Equine behaviorist Malan du Toit, from Cape Town, South Africa, wasn't always a horse guru. His interest in equine behavior and learning was sparked 23 years ago after he acquired his first horse—a potential endurance mount with serious behavior issues. As a newcomer to horse ownership, du Toit wondered why his horse didn't understand what he wanted him to do. So he embarked on a journey to study as much as he possibly could about equine behavior.

Du Toit presented some of his and others' research into how horses' minds function during the 2014 Cape Breeders Association seminar, held Jan. 27-28 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

He first described the phenomenon of anthropomorphism, or the attribution of human personality to animals. "We have this romantic notion that the horse understands us," du Toit said. "That's why we use words like loyal, mutual trust, determined, lazy, etc., (when describing horses), and we use this to justify punishment because we think the horse 'knows' what it means."

However, he continued, horses can't reason like humans can. There's also no scientific evidence of their capacity for observational learning (e.g., replicating or imitating observed behaviors) or forming concepts, he said. Rather, humans must condition horses to respond in the desired way