How Smart are Horses? What You Need to Know!

Horses are among the smartest animals. Although not as sharp as a dog, they possess great qualities which make them ideal for coexisting with humans. According to numerous researches, it has been proven horses possess great intelligence.

Besides offering rides to owners, horses can learn a lot. Be it your body posture, facial expressions, and even trainability, these animals are great. 

If you have been asking whether a horse is a smart animal, we are going to explore it thoroughly in this article.

How Smart Are Horses?

Generally, horses are smart and intelligent animals. A horse has a great ability to learn and execute commands. This makes the animal ideal for use in different circumstances.

A lot of research about horse intelligence levels is available in the public domain. By the fact that these animals show great cooperation to humans, it shows they are smart.

How Smart are Horses

Besides, the animals have a great memory. This gives the ability to learn different commands effectively. It is said that a horse has an intelligence level of a 3 years baby. 

Therefore, you can expect your animal to recognize different aspects.

Is a horse smarter than a dog? 

Determining the intelligence level of different animals is not easy as in humans. Experts have achieved this by evaluating a variety of aspects. 

However, when you compare dogs and horses, they are all smart animals in their unique ways.

Each animal, in this case, has strong and weak lines. Although they are trainable on a different number of tasks, people tend to underrate horse intelligence.

According to BBC, the research by a group of scientists concluded horses could communicate with a human being. 

Additionally, training on specific tasks is clear proof that these animals are highly smart.

On the other hand, comparing dog and horse intelligence can be a challenging task. 

Both animals are intelligent and developed strong traits over time that have enabled them to live friendly with humans. 

Are horses smarter than oxen?

Are horses smarter than Oxen? The question sounds a bit subjective. Depending on every person’s favorite animal, they will view their animals as the best.

When you compare oxen and horses, they are different species of animals. However, horses tend to have more advantages compared to oxen.

Generally, if you are training oxen or a horse, there is a great difference. Horses have a fast training rate and can accommodate complex and sequenced patterns.

Although both animals learn to take instructions from Human, the speed at which animal learns is different. 

The main attribute to this is brain size. Oxen have a lower brain-to-body ratio, which gives horses added advantages.

Are horses smarter than cows? 

Many people have a general opinion that a horse is smarter than a cow. 

On the other hand, do people who are unto bovines believe they are better than horses? What is the truth? 

Let’s explore various facts.

One thing about horses is they have an excellent memory. This enables them to learn faster than cows. 

Also, horses have a tremendous ability to study your body language. When you are happy, stressed, or angered, your horse can easily detect it.

Apart from the big memory capability, teaching a horse new tactics and obedience.

On the other hand, cows have strong emotional intelligence. Most of the time, cows seem relaxed and peaceful. 

However, they are trainable, not for complex tasks like horses.

In general, cows and horses are great animals with different levels of intelligence. 

However, horses are practical for fast training, adaptation to a new environment, and fast response.

Are horses smarter than cats?

Sound ridiculous comparing horse and cat? Horse, cat, and dog are some of the domestic animals with great intelligence and among the smartest.

Horses and cats are different animals with a set of functions. Therefore, it can be complex to determine which one is smarter.

You can look at cats as predictors and horses as prey. Also, the animal size significantly differs so is the tasks.

In most cases, cats are pets, and their functions are much different from those of horses. They have a well-defined brain that is responsible for planning, language interpretation.

Training a horse is different from cats. Horses learn to take commands and other tasks. This makes them great animals that are easy to control.

Cats, on the other hand, most training involves being friendly and other basic aspects to living in harmony.

While it is hard to determine which animal is a winner, horses and cats are the most intelligent animals.

Are horses smarter than camels? 

It sounds funny to compare horses and the king of the desert. But are they even comparable when it comes to smartness? Every animal is smart in its way and habitat.

Camels and horses have great memories. But, according to research, camel outsmarts horse in that you can train for short terms. 

Besides, the intelligence quotient for a camel is far higher than that of a horse. Actually, while horse IQ is equivalent to a 3-year kid, camel is equivalent to a teenager.

According to a magazine from UAE, camels are philosophical creatures, unlike horses. Once you mess with the camel, it will take revenge while horses are forgiving.

Generally, camels are intelligent while horses are brilliant.

Read Our Related Article: are camels intelligent

Are horses smarter than dolphins? 

Comparing horses and dolphins can be tricky. Most people are familiar with horses and not dolphins. One lives in the water while the other lives on the land.

One of the ways we can solve this is by looking at the Encephalization Quotient (EQ). Dolphins have more EQ than horses; that is 4.56 compared to horses, 0.92. Although the number doesn’t necessarily mean reflection in terms of intelligence, there is some truth.

Based on the available information, it’s true that dolphins are more intelligent than horses. They are trained to perform different tasks like retrieving objects and other things they don’t do in the wild.

From the available facts, dolphins are indeed much more intelligent than horses.

Is a horse smarter than a human? 

You might be surprised by asking yourself this question. However, when you consider the level of intelligence of humans and horses, there is a great difference.

Human beings have the highest level of intelligence among all living animals. Finding a standard way of measuring horse and human intelligence is challenging.

Humans have their ways of dealing with different situations. Same way, horses have their ways of solving different circumstances.

 By using IQ only, it should not be the final way of determining animal intelligence. If it is the scenario, then humans outdo horses with a great margin.

How Smart are Horses Compared to Other Animals? 

 Horses are intelligent animals so are other animals. But, the fact each animal has ways to survive means limited evaluation on the common aspect.

The table below shows how horses compare to other animals.

How Smart are Horses – FAQ

Q1. Do Horses Recognize Their Owners?

Horses are excellent at remembering their owner and other horses. Through the experience over time, encounters, and others, they can have clear information about the owners.

The ability of horses to remember their owners is due to their excellent memory. Over time, a horse can get used to your voice, walking styles, and body demeanor.

These are some of the aspects that make these animals recognize their owners.
Besides, training your horse develops a strong attraction. This helps in ensuring the horse can easily recognize you.

Q2. Horses Can Read Human Body Language?

It is true horses can differentiate different human body postures. Due to their ability to learn easily can tell whether you have a submissive or dominant posture.

According to researchers, they have confirmed that horses are keen and efficient in determining body posture. Whether the person is standing, holding hands, and other styles, horses can effectively recognize.

Apart from recognizing owners, horses prefer people with submissive body postures.

Q3. Do horses bond with their owners? 

 This might surprise you but, it is the reality of the matter. Horses don’t form attachment bonds, according to Swedish researchers. Through assessment to test whether there is bonding, the scientist concluded it doesn’t exist.

However, horses instead of seeing humans as safe-havens. This means these animals, as long as they are close to humans, are cool. Also, taking horses away from humans proved to increase the heart rate.

The researcher also concluded that horses were happy when around humans without the owner having an advantage. Additionally, the animals showed more stress when alone and harpy when in the company of a human.

Conclusion on How Smart are Horses

It is no doubt horses are brilliant animals. When you compare them with dogs and cats, they are intelligent and easy to train.

Although they are intelligent, some animals like camels have greater intelligence. Thus, easy to train your animal depending on your work.

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