Horses have a moderately wide intelligence range. At the low end, they're down around the cow level. At the high end, they're well into the dog range.
The hot-blooded breeds (Arabs and Thoroughbreds) seem to be smarter, but that may be because they're more active and more likely to initiate activity.
Re:Horses recognise human emotions
by jjtheblunt on Saturday February 13, 2016 @11:55PM
(#11097184)
There are plenty of videos of cows also playing with balls and with others. Not kidding. Look for The Gentle Barn and Dudley the cow, for one example.
Dudley looks a little smarter and more active than cows I see locally, but not nearly as much as a horse. Most of his "playing" looks more like scratching/rubbing type behavior, the same as you see with motorized cow brushes.
Re:Horses recognise human emotions
by PerfectElement on Sunday February 14, 2016 @03:49AM
(#11097622)
Don't say that! How are we supposed to enjoy our burgers now?
It's acting more like a dog than a cow. And there are many other videos of horses playing and doing tricks like dogs can. My opinion of horses greatly improved. Thinking about it, I shouldn't have found it surprising. Horses are herd/pack animals like dogs, so they naturally have social skills, and despite being herbivores they are still mammals, so their body language is at least somewhat similar to humans. And also like dogs, horses have been domesticated to work closely with humans. Most other domesticated animals are either solitary, or not required to work directly with humans. I think any domesticated mammal with both those properties will likely read human emotions. Even though the dog has the advantage of being a carnivore so it is more similar to humans, and being required to work more independently than the horse, putting more selection pressure on its communication skills, the horse still far exceeds popular animals like the cat in its ability to communicate with humans. If the dog is "man's best friend", I think the horse can be "man's second best friend".