The way to a man's heart is through his stomach: what about horses?

Abstract

BackgroundHow do we bond to one another? While in some species, like humans, physical contact plays a role in the process of attachment, it has been suggested that tactile contact's value may greatly differ according to the species considered. Nevertheless, grooming is often considered as a pleasurable experience for domestic animals, even though scientific data is lacking. On another hand, food seems to be involved in the creation of most relationships in a variety of species.Methodology/principal findingsIn this study, we used the horse training context to test the effects of food versus grooming during repeated human-horse interactions. The results reveal that food certainly holds a key role in the attachment process, while tactile contact was here clearly insufficient for bonding to occur.Conclusion/significanceThis study raises important questions on the way tactile contact is perceived, and shows that large inter-species differences are to be expected.