Are Horses Intelligent?

Yes! Horses are known for their intelligence and ability to communicate. They are also very social animals who enjoy spending time around other horses.

Horses are highly evolved mammals that are capable of complex behaviors such as learning from experience and communicating through body language.

They are able to recognize human faces, follow commands, and even play games.

In fact, horses are often considered to be smarter than dogs or cats because they can live in the wild and be independent from humans.

Below, we’ll be diving into the world of horses’ intelligence and just how they are able to communicate with us and other horses.

Are Horses Intelligent?

Horses are considered to be one of the most intelligent animals on Earth, due to their ability to learn quickly and remember things.

They can also solve problems, figure out how to get something, and even understand human language.

For example, a horse might know how to recognize you as a friend and come running over to greet you.

A horse may also be able to tell when someone isn’t feeling well and approach them gently to help make them feel better.

Horses are also known for being extremely gentle creatures. They rarely attack anyone or any other animals, and they usually try their best to avoid fighting.

In fact, horses are often used as therapy animals because they are such calm, comforting creatures.

How Intelligent Are Horses In Comparison to Other Animals?

Researchers say that horses are among the smartest animals on Earth. Horses are often compared to dogs and cats, but do they really compare?

They’re able to recognise themselves in mirrors and understand human emotions, however there isn’t a standardised test to exactly measure the intelligence of an animal.

So how do we determine if a horse is smarter than a cat? What about a dog versus a horse? A dolphin versus a horse?

You really have to decide for yourself! Our general facts below will help you make up your mind. You may be surprised just how intelligent horses are.

How smart are horses?

Horses are known for their bright intelligence. They are capable of learning complex tasks such as riding and jumping and can remember them for a long time afterward.

They are also able to form strong bonds and communicate with each other. These skills make them very good working partners.

For example, if you are calm and gentle with horses, it makes sense that they will be calmer around you. If you are more excitable or loud with horses, the horse may become skittish around you.

Are Horses capable of complex communication?

Yes, in fact the act of horse riding is a form of complex communication between a horse and a human. When you train together with a horse, and learn to give and receive signals to and from one another you are performing extremely complex communication. Think of the subtle signals given with your feet, your leg, a voice command or a tug on a rein. Also think about how they communicate back to you, with a turn of the ear or a whinny.

They also communicate with each other, understand what other horses mean, recognize facial expressions and tones of voice, and even recognize individual people. In fact, horses can learn quickly and easily.

Many horse owners over the years have indicated that their horses can recognize certain sounds and tones, and respond appropriately.

They can learn their daily routines, such as feeding times, and can even open stable doors. Furthermore, they can learn how to free themselves from difficult situations.

What we must keep in mind, though, is that horses are very intelligent animals, and they do not possess “human intelligence,” per se.

Rather, they have cognitive skills, which include memory, attention, perception, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Their intelligence is based on the fact that they learn quickly, adapt easily, and make good decisions.

They possess complex communication skills, including the ability to recognize human emotions, communicate with humans, learn via conditioning, match voices with faces, recognize short words and their meanings.

How Well Can They Read Human Expression And Body Language?

We want to give credit to Clydesdale as being one of the most intelligent breeds. As George Skinner likes to say “They have tremendous brains, just look at the size of their heads!”

The evidence we have is how quickly they can be broken to ride (they can be backed and have a novice riding them confidently within two to six weeks).

They are also very easy to teach to drive, and we have sold several to the police for use in crowd control. The Clydesdale breed is ideal for the police force.

The feedback we had from the police was that they were ready to go on the beat much younger and much quicker than other breeds of horse they have purchased.

Horses in general, though, are patient and empathetic depending on how they are raised.

That is why many physical therapies out there involve horse therapy. They have the patience and show affection to people who treat them kindly

Alongside the physical part of this, they are highly empathetic animals, and there is a reason why people sometimes say horses can understand them better than people.

Do Horses Have Good Memories?

Horses have great memories, and the extraordinary memory of a horse can give rise to some apparently inexplicable behaviour.

A horse’s extreme reaction to certain things is often thought of, incorrectly, as stupidity, but what’s perceived as a lack of intellect is actually a kind of wise.

They will naturally shy away from dangerous situations much like our natural instincts work, if you pay attention to your own behaviours, you may be able to recognize them in horses too.

Final Thoughts

Horses are very smart animals. Their intelligence is not only evident in their ability to perform complex tasks like riding, but also in their ability to solve problems through observation and deduction.

Horses are extremely social creatures and enjoy interacting with other animals. They are also very intuitive and sensitive to human emotions.

It is no wonder that many people consider them to be one of the most intelligent species on earth.