How smart do you think horses are?

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Cobland

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Im tired of hearing from non horsey people that horses are dumb animals. Okay some of mine have had silly moments, like Finn walking through an electric fence and then being too scared to walk back into the field again!

Mae shying at things that shes seen hundreds of times before.

But I think that they can be smart, they put their nose to my stomach as if to say they know im pregnant. Mae walks in from the arena herself and straight into her stable! Gypsy has learnt to open gates.

Do yous think that horses can tell if someone is pregnant?
 
Yes and no - do I think they can tell that you smell different due to your hormones? Yes

Are they aware that that is because you are pregnant? No
 
OH laughs when Mae puts her nose to my stomach. Baby always kicks, its quick funny.

They have been on their best behaviour, its scarey lol
 
I think they do know things like this - like when they know someone is disabled, or hurt.

I had a horse that could untie complicated knots, open his stable door (and others), open gates....
 
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But I think that they can be smart, they put their nose to my stomach as if to say they know im pregnant.

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That is so sweet!!
 
i think they're pretty smart, no experience of pregnancy though!

sign of real intelligence in a horse: i took my Advanced event mare round a xc course one year. didn't go back there for a few years, did lots of other courses all over the country. went back to the course i mentioned at first (can't recall which it was now) and the course started the same and then swung in a different direction. she jumped the fence before the direction change and automatically started going in the direction she remembered from years before, and took a few strides to believe me when i was saying "no, dearie, it's this way now!"
i know it's just memory, and that's what horses are ace at, but we'd been to a LOT of competitions in between, yet she knew exactly where she was. pretty smart, i reckon.
i can stop my horses from being naughty from a distance, just with my voice. i reckon that's them reasoning, too.
 
They are not the brightest of creatures... horses are prey animals which one thing on there mind most of the time and that is looking for predators.. they are designed to live..

They are not great creatures of reason and they do not make decisions for themselves easily. However they have excellent memories (this is when they are not worrying, as soon as they get tense and worry, they absorb bad not good memories)

alot of horses reactions are due to pain or the fear of pain.. this is a big factor in reactions of horses. The reason horses move away from loud noise is that it instills fear 9just listen to your horse squeal at another horse, a loud sharp sound, makes me jump everytime and is raises fear and my heart rate!)

all of the above is my own oppinion of the equine and not that of scientific evidence althought there is evidence to suggest this is the case!
Lou x
 
Too smart for their own good sometimes lol. Kiwi can count fence rails and undo the handles to the electric fence, by the plastic bit, when it's on. Mighty can undo her girth with her teeth if I am not next to her (thankfully she's only done it twice) oh and she has been know to climb the mounting block to jump the arena fence when loose schooling. Love them all really. Generally do know of smarter species though.
 
we did the carrot test with ours - show the horse a carrot then put the carrot on the floor with a feed bucket over it so horse can no longer see said carrot. A smart horse will realise where the carrot has gone and kick the feed bucket away to get to it. Of our five only one sussed this - the rest all stood there going 'where's it gone.' I thought mine was pretty smart but she failed the carrot test!
 
I would say they are very clever my pony lets him self out his enclosure by moving the bar across then when i get home from school he is stood in there looking at me saying is it dinner time yet mom!!
 
Finn isnt smart, he decided to walk over the half bale of haylage today!! He also runs around the arena like an idiot and then runs into the fence.

We used to have a horse that ATE the headcollars off other horses, just left the metal bits!
 
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