Jump to content
Banner by ~ Ice Princess Silky

What is the intelligence level of a real horse or pony?


HorsesandMOARGaloar

Recommended Posts

Being someone that breeds both horses and ponies, I can safely say their intellect is not that much greater. They are more cunning, that's about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mom has a mule and up until recently she had a miniature horse. The mule was way way smarter than the horse was.

 

Though he is super suspicious of everything. Like if he sees anything in the yard or in your hand that he hasn't seen before, he'll have nothing to do with it. Which is why mules have a reputation of being stubborn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Horses are very intelligent animals. They can be taught many tricks and taught to respond to certain nonverbal commands.

 

An amazing example of this behavior is the world famous Lipizzaner Stallions. These horses are selected carefully by special breeders and are trained to do a variety of breathtaking tricks/stunts.

I have actually seen the Lipizzaners perform before, and it was just awesome. They stood on their hind legs and hopped like a bunny, sat like a dog, bowed, counted, and so much more.

 

Now, this is not to say that Lipizzaners are the only kind of horse that are smart.

Horses of all kinds can be taught many different things & it is truly incredible.

  • Brohoof 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are we talking natural intelligence, or human directed evolution? Equines, like canines, have been altered dramatically since we started breeding them. They learn from the same basic training approaches as dogs, and some of their vocalizations are harmonically complex, which is usually only needed in animals with higher brain functions like canines, felines, and whatever foxes are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what i know, Horses (any breed, hybrid, etc.) are known to fit the "intelligent animals" list. 

 

P.S: for those who don't know, look this up Top 25 Intelligent Animals (although not sure if it was updated, but horses also fit the top 25 most intelligent animals)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 years later...

They're not terribly smart, but that's more individual animal dependent though. Mules it all depends on how they were raised as most won't do something that might get them hurt, which gained them the phrase of "stubborn".

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I imagine they’re comparable to any animal of similar breed; some are smarter than others. Pathology isn’t necessarily a contributing factor.  

But in my personal experience, having cared for both ponies and horses in a former job long ago, I’d say ponies are more mischievous and cunning verses horses, which are seemingly more staid, giving them the appearance of greater self-control and intelligence. Horses can be taught whereas I found ponies very difficult to train on any level. It’s like unruly children compared with mature adults.

  • Hugs 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Join the herd!

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...