Scientists discover how horses whinny

What do beatboxers and horses have in common?

No, it's not the start of a joke - according to scientists, it's the ability to make two separate noises at the same time.

New research has found that when a horse whinnies, or neighs, it's actually making two sounds.

According to the study, which was published in the journal Current Biology, the first is lower-pitched and is made when air passes through bands in their vocal box, or larynx, which is similar to how humans speak.

The second is a higher-pitched sound, which is a kind of whistle.

It's not quite the same as a human whistle though. We do it using our mouths, whereas horses force air through their voice boxes - and it's this air moving through the tube-like structure which produces the sound.

This makes horses one of only a small number of animals that can make biphonic sounds (the scientific way of saying two sounds at once).

A team of researchers figured this out by using small cameras, usually used to diagnose breathing problems, to take a look at what happens when horses neigh.

One of the scientists, Elodie Briefer, a behavioural ecologist who studies animal communication at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found evidence that there were two distinct notes in a whinny, but it's only now that she and others have figured out why.

Horses are very good communicators - research published in 2025 found that horses use facial expressions to let their pals know when they're annoyed or alert.

And the complexity of the sound of their neighs could also mean horses are able to convey even more complicated messages to each other.

Different whinnies are already used for different things - to greet each other, to convey fear if they're separated, and to tell each other they're happy.

Not only do "different horses have different whinnes", Elodie told Nature magazine, this new research shows "they can express emotions in these two dimensions."