Abstract
The commentary by Gallup and Anderson (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01538-9, 2021) on the original article by Baragli, Scopa, Maglieri, and Palagi (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01502-7, 2021) raised some concerns about the methodological approach used by the authors to demonstrate Mirror Self-Recognition (MSR) in horses. The commentary does not take into account horse physiology and psychology, leading Gallup and Anderson to inappropriately discredit the findings obtained by Baragli et al. Anim Cogn 2021. In this reply, we underlined the importance of a blinker-free approach to understand the evolutionary processes at the basis of animal cognition.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Professor Sergio Pellis (University of Lethbridge, Canada) for proofreading this article and for his precious suggestions in revising the final version. Moreover, we thank an anonymous reviewer for improving the latest version of the manuscript.
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Scopa, C., Maglieri, V., Baragli, P. et al. Getting rid of blinkers: the case of mirror self-recognition in horses (Equus caballus). Anim Cogn 25, 711–716 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-022-01638-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-022-01638-0