Tool-Using Horses – Why Tool Use Should Change How We See Horses

Horses using tools? Yes – and it's groundbreaking. In this episode of Equidemia Insights, Kate Farmer joins us, co-author of the study on tool use in horses conducted with Prof. Konstanze Krueger. What does it mean when horses deliberately use objects to achieve goals? What cognitive abilities are required – and how does this reshape our understanding of horses?

Celina Skogan speaks with Kate Farmer about research, training, ethics – and why it’s time to rethink what we believe we know.

In a nutshell

Do horses use tools?
Yes – and it's groundbreaking.

Why does it matter?
It reshapes our understanding of horses – and shows it’s time to rethink what we believe we know.

Sources

• Krueger, K., Trager, L., Farmer, K., & Byrne, R. (2022). Tool Use in Horses. Animals, 12(15), 1876. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151876

More about Kate Farmer
Equine Science Talk International on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@equinesciencetalkinternati9407
Talk: https://youtu.be/oklyH_D__Dc

Keep listening: From Wild Horse to Riding Companion – a podcast with Zefanja Vermeulen: https://equidemiainsights.podigee.io/67-from-wild-horse-to-riding-companion

Free Compass Call
Rethinking horse training together – including a status analysis: https://equidemia.tucalendi.com/lessons/celina

Further resources
Horse compass, events and everything about Equidemia: https://equidemia.com
All episodes and background: https://equidemia.com/podcast
Equidemia webinars, online courses and more: https://shop.equidemia.com/s/Equidemia
Waiting list for our Masterclass: https://equidemia.com/en/masterclass-english/
My book about academic groundwork: https://amzn.to/3OqwfqS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equidemia.celina.skogan/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/equidemia

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