Here’s Looking at You

Different breeds of horses examine novel objects using different dominant eyes, according to researchers from the Universite de Rennes in France. Their observations of horses’ reactions can also help horse handlers interpret whether a horse is

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Different breeds of horses examine novel objects using different dominant eyes, according to researchers from the Universite de Rennes in France. Their observations of horses’ reactions can also help horse handlers interpret whether a horse is curious about the object or afraid of it and act accordingly.

The researchers exposed French Saddlebreds and Trotters to an unfamiliar object–in this case, a cage made of welded bars wrapped in very shiny red tape. They recorded both the horse’s emotional level (from a score of one, given to a horse that walks slowly with the head held horizontally or lower; to a six, characterized by prancing and tail-flagging), and the number of times the horses looked at the object with either eye.

They discovered that the more “emotional” horses tended to look at the object more often with their left eyes.





Laterality
COURTESY UNIVERSITE DE RENNES


Researchers showed horses an unfamiliar object and recorded how many times they looked at it with either eye.


This supports previous studies that examined reactions and their dominant brain hemispheres. The right hemisphere (which processes input from the left eye) is specialized for the processing of negative emotional stimuli, including avoidance behavior. Conversely, the left hemisphere (right eye) processes positive stimuli and approach behavior.

The French research added a new variable into the mix by studying horses of different breeds.

They found that Trotters were more likely to observe the novel object with their left eyes, while French Saddlebreds tended to look with their right eyes. This means that the Trotters saw the object as a fear-inducing stimulus, while the Saddlebreds saw it as positive, and something safe to approach.

Across both breeds, the more emotional horses looked with their left eyes more often, signifying fear and withdrawal.

The difference exhibited by the breeds might not be natural, however. The researchers suspect that the saddle horses, which are led and mounted from the left, could have acquired the preference through training. The harness-driven Trotters are handled more equally on both sides. Untrained 2-year-olds of both breeds did not show this lateral bias suggesting that the difference was more likely to be due to training rather than breed.

The researchers also proposed that the natural tendency of horses to react with avoidance to objects seen on their left side might have played a role in the left-oriented traditions of horsemanship, such as mounting and leading on the left side. They said that since horses are more sensitive to fear-inducing stimuli from this side, working always from the left would help dampen that response

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Erin Ryder is a former news editor of The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
325 votes · 325 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!