Equine Intelligence

So, for the first time ever, I have no crazy story to tell. But this time, it's about my observations.

People say animals can't "reason" or that they aren't "intelligent". I have to say I dissagree, specially when it comes to horses.

The lesson pony I currently ride, is a prick. He likes to desrupt your plans, which makes him a great pony as you need to be a step ahead of him at all times. So if your coming close to a jump, I actully see him turning his ears, and can fell him change his stride/shift his weight as he decides what he's going to do, run left,right or stop. I can also feel the rush of energy he releases when he decides he is going to jump.

And when he does refuse the jumps, he waits for the correction, he knows it's coming, but decides that it's worth the hassle. He knows what he did, and he knows he shouldn't do that.

Another horse at the barn, everyone calls stupid. I call him smart. He has learned that if acts foolish then he can do what he wants not the rider, and if he's lucky, get out of work. This same horse, learned how to undo the bolt of his door, and went into the feed room, and ate the soaking beet pulp...

Another horse figured out how to shimmy under the eletric fense(or regular fense with wire under it), steal hay and go back to her stall if it starts to rain, or she just plain decides it's time to be inside.

While not the best examples, they are still examples of horses learning and thinking. It is qualities that make them great mounts for us, as they are not just "dumb" animals. They are no-where near humans, but I believe horses can reason as well as that chikld that we all know, who has invented the contraption to reach the cookie jar.

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Comment by Jackie Cochran on June 2, 2011 at 8:08pm: I don't think most training systems ever encourage the horse to develop its thinking intelligence. Gee, if you encourage your horse to think he might out think you one day! (It has happened to me.)

Out thinking horses keeps me on my toes!

Comment by Marlene Thoms on June 1, 2011 at 11:14pm: I have seen examples of horses doing very smart things. I think that just because horses don't always want to do what people think they should, or just because horses can't or won't figure out what humans are trying to get across, and let's face it, the humans are not always very good teachers, that the horses aren't smart. One example of cleverness(I think) was several years ago when I had to repeatedly go to fetch my Retriever pup from the neighbors horse pens. These pens were all connected and the gates happened to be open between so the horses circulated freely between them. If I would have had to chase that pup from pen to pen, I could have been there all day, he was fast and he was clever enough to scoot anywhere he wanted. These horses, who hardly knew me, actually stood in the gateways between the pens, so the pup was at least contained in one pen, and I could round him up and get hold of him. I think that was pretty clever. Another example: I look after an elderly mare for someone else and she told me a clever thing she did some years ago when she and some other young mares had their foals. One of the other mares foals got jammed between the water trough and the fence, and the younger mares were getting in a panic, OMG what to do the baby's stuck!!! This mare took control, kept her head, just went over, gave the foal a good shove and dislodged him from behind the trough. I think we just don't give animals enough credit some times.