Feral Horse Optimization Algorithm: A Novel Metaheuristic Algorithmfor Global Optimization and Constrained Engineering Design Problems

Feral Horse Optimization Algorithm: A Novel Metaheuristic Algorithmfor Global Optimization and Constrained Engineering Design Problems | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Feral Horse Optimization Algorithm: A Novel Metaheuristic Algorithmfor Global Optimization and Constrained Engineering Design Problems Yiying Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8304030/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Given the characteristics of individual cooperation and randomness, metaheuristic algorithms show excellent global search ability, which have increasingly become mainstream tools for solving complex engineering design problems. To further enrich the solution approaches, this work reported a novel metaheuristic algorithm called the feral horse optimization algorithm (FHOA) inspired by the social behaviors of the group of feral horses. In a group of feral horses, the stallion and the dominate mare are two most influential members. FHOA is designed based on the simulation for “expulsion behavior” of the stallion and “follow behavior” of the dominate mare. “Expulsion behavior” means the stallion expels the adult male colts; “follow behavior” denotes that the other horses follow the dominate mare to avoid external threats. A notable feature of FHOA is that it only needs the population size and terminal condition for optimization. The performance of FHOA is investigated by 70 challenging numerical functions and three classical constrained engineering design problems. Experimental results demonstrate that FHOA has excellent global search ability and is more suitable for solving complex problems with multimodal properties than the compared algorithms. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Feral horse optimization algorithm Metaheuristics Global optimization Engineering optimization Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 15 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 15 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 10 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8304030","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":578328567,"identity":"a7cad74b-b9f4-421f-8dcc-042a15b02659","order_by":0,"name":"Yiying Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSjJxsDA+ABEIgSJ0MJsACJ5iNQCBmwSRGmRn9387OHXNovEPun2a5U/yg7b2zMwH7zNw2CXh0sL45xj5saybRKJbTJnym7znDuc2MPAlmzNw5BcjEsLs0SCmbQkSItETtptxrbDCTwMPGbSPAwHEhtwaGGTSP8G11L4s+2wPQ8D/ze8WngkcswkP4K1pB9j4G07zNjDwMOGV4uERE6ZNMM5CWOgLczSPOfSE3sOsxlbzjFIxqlFfkb6NskfZXWy82ekP/z4o8zanr29+eGNNxV2OLWAg4CXjcGxgYHHAMoFEQZ41AMB448/DPYMDOwP8CsbBaNgFIyCEQsA0cpOit5RSNwAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yiying","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-08 06:08:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8304030/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8304030/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":100863087,"identity":"cc52ed05-4961-41a2-8b46-ca6be1a49e94","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-22 07:58:03","extension":"json","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3313,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ce42f55aacef43af9057ef8deeb46567.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8304030/v1/02b9a083cf148cafa615a107.json"},{"id":101296702,"identity":"7c4a0017-5247-4294-9e3f-7308d12392c4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-28 09:19:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1361966,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FHOAforSRrevise.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8304030/v1_covered_7a49d820-08e4-48cf-b455-51f164c18c2b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Feral Horse Optimization Algorithm: A Novel Metaheuristic Algorithmfor Global Optimization and Constrained Engineering Design Problems","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Feral horse optimization algorithm, Metaheuristics, Global optimization, Engineering optimization","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8304030/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8304030/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Given the characteristics of individual cooperation and randomness, metaheuristic algorithms show excellent global search ability, which have increasingly become mainstream tools for solving complex engineering design problems. 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