NO, HORSES DON’T “LOVE” HUMANS

Despite what your 10-year-old daughter thinks, horses don’t love humans as much as you would think. Veterinary researchers from Sweden’s Linköping University set out to determine whether or not horses could “love” humans, in the sense that they form an attachment to a particular person and reciprocate affection. While observing 26 horses, their owners, and several other human controls, researchers found that horses frequently exhibited higher heart rates while separated from any human and lower heart rates when returning to the person. There was no preference whether it was the owner or the stranger. Their findings suggest that horses consider humans in general to be “safe havens” and are soothed in our presence, but they aren’t especially attached to one person over another. Comparatively, dogs become stressed during separation from, specifically, their owner, and they seek proximity and comfort upon reunion. In addition, dogs repeatedly reveal behaviors such as increased play and exploratory behavior together with their owner. “To our knowledge,” the researchers wrote, “this has not been documented in horses.”
* But was this a question that really needed answering? Or did these scientists just want to make some little girls feel bad?
* They’re going to have to go back and re-title that book “My So-Called Friend Flicka.”
* Horses have higher heart rates when a human leaves them? That’s the horse thinking “Hey – don’t I get some oats??”
* Maybe it has something to do with putting that metal thing in their mouth, and then all that kicking in the stomach.
* Next up, they’re going to shatter all of our illusions about how much our cats like us.