A study investigated how well people can decipher horse whinnies. The results were interesting.
Dr. Katarina Merkies, a researcher at the University of Guelph, investigated how well people are able to decode the whinnying of a horse. Together with her Master’s student, she published the study under the title: Determine Affective States in Domestic Horse Whinnies. The study was conducted by playing audio samples of horses whinnying to 32 participants through an online survey. The horse whinnies were either positive, calm, negative or excited. It was then up to the human to assign the pre-recorded neighing to one of the categories.
According to Merkies, it can be an advantage for the horse’s welfare if people are able to interpret a horse’s neighing. She says: “As their caretakers, it’s our responsibility to provide the horses that we interact with a good quality of life, and to do this we must be able to understand how they function and what their needs are and what their desires are.”
So if people know through the horse’s voice if it is upset or fearful we can remove the unpleasant stimulus. Likewise the other way round, if the horse is happy we can try to repeat the situation.
Results
About 65% of the respondents were able to determine whether the whinny was in a positive or negative situation. Most of the participants were female. The females were also better at categorising the vocalisation than the males. Horses use different vocalisations to communicate. They may whine when reunited or when separated from a friend. Therefore, a whine can be positive or negative depending on the situation.
Merkies explains: “Different whinnies can communicate the size, sex, and social status of the caller. That whinny will tell them information, whether it’s a male or female horse, how large they are, probably whether they’re immature, young, or older.” In addition, understanding the horses’ vocalisations can be used to understand their emotional state. This can help humans to pay attention to certain things and make the horses’ lives better.
Source: tandfonline
