feeder mechanism and assessed whether they could discover how to operate it independently, whilst simultaneously measuring individual traits including age, sex, motor and sensory laterality, and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (GCM) concentrations as markers of baseline stress physiology. A quarter of the cohort successfully innovated solutions to access food from the device, and these problem-solvers displayed distinct behavioural and physiological profiles: they were notably persistent and active during task engagement, exhibited higher baseline stress hormone levels, and showed left-sided sensory and motor laterality—characteristics suggestive of heightened emotional responsiveness coupled with superior inhibitory control. The practical implications are substantial for equine management: these findings validate cognitive enrichment as a legitimate welfare consideration in both sport and leisure settings, and may help practitioners identify horses likely to benefit from, or struggle with, novel environmental challenges. Recognising that roughly one in four horses possess this innovative capacity should prompt managers and trainers to design more cognitively stimulating environments rather than defaulting to predictable routines.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Recognize that approximately 1 in 4 horses may demonstrate innovative problem-solving ability; select and train these individuals for novel tasks or enriched environments
- •Horses showing left laterality, active engagement, and persistence during training may be better candidates for handling novel challenges in sport and leisure management
- •Provide environmental enrichment and novel tasks to engage cognitive capacities, particularly for temperamentally suitable horses, to improve welfare in managed settings
Key Findings
- •25% of horses (4/16) demonstrated innovative problem-solving ability when confronted with a novel feeder device
- •Innovative horses exhibited higher baseline fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations and left sensory/motor laterality
- •Innovative horses showed active, tenacious task-related behavior suggesting higher inhibitory control
- •Individual factors including age, sex, size, and laterality may predict innovative problem-solving capacity in horses