New technology to read equine behaviour

Have you ever wanted to know what your horse was thinking? Well now you might be able to.

HABIT

A new research project is underway that uses video to determine what animals are thinking and feeling.

Dr Steve North from the school of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham is creating a Horse Automated Behaviour Identification Tool (HABIT) to distinguish certain horse’s behaviour.

The idea for the project came after a computer scientist with a passion for horses wanted to create a new animal computer interaction software.

The experts

A number of experts are involved in the project as they look to understand the behaviour and characteristics of horses from video footage.

The research is being carried out by Dr Mandy Roshier, an expert in anatomy and behaviour at the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Dr Carol Hall, an expert in equitation science at Nottingham Trent University and Dr Clara Mancini, a senior lecturer in computer interaction design at the Open University.

Dr Roshier said: “It is really important that our vet students can interpret what an animal is telling you through its body language.

“This can go some way to understanding its emotional state. Using equipment that can help us measure and understand behaviour would provide important insights into how we can communicate with animals more,” she added.