How do horses think?

Answer 1

The same way as people. With there brains. Though some people tend not to think.

Answer 2

Of course they do. Unfortunately though, they actually have the mentality of a three year old human, so the thinking process isn't always very sensible, quick learning or the right decision.
Horses go more by instinct than a well thought out process. Their first instinct is Flight. They fear everything. This fear causes the instinct of Flight, to run away from what is feared. If they can not run, they will attemp to fight it. If they can not run from it, or fight it off, they will Freeze. Stop dead in their tracks not knowing what to do. Not knowing what to do then leads to Faint. When a horse can not run, defend or understand the situation, they will just give up and more or less be "eaten".

Answer 3

Its actually been proven that horses have 2 different sides of their brain that act individually. With the right side brain controlling all the functions working on the right side of their body- the same with the left.

I'm a horse trainer and this is why we descensitize both sides of a equines body. They are naturally prey animals- even to humans. By having control of both sides of their brain we can control their movements and flight instinct.

Answer 4

My fav mare things like this, you can see it going on in her head: Hmm....go up to my owner and work or eat this hay....yummy hay (I call her name, she looks at me, looks at the hay, and starts eating again).
while walking by a new sign on the arena: Hey! that wasn't there 2 seconds ago when I was here! (spook).
while riding: "ok, I am going to drag my feet now and see if she notices" (whip or leg pressure) "damnit, she noticed it! I will try it again in 2 minutes"

Horse's brain hemispheres are not connected. That is why people always mount from the same side, lead from the same side, and if a horse is fine with something on one side, may spook when they see it on the other side.

Answer 5

Horses are prey animals and fear predators (including humans). They act defensively in a fight or flight mode, and are watchful of things that could be interpreted as predators. They are intelligent and capable of affection, fear, nervousness and other emotions, including jealousy, anger, and sadness.
They don't think in human terms, like "I'm going to go eat that patch of grass" but instead see the grass, know from experience green grass is good, and are aware they want it.

Answer 6

the same way all humans think with there brain sadly enough i have meet some smarter horses than some of the people i have came across

Answer 7

Horses think as a prey animal:
Whats that?
Should I run away?
Can I eat it?

Answer 8

I have heard of horse sense, the ones I rode must have been slow learners.Good Question,I am going to say Herd instinct.

Answer 9

by using a horse brain. havent you ever heard of horse sense?

Answer 10

Horses are herd animals as well as flight animals. They are considered prey and their defense is to flee. So they are very intuned to their environment and instinct.