Horses can talk to us via symbols

AS FAR as their vocabulary is concerned, it turns out they can get across a little more than yea or neigh.

In fact, horses can be taught to talk to us directly using a series of simple symbols, say scientists. Researchers trained the animals to say if they were warm or cold by nuzzling the appropriate sign.

In an experiment, they could communicate when they felt chilly and needed a blanket by pointing with their heads to a symbol that contained a horizontal black line.

They were also able to say if they wanted their blanket taken off by indicating a vertical line or using a blank sign card to signal “no change”. Talking horses like Mr Ed have until now only existed in books, film and TV and riders traditionally interpret the animals’ whinnies and neighs using their own intuition.

But researchers found 23 horses in the trial learnt to “talk” after training for just 10 to 15 minutes a day over two weeks.

The study, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, found that the symbol selected was not random, but dependent on the weather. Horses opted for a blanket when it was wet, windy and cold, experts at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute found.

The authors wrote: “In conclusion, horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preference regarding blanketing.” – Daily Mail