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Results indicated a lower sympathetic tone in horses involved in sessions with children with autism, when compared with traditionally developing children.
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People can develop true, bonding relationships with horses. And when they do, the horses become “happy,” so to speak, to be near and touched by those people.
A new study by Italian researchers reveals that horses enter a positive emotional state essentially, being more relaxed when they see a familiar human who’s developed a good relationship with them. And that positive emotional state increases when the person gently brushes the horse, said Chiara Scopa, PhD, research fellow at the National Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Venice in Padua, Italy.
“By defining a ‘familiar human’ as someone whom animals have had multiple occasions to interact with and establish a relationship of a positive emotional valance, we can positively affirm that horses are able to develop a bond with them,” Scopa said.
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An Italian study has objectively shown that horses can recognize individual people familiar to them, highlighting the importance of handler familiarity in the horse-human bond. Horses are generally relaxed when hanging out with humans they know.
Drs. Chiara Scopa, Alberto Greco, Laura Contalbrigo, Elisabetta Fratini, Antonio Lanatà, Enzo Pasquale Scilingo and Paolo Baragli noted that horses can determine if a person is familiar or unfamiliar by both vocal and visual cues. Horses are most likely to engage with someone who is familiar to them. They seem to form long-lasting memories of these people and can recognize them long after their last encounter.