Social Learning

Feral foal tasting plant

Social means learning by observing someone else.
Learning is cognitive (processing information), not a conditioned response (repetition).
Reinforcement is intrinsic; external reinforcement is not necessary.
Social Learning is essential in the wild. Youngsters grow up in cooperative bands (family units) of mixed age and gender. They learn practical survival information from more experienced band members:
- Where to find food, water, shelter; what is safe to eat
- What is safe or dangerous. Nature doesn’t give do-overs if you get bitten by a poisonous snake, wade into a swift flooded river, or wander under a cougar lurking in a tree. Youngsters learn these are dangerous by observing the behavior of herdmates.
- Social skills needed to be accepted in a group, including respect for Personal Space; how to read subtle body language of others; how to play, defend yourself and herdmates, and avoid fights. Social skills are learned through Social Learning (observing interactions among group members), Positive Reinforcement (good behavior leads to positive interactions), and Negative Reinforcement (unacceptable behavior leads to rejection).

What can a horse learn alone in a stall?

Domestic life inhibits Social Learning, which increases anxiety and behavior problems.
- Lack of functional social groups limits development of social skills. The resulting lack of social bonds increases stress and anxiety.
- Lack of opportunities to observe trusted group members interacting with the natural world increases anxiety because unfamiliar situations are more likely assumed to be dangerous.

Humans are often a big part of the problem.
- Instead of modeling that a situation is safe (or encouraging Investigative Behavior), people try to control the horse through Negative Reinforcement, repetition, or dominance.
- Instead of modeling good social skills, they try to “train” good social behavior with Negative Reinforcement and punishment. For example, people model terrible Personal Space manners by barging into horses’ Personal Space, then try to teach horses good Personal Space manners with pressure and punishment. See Personal Space: Why the Double Standard? People whose approach to horsemanship is based on dominance are modeling dominance continually. What is the horse learning? Certainly not how to be a cooperative member of a social group. If you doubt that horses learn from watching us, watch for examples of unintentional Social Learning such as horses who open gates and doors, duck under stall guards, crawl through fences, zip and unzip someone's coat. “Never worry that your horse isn’t listening to everything you say; worry that he’s watching everything you do.”

You can be part of the solution instead of compounding the problem. When you are a Protector Leader as described in my book What Horses Really Want, you create a relationship and atmosphere that supports positive Social Learning.

Brandy learned the see saw was safe by watching me play on it

Practical Uses of Social Learning include both remedial learning and training skills. All reduce anxiety because horses can approach new situations with more confidence, and learn skills without anxiety-producing pressure. Remember that you are always modeling your emotions as well as your actions. I like to model not only calm confidence but, as appropriate, playfulness and fun. Horses know that human laughter is a good thing.

- Habituate horses to new things by allowing them to watch others who are confident with the activities such as crossing ditches or creeks, getting bathed or clipped, engaging with equipment or obstacles. The demonstrator can be horse or human. Ideally the learner is free (or on a loose lead), able to watch from the distance he feels comfortable with, and participate when he is ready. This article includes a description of people habituating their horses to fireworks by modeling their own positive emotions as they watched. Fireworks: Be Ready For activities like Corrective Exercises or Horse Agility, you can model what you want him to do, and your positive attitude about it, keeping your horse on a loose lead so he is free to hang back and let you know if he is worried about anything or unclear about your directions.

- Take a green horse on his first trail rides with an experienced horse who models calm behavior and confidence. He can be ridden, ponied, or led. If a second horse isn't available, take the green horse for leadline walks.

- Model good manners starting with respect for the horse’s Personal Space, and making a habit of touching him as gently as you want him to touch you.

- Model using Investigative Behavior with novel objects and situations. You investigate first, and let horse join you. Keeping yourself between the horse and the potentially scary thing says you are his Protector, and also keeps you out of his flight path.

Showing your horse what you want him to do by inviting him to copy you may not technically be "Social Learning" if you are asking things he already knows how to do (like walk, trot, back up), but it works on the same principles, and is very effective for teaching and bonding. Body Language: Copying / Synchronizing

I demonstrate turn on the haunches

Optimal conditions for Social Learning:
- Horse demonstrator is known to learner, older, and confident.
- Human demonstrator acts like a Protector Leader, showing good social manners toward horse, especially respect for Personal Space, and clear body language.
- Learner is curious, which is more likely if he is routinely encouraged to use Investigative Behavior.

To maximize learning:
- Avoid pressure; give horse time to observe, think, process. You are looking for cognition, not conditioned responses through pressure and repetition.
- Use extrinsic rewards (treats, scratches…) sparingly to avoid distracting from intrinsic reward.
- When horse doesn’t do what you think you asked, do NOT correct the horse; correct yourself, make your demo clearer.

Stereotypies ("stable vices") such as cribbing, weaving, stall-walking Horses do not learn these from other horses. The research is consistently clear. They do not occur in wild horses; they are reactions to overwhelmingly stressful conditions imposed by humans. They show up most often in stall-kept weanlings deprived of social companions and grazing. When the distress cries of an isolated weanling don't bring comfort, he appears to "get over it", but in fact has given up hope of comfort and must resort to self-soothing any way he can. It is significant that stereotypies tend to occur within a month of weaning. These repetitive, seemingly pointless behaviors release endorphins that make the behavior self-rewarding, and create structural changes in the brain. This makes them hard to "cure". The best hope of reducing the behavior is to reduce stress by providing for his most crucial physical and emotional needs: Friends, Forage, and Freedom.

Conclusion Horses are social animals with an almost uncanny ability to read the body language of other horses and of humans. They are also prey animals whose highest priority is staying safe. It is not surprising that they learn from watching others. It would be shocking if they didn't. So keep in mind that your horse isn't just watching you while you think you are training. He's always watching you. Be careful what you teach him.

Note: There is controversy among researchers as to whether horses are capable of true Social Learning which is a higher cognitive process than “socially enhanced” or “socially facilitated” actions. I side with Dr. Francesco De Giorgio who believes that, “Horses are incapable of optimal cognition when tested in "social deprivation". They need their bonded group in order to function mentally.” I suspect that horses who grow up without the nurturing and guidance of a functional social group may never develop their full cognitive potential. However, for thoroughness, I have included in my references researchers who argue that horses are not capable of that level of cognitive intelligence.

References:
How your horse learns by watching you: Research reveals that horses can copy tasks they watch humans perform. By Christine Barakat
https://equusmagazine.com/behavior/horse-tells-wantse-55201/?tum_source=EQUUSFB
How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human action? by Bernauer K, Kollross H, Schuetz A, Farmer K, Krueger K.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31531748/
by Krueger K, Farmer K, Heinze J.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24170136/
Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention. By Krueger K, Flauger B, Farmer K, Maros K.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20845052/
Cognition and learning in horses (Equus caballus): What we know and why we should ask more. By Brubaker L, Udell MA.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27018202/
Social Learning in Horses-Fact or Fiction? By Rørvang MV, Christensen JW, Ladewig J, McLean A.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27866286/
Social learning across species: horses (Equus caballus) learn from humans by observation by Aurelia Schuetz, Kate Farmer, Konstanze Krueger
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27866286/
Social Learning in Horses By Kentucky Equine Research Staff
https://ker.com/equinews/social-learning-horses/
Research Study: Younger Horses Appear Able to Learn by Watching by Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA
https://thehorse.com/148840/study-younger-horses-appear-able-to-learn-by-watching/
Can Horses Learn Behaviours by Watching Other Horses? by Antonia J.Z. Henderson
https://horse-canada.com/magazine/behaviour/can-horses-learn-watching-other-horses/
“Rediscovering horses, part 8: Horses are socio-cognitive” video by Dr. Francesco De Giorgio – writeup below video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-2pX9GeTuE&fbclid=IwAR2JFPt4_hQjiAwP564cyPtcxluThfvj2n-xTAYTJrYppDsRTfwzq3hgU1c