In an effort to determine whether horses preferred blankets or their fur to keep them warm during the frigid days, Norwegian researchers recently started asking the equines for feedback.

Understanding what an animal wants is very hard and you are never really sure.

In an effort to determine whether horses prefer blankets or their fur to keep them warm during the frigid days, Norwegian researchers recently started asking the equines for feedback.

An authority with the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research recruited a professional trainer to teach 13 horses to interact with humans. Specifically, the animals were taught how to ask for or decline a blanket for warmth.

The project was launched due to concerns about the Norwegian custom of shearing off horses’ thick coat to make room for blankets during the winter months. The researchers simply wanted to know what the horses preferred and their straight-from-the-source approach worked perfectly.

Said the lead researcher “The horses soon learned, using positive reinforcement techniques, that if they want to change their situation -- either to remove a blanket or have one put on -- they should tap one symbol with their muzzle. If they want to remain the same, they tapped on another.”

The horses studied preferred to keep their blankets during inclement conditions but wanted them removed when the weather warmed up.