What Do Horse's Recognize?

In the Smithsonian Magazine, dated April 2009, page 10, the following letter was printed from Lynn Acton. I thought it was interesting that most of us, who are horse owners, have already figured most of this out! Recently Bill and I farm sat while the owners were on vacation. Our two horses are boarded here. Every morning when I walked out at 7:00 AM to feed the horses, they were there by the fence waiting for me, and my horse, A Patchy, would give an understated nicker when he saw me. I asked Kate if he does that to her and she said, "No." She added, "He knows that you are his Mom! It is just for you." I have to say it made me feel warm and fuzzy to hear him show is expression of whatever a horse feels. It was definitely sweet, kind, and gently.

"I was INDEED amazed by the University of Sussex study that demonstrated a horse can recognize a herdmate's neigh {"Wild Things"}--amazed that a study was needed to prove what any observer of horses knows. Horses recognize people by their voices, too. They can also distinguish other noises, a demonstrated at boarding stables where the only horse that reacts to the sound of an approaching vehicle is the one whose owner is arriving. For anyone interested in equine behavior, I recommend the writing of two astute observers who spent their lives working with horses. Will James (Horses I've Known) and Margaret Cabell Self (The Nature of the horse)."

Jan 21, 2020 Horse Memory