I know in years’ past, the concept of autism in horses was pretty much poo-poo’d by the veterinary community, but I am wondering if there has been recent research. Does anyone know of any? I tried to ask the Google, but mostly got links regarding dummy foal syndrome and autism in children.
How would you recognize autism in horses? I am familiar with the dummy foal/human autism/squeeze chute articles, but am unfamiliar with autism in horses. Enlighten me! 
Try some of these links:
I’d be curious to know as well. I had seen the literature parallels between dummy foals and autism, but have never seen anything on autism or other developmental delays in mature horses.
I have a horse who is just… Weird. Her reactions to stimuli and interactions with herd mates and people are unlike any horse I’ve ever known. When other horse professionals are around her, they say the same thing. I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, but it was a high school friend of mine with an Autistic toddler who joked that her toddler and my horse were one in the same. It really got me thinking if maybe there is a parallel…
I looked at the links, and they seem to all be topics that discuss dummy foal syndrome in foals and the similarities to autism in children.
I still don’t understand if the OP is looking for info on “autistic” horses. OP, can you clarify? I did find “Benny the Autistic Horse” site:
It’s an exceedingly difficult topic to goggle because nearly all the hits are about dummy foals or therapeutic riding.
That “Benny” site has the credibility of a Crackerjack box… but orphan foal syndrome is very real (as are lingering behavioral problems after abuse).
In my mare’s case, I don’t know for a fact she wasn’t an orphan. I have pondered it myself. I do know her dam survived her foaling to have many other foals. I also know that if my mare was pulled off her dam for medical reasons, she most likely would have had a nurse mare. But I can say confidently that it’s highly unlikely my mare ever experienced any abuse like Benny. She was bred by a reputable TB breeder, briefly raced with good trainers, then was a commercial broodmare with other respectable breeders. Which is why I find it so baffling that she acts like she doesn’t know how to interact with other horses in a field!
A while back there was another poster who thought their horse had autism. The thing is they thought that because of a few symptoms such as “meltdowns”, not liking being touched, and NQR behaviors. There’s a lot more to autism then meltdowns and sensory issues. Like I told the other poster you really need to research autism to see what it really is before assuming that possibility due to a couple of most talked about symptoms and what they truly are.
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8297280]
A while back there was another poster who thought their horse had autism. The thing is they thought that because of a few symptoms such as “meltdowns”, not liking being touched, and NQR behaviors. There’s a lot more to autism then meltdowns and sensory issues. Like I told the other poster you really need to research autism to see what it really is before assuming that possibility due to a couple of most talked about symptoms and what they truly are.[/QUOTE]
I know the topic is sensitive, but I often find it surprising that people think animals cannot have personality disorders, neurodevelopment disorders, social impairments or physiological deficits. They are living, sentient beings that clearly possess intelligence, are social, communicative, and have very complex personalities.
Hopefully as we learn more about autism in the human element we can apply that learning towards animals. There is a lot we still do not understand about autism.
I absolutely have witnessed and met animals I suspect have some sort of developmental delay or personality disorder. It wouldn’t surprise me if animals have disorders very similar to autism – equines as a whole are communicative and social animals (like humans) and it’s not too far fetched to entertain the idea that somewhere along the genealogical line there is a “syntax error”.
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8297280]
A while back there was another poster who thought their horse had autism. The thing is they thought that because of a few symptoms such as “meltdowns”, not liking being touched, and NQR behaviors. There’s a lot more to autism then meltdowns and sensory issues. Like I told the other poster you really need to research autism to see what it really is before assuming that possibility due to a couple of most talked about symptoms and what they truly are.[/QUOTE]
I totally agree, which is why I included a caveat in my post that I truly hope I do not offend anyone. In my horse’s case, I never would have used the word “autism” to describe her if it wasn’t suggested to me by a parent who has real life experience with the condition. My friend and I were half joking while having the conversation, but the similarities between my horse’s behavior and her son’s are uncanny.
We know so little, really, about autism in people-- without a complete understanding of it, it’s not really possible to tell whether we’re potentially seeing the same thing in horses or just something with some of the same symptoms. But I do agree with Beowulf that there are definitely personality disorders in horses.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8297284]
I know the topic is sensitive, but I often find it surprising that people think animals cannot have personality disorders, neurodevelopment disorders, social impairments or physiological deficits. They are living, sentient beings that clearly possess intelligence, are social, communicative, and have very complex personalities.
Hopefully as we learn more about autism in the human element we can apply that learning towards animals. There is a lot we still do not understand about autism.
I absolutely have witnessed and met animals I suspect have some sort of developmental delay or personality disorder. It wouldn’t surprise me if animals have disorders very similar to autism – equines as a whole are communicative and social animals (like humans) and it’s not too far fetched to entertain the idea that somewhere along the genealogical line there is a “syntax error”.[/QUOTE]
Animals can most certainly have deficits. Most of them stem from something in their environment. Some can not get past the experiences and a few might be due to something not wired right.
But there’s a lot of people who rush to the word autism including people who talk about their children’s behaviors without fully understanding what it is.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8297300]
I totally agree, which is why I included a caveat in my post that I truly hope I do not offend anyone. In my horse’s case, I never would have used the word “autism” to describe her if it wasn’t suggested to me by a parent who has real life experience with the condition. My friend and I were half joking while having the conversation, but the similarities between my horse’s behavior and her son’s are uncanny.[/QUOTE]
Not offended :). Just explaining it’s a little more than just what’s mentioned in the media.
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8297304]
Animals can most certainly have deficits. Most of them stem from something in their environment. Some can not get past the experiences and a few might be due to something not wired right.
But there’s a lot of people who rush to the word autism including people who talk about their children’s behaviors without fully understanding what it is.[/QUOTE]
I think, right now, so little is known about autism that it can be challenging to identify in the less severe cases. People need to label things - it’s just what they do - when they have a horse that clearly demonstrates some sort of deficit, they make evoke language that is not necessarily correct but comes closest to articulating the horse’s issue. What should we call a horse that has severe developmental delays, or a horse that seems capable of average intelligence but struggles with sociological structure? We only use the words we know. Until we have an interest in understanding psychological/personality disorders in equids chances are we (as a human race) will continue to apply a human term to a horse.
I agree there may be people that do not understand autism that will apply it to their horse. But I also empathize that autism is not restricted to the human genome – we may garner a different name for it once it becomes better understood in non-humans, but personality disorders are a very real and prevalent thing in non-humans. And no, environment is not always an issue or trigger. JMHO, having spent the entire of my life with many, many different animals.
I know - if we can’t really identify the nuanaces or understand autism in people, how do we apply that to animals? I am quite a bit skeptical of attaching human diseaase processes and emotions on animals.
In my opinion, many aspects of human autism are similar to animal traits of one kind or another. Does that make the animals autistic? Not in my observation.
Had a similar discussion with one of the vets that hunts with us. He felt that horses, like all people/beings had a range of intelligence --some horses were genius, (One horse I had learned where his stall was in 3 days) some were slow to learn (like the gelding I had that after 3 years still didn’t know where his stall was in a 4 stall barn). He also thought that there was a genetic factor involved as in his practice he saw a number of trotting horses who all had the same sire. All of the progeny of that sire had brilliant racing careers up until age 5 or six when every one of them became impossible to handle, unexplained rearing in harness, bucking, biting and striking handlers and in his case, veterinarians. Because the progeny (mares, geldings, stallions) were so successful on the (granted small time) trotting circuit, they continued to breed that stallion. On the other end of the spectrum, the local Percheron breeders all spoke well of the quietness and train-ability of a local stud’s progeny. I happened to own one of those horses (he’s 26 now) and is/was always extremely easy to work with --focused on the job, good work ethic, no evasive actions. He kind of gave me a false sense of my own ability as a trainer --my current horse (smart QH that comes from a line (Blackburn) of horses known for their “lazy attitudes” toward work and cleverness at avoiding it -but also with a profound cow sense, soundness, and a proclivity to bond with a single person. I don’t know about that last part --I don’t think my Blackburn QH likes me much (I make him work) but he seems to dislike me less than the rest of the people who come to the barn. I’m taking him on a cross MI ride in 15 days --280 miles --he’s going to really hate me after that.
So, yeah, I think horses have a range of intelligence and can/do have mental issues.
Foxglove
[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8297484]
In my opinion, many aspects of human autism are similar to animal traits of one kind or another. Does that make the animals autistic? Not in my observation.[/QUOTE]
I fully agree. “Autism” is most definitely not the word for it.
However, I think it is plausible that horses can suffer from some sort of unnamed neurodevelopmental delay with symptoms similar to other conditions that we see in humans.
I keep using my horse only as an example because I deal with her every day. In her case, anyone who spends 5 minutes with her comes back saying, “that horse ain’t right.” She’s sweet as can be and is quite manageable, but she does not respond to stimuli or interactions like a “normal” horse. I don’t know the reason-- my vet and I haven’t been able to figure it out. We could all attempt to armchair diagnose her and come up with dozens of plausible explanations. I have a new idea about what’s “wrong” with her nearly every day.
But for the sake of this conversation, one very plausible explanation is that maybe equines can experience some sort of neurological developmental delay. Autism is only being referenced as an example of one such delay in humans, not a “diagnosis” for equines.
There is no question horses have a range of personalities and intelligences. And that they can be deeply and permanently affected by certain life experiences.
An example are horses who are kept from interacting with other horses while they are young, and do not develop the basic skills for successful herd integration. Sometimes they are unable to do well with even one companion in a shared space. Not aggressive, just clueless about how to behave, annoys the other horse unmercifully. Sadly, this is seen too often in certain high-performance horses. When they are older and someone wants to give them pasture time, they just don’t know the rules of interaction with other horses and seem to have a hard time learning them late in life.
Autism is a specific manner of neurological function, however much we do or don’t understand those functions. The human brain is far more complex than the equine brain. I am not sure if some disorders of the human brain could even occur in an animal brain, as some of the disordered pathways may not exist in other species.
But anything affecting areas of the brain we have in common with other species could certainly have some similar conditions - I have no doubt of that. Horses have more primitive emotions, but they not only have them, basic emotion seems to be their primary motivator (hunger, fear, etc.) If people can have emotional disorders such as PTSD, horses could certainly have something along those lines, even if it works out a little differently in many respects.
One of the trickiest elements of animal-human interaction is that we THINK we recognize a human behavior in an animal. But in an animal sometimes the behavior means something completely different. An example is dogs “smiling”. Sometimes “smiling” does seem to go with dogs having a good time, but it is also a sign of stress and agitation. “Smiling” may only mean a dog is excited, not that the excitement is positive or negative.
So there is always a chance that behavior that seems similar to autism in humans actually has other origins and other significance in a horse. But who knows … I think it is well worth some study and research as what is learned would undoubtedly benefit both species.
My biggest concern with tossing around words like autism and personality disorders with horses is that it removes the human responsibility from the equation.
The vast majority of horses are born just fine. They have their own personalities, certainly, and ways in which they prefer to interact with the world. But developmentally, they are all there. Much of what “goes wrong” with horses is caused by mishandling on the person’s part: not necessarily abuse, although that is included, but more along the lines of not being able to read the individual animal, not addressing stressors effectively, not allowing for normal social behavior and experiences in the early stages of life…when you add in the human element, we can muck things up quite a bit.
Until there is a way to tease out the human aspect of how horses develop, I wouldn’t feel comfortable using terms such as those previously mentioned.
Animals communicate through body language, so if an animal has autism, what they see or display isn’t what it’s suppose to mean. For instance with a horse, the horse comes charging at you with teeth bared, ears pinned but is actually happy to see you. That’s just one little piece in the large puzzle that is autism.
