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Equine Communication

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior
  • 32 Accesses

Synonyms

Behavior; Horse; Signals.

Definition

An overview of communicative signals in the domestic horse (Equus caballus).

Introduction

Communication is a social event in which a signal is intended to influence the behavior of the receiver (Seyfarth and Cheney 2003). The ability to recognize other individuals is essential to animals in a social hierarchy, territorial animals, and animals that interact with each other regularly (Scott 2005). A communication system requires (1) the operation of the signals, (2) the sensory and cognitive systems used to receive the signals, and (3) the behavior associated with the signaling. Signals evolve simultaneously with sensory and cognitive systems as these systems determine the signals that are easier to receive, distinguish, and base decisions on (Endler 1993). Animals that possess the sensory equipment necessary to receive the signal make use of all the senses that they are able to use over distances for communication in variable circumstances...

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Correspondence to Rachel E. Kristiansen .

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Kristiansen, R.E. (2022). Equine Communication. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_949

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