Washington, July 6 (ANI): Horses inherently understand humans better than most other animals do, displaying tremendous sensitivity to even the most subtle eye and body movements, says a new study.
The research found that horses are able to decipher certain types of human-given visual and auditory cues.
It's already known that dogs are more adept at on related studies, but horses may have the potential to catch up with canines.
"Dogs do tend to have a much closer relationship with man and have probably been bred for their ability to pick up on human cues more so than horses," lead author Leanne Proops told Discovery News.
"Also, the cues humans give horses are often given while riding them, and therefore are of a different type and are not given face-to-face."
How well animals understand us depends on two factors - domestication and an animal's predisposition to how we communicate - and dogs stand to win on both counts.
"Horses are highly social animals that use very fine body and facial movements to communicate with each other," Proops said.
"Some wild equids also form herds with other species and are sensitive to their behavior," she added.
Depending on how horses are domesticated and trained in future, they may have the potential to catch up with dogs as being man's best understanding friend.
"There is something about the ancestors of most domestic animals that made them amenable to human interaction, and this may have been increased during the process of domestication," Proops said.
The study has been published in the latest issue of Animal Behaviour. (ANI)
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