Horse Vocalizations Carry Specific Social Information

Researchers at the Laboratory of Animal and Human Ethology in France studied equine vocalizations and concluded that horses can tell the difference between whinnies from known and unfamiliar equines.

In the study, horses listened to the vocalizations of members of their own group, neighboring groups, and completely unfamiliar horses. They easily distinguished between the sounds, reacting with different levels of interest and vigilance to indicate the level of acquaintance.

Some equine calls could be heard for more than half a mile, and characteristics of these vocalizations from mares, geldings, and stallions showed that they carried information about the sex, body size, and individual identity of the horses making the calls. There was no relationship to the calling horse’s age. The researchers stated, “Our results support the existence of social knowledge in horses and suggest a process of vocal coding and decoding of information.”