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Benz, B., Münzing, C., Krueger, K., & Winter, D. (2014). Ethologische Untersuchung von Heuraufen in der Pferdehaltung [Ethological investigation of hayracks in equine husbandry]. Landtechnik, 69(5), 239–244.
Abstract: Eine tiergerechte, physiologisch und anatomisch auf die Bedürfnisse der Pferde ausgerichtete
Raufutterversorgung sollte die Kaubedürfnisse und die Beschäftigungszeiten von Pferden
ausreichend berücksichtigen. Daher – und auch aufgrund des bestehenden Kostendrucks bei
Raufutter – steigt das Interesse an Raufutterraufen, durch die möglicherweise die Futteraufnahmezeiten
verlängert sowie Futterverluste minimiert werden können.
Die vorliegende Untersuchung vergleicht das Fressverhalten und die Körperhaltung von acht
Pferden beim Einsatz von drei unterschiedlichen Futterraufen mit der Bodenfütterung in Einzelboxenhaltung.
Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie lassen den Schluss zu, dass der Einsatz von
Raufutterraufen die Futteraufnahmezeiten verlängert und somit längere Beschäftigungszeiten
für die Futteraufnahme gewährleistet werden. Außerdem konnte festgestellt werden, dass die
Pferde das Raufutter bei einer der drei untersuchten Raufen überwiegend mit natürlicher Kopf-
Hals-Haltung aufnahmen.
[Regarding the species horse, an appropriate supply of roughage should take into account the
need to chew as well as the need for occupation. In this context, and due to the current cost
pressure for hay, the interest in roughage racks increases. It is assumed that roughage racks
could help to extend the feeding time and reduce food losses.
The present study places the emphasis on the observation of the feeding behaviour of eight
horses in single horse boxes. Three different roughage racks are compared to traditional feeding
on the floor. On the basis of the results it may be concluded that the use of roughage racks
extends the feeding time and thus ensures longer occupation. In one of the three roughage
racks investigated the horses mainly eat in a natural posture of their head and neck.]
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Brinkmann, L., Gerken, M., Hambly, C., Speakman, J. R., & Riek, A. (2014). Saving energy during hard times: Energetic adaptations of Shetland pony mares. J. Exp. Biol., 217, 4320–4327.
Abstract: Recent results suggest that wild Northern herbivores reduce their metabolism during times of low ambient temperatures and food shortage in order to reduce their energetic needs. It is however not known if domesticated animals are also able to reduce their energy expenditure. We exposed ten Shetland pony mares to different environmental conditions (summer and winter) and to two food quantities (60 and 100% of maintenance energy requirement, respectively) during low winter temperatures to examine energetic and behavioural responses. In summer ponies showed a considerably higher field metabolic rate (FMR) (63.4±15.0 MJ d-1) compared to restrictively fed and control animals in winter (24.6±7.8 MJ d-1 and 15.0±1.1 MJ d-1, respectively). During summer conditions locomotor activity, resting heart rates and total water turnover were considerably elevated (P<0.001) compared to winter. Restrictively fed animals (N=5) compensated for the decreased energy supply by reducing their FMR by 26% compared to control animals (N=5). Furthermore, resting heart rate, body mass and body condition score were lower (29.2±2.7 beats min-1; 140±22 kg; 3.0±1.0 points) than in control animals (36.8±41 beats min-1; 165 ±31 kg; 4.4±0.7 points; P<0.05). While the observed behaviour did not change, nocturnal hypothermia was elevated. We conclude that ponies acclimatize to different climatic conditions by changing their metabolic rate, behaviour and some physiological parameters. When exposed to energy challenges, ponies, like wild herbivores, exhibited hypometabolism and nocturnal hypothermia.
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Moeller, B. A., McCall, C. A., Silverman, S. J., & McElhenney, W. H. (). Estimation of Saliva Production in Crib-Biting and Normal Horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 28(2), 85–90.
Abstract: Increasing saliva flow to buffer the stomach has been hypothesized as a basis for crib-biting in horses. Saliva amounts in seven cribbing and seven noncribbing (control) horses were compared either pre- and post-cribbing or at pre- and post-5-minute intervals for controls. A pre-weighed cellulose sponge was used to collect saliva at the exit of the submandibular gland for 30 seconds, then reweighed. Data were analyzed as repeated measures. Mean saliva weight overall was similar between cribbing and control horses (1.2 and 1.5 g, respectively, SE = 0.2). However, mean saliva weight for pre- and post-samples (1.5 and 1.2 g, respectively, SE = 0.06) for all horses was significantly lower (P < .05) in the post-sample, indicating a drying effect of the sponge. Because of a strong tendency (P < .06) for a treatment-by-sampling time interaction, data were analyzed by sampling time and cribbing status. Mean saliva weights in the pre-sample were 0.43 g higher (P < .03) in control than cribbing horses. Control horses showed a 0.38 g decrease (P < .01) in saliva weight between pre- and post-samples, which was not evident in cribbing horses. To determine whether cribbing offset the saliva decrease seen in control horses, nine cribbing horses were sampled as before but prevented from cribbing between samples. A similar reduction (0.39 g, P < .01) in saliva weights between samples with cribbing allowed versus cribbing prevented was seen in these horses as was seen in control horses in the initial study. Because cribbing does produce saliva, gastrointestinal irritation could be a motivating cause for cribbing.
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Dalla Costa, E., Minero, M., Lebelt, D., Stucke, D., Canali, E., & Leach, M. C. (2014). Development of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) as a Pain Assessment Tool in Horses Undergoing Routine Castration. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e92281 EP -.
Abstract: <sec><title>Background</title><p>The assessment of pain is critical for the welfare of horses, in particular when pain is induced by common management procedures such as castration. Existing pain assessment methods have several limitations, which reduce the applicability in everyday life. Assessment of facial expression changes, as a novel means of pain scoring, may offer numerous advantages and overcome some of these limitations. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a standardised pain scale based on facial expressions in horses (Horse Grimace Scale [HGS]).</p></sec><sec><title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title><p>Forty stallions were assigned to one of two treatments and all animals underwent routine surgical castration under general anaesthesia. Group A (n = 19) received a single injection of Flunixin immediately before anaesthesia. Group B (n = 21) received Flunixin immediately before anaesthesia and then again, as an oral administration, six hours after the surgery. In addition, six horses were used as anaesthesia controls (C). These animals underwent non-invasive, indolent procedures, received the same treatment as group A, but did not undergo surgical procedures that could be accompanied with surgical pain. Changes in behaviour, composite pain scale (CPS) scores and horse grimace scale (HGS) scores were assessed before and 8-hours post-procedure. Only horses undergoing castration (Groups A and B) showed significantly greater HGS and CPS scores at 8-hours post compared to pre operatively. Further, maintenance behaviours such as explorative behaviour and alertness were also reduced. No difference was observed between the two analgesic treatment groups.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>The Horse Grimace Scale potentially offers an effective and reliable method of assessing pain following routine castration in horses. However, auxiliary studies are required to evaluate different painful conditions and analgesic schedules.</p></sec>
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Siniscalchi, M., Cirone, F., Guaricci, A. C., & Quaranta, A. (2013). Catecholamine plasma levels, IFN-γ serum levels and antibodies production induced by rabies vaccine in dogs selected for their paw preference. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 19(5), 522–532.
Abstract: To explore the possible role of the sympathetic nervous activity in the asymmetrical crosstalk between the brain and immune system, catecholamine (E, NE) plasma levels, Interferon-? (IFN-?) serum levels and production of antibodies induced by rabies vaccine in dogs selected for their paw preference were measured. The results showed that the direction of behavioural lateralization influenced both epinephrine levels and immune response in dogs. A different kinetic of epinephrine levels after immunization was observed in left-pawed dogs compared to both right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. The titers of antirabies antibodies were lower in left-pawed dogs than in right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. Similarly, the IFN-? serum levels were lower in left-pawed dogs than in the other two groups. Taken together, these findings showed that the left-pawed group appeared to be consistently the different group stressing the fundamental role played by the sympathetic nervous system as a mechanistic basis for the crosstalk between the brain and the immune system.
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von Rohr, C. R., Koski, S. E., Burkart, J. M., Caws, C., Fraser, O. N., Ziltener, A., et al. (2012). Impartial Third-Party Interventions in Captive Chimpanzees: A Reflection of Community Concern. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e32494 EP -.
Abstract: <p>Because conflicts among social group members are inevitable, their management is crucial for group stability. The rarest and most interesting form of conflict management is policing, i.e., <italic>impartial interventions by bystanders</italic>, which is of considerable interest due to its potentially moral nature. Here, we provide descriptive and quantitative data on policing in captive chimpanzees. First, we report on a high rate of policing in one captive group characterized by recently introduced females and a rank reversal between two males. We explored the influence of various factors on the occurrence of policing. The results show that only the alpha and beta males acted as arbitrators using manifold tactics to control conflicts, and that their interventions strongly depended on conflict complexity. Secondly, we compared the policing patterns in three other captive chimpanzee groups. We found that although rare, policing was more prevalent at times of increased social instability, both high-ranking males and females performed policing, and conflicts of all sex-dyad combinations were policed. These results suggest that the primary function of policing is to increase group stability. It may thus reflect prosocial behaviour based upon “community concern.” However, policing remains a rare behaviour and more data are needed to test the generality of this hypothesis.</p>
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Wittig, R. M., Crockford, C., Langergraber, K. E., & Zuberbühler, K. (2014). Triadic social interactions operate across time: a field experiment with wild chimpanzees. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, 281(1779).
Abstract: Social animals cooperate with bonding partners to outcompete others. Predicting a competitor's supporter is likely to be beneficial, regardless of whether the supporting relationship is stable or transient, or whether the support happens immediately or later. Although humans make such predictions frequently, it is unclear to what extent animals have the cognitive abilities to recognize others’ transient bond partners and to predict others' coalitions that extend beyond the immediate present. We conducted playback experiments with wild chimpanzees to test this. About 2 h after fighting, subjects heard recordings of aggressive barks of a bystander, who was or was not a bond partner of the former opponent. Subjects looked longer and moved away more often from barks of the former opponents’ bond partners than non-bond partners. In an additional experiment, subjects moved away more from barks than socially benign calls of the same bond partner. These effects were present despite differences in genetic relatedness and considerable time delays between the two events. Chimpanzees, it appears, integrate memories of social interactions from different sources to make inferences about current interactions. This ability is crucial for connecting triadic social interactions across time, a requirement for predicting aggressive support even after a time delay.
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Giese,, C. Giese, Gerber,, V. Gerber, Howald,, M. Howald, et al. (2014). Stressbelastung und Verhalten von Pferden in stromführenden gegenüber nicht stromführenden Führanlagen. SAT, 156(4), 163–169.
Abstract: Um die Stressbelastung von Pferden in Führanlagen zu vergleichen, wurden 12 Pferde während 3 Wochen in einer Führanlage mit und ohne stromführenden (3.7 kV) Abtrennungen bewegt. Zur Ermittlung der Stressbelastung wurden die Cortisolwerte im Blut gemessen, die Herzschlagfrequenz mittels Polar® registriert und das Verhalten erfasst. Weder die Cortisol- noch die Herzfrequenzmessungen zeigten einen bedeutenden signifikanten Unterschied zwischen Pferden, die in einer stromführenden beziehungsweise nicht stromführenden Führanlage gingen. Die höchsten Cortisol- und Herzfrequenzwerte wurden in der ersten Woche (Angewöhnungsphase) verzeichnet. Signifikante Unterschiede wurden bei den Verhaltensparametern «Spontanes Wechseln des Abteils» und «Kontakt mit der Trennwand» beobachtet: Während solche vor allem in der ersten Woche und vor dem ersten Stromeinsatz vorkamen, zeigte kein Pferd einen Abteilwechsel während und nach dem Stromeinsatz. Die Resultate dieser Studie deuten darauf hin, dass der Einsatz von stromführenden Abtrennungen in Führanlagen für Pferde keinen bedeutenden messbaren Stress verursacht.
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Asa, C. S. (1999). Male reproductive success in free-ranging feral horses. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 47(1-2), 89–93.
Abstract: In the social organization of feral horses, adult males compete to monopolize groups or bands of females, sometimes called harems. Alternative male strategies are to remain alone or with other bachelors or, less commonly, to accept subordinate status within a harem. The hypothesis that dominant harem stallion status confers a reproductive advantage was tested in free-ranging feral horses. The presence of foals in harems headed by vasectomized (VSX) versus intact stallions was used to assess the ability of these stallions to control reproduction in their harems. Of harems headed by VSX stallions, 17 and 33% contained foals during years 2 and 3 post-treatment, respectively. In contrast, 86 and 80% of harems headed by non-VSX stallions contained foals in those years. Acquisition of pregnant mares appeared more likely than sneak copulations by bachelor stallions to account for foals in harems with a single stallion. However, most foals were born into harems that included a subordinate stallion, an occurrence that was undoubtedly exacerbated by the extended breeding season resulting from the sterility of the harem stallion. Thus, in comparing alternative reproductive tactics, bachelors appeared less successful than subordinate stallions within a harem. However, the highest reproductive success was achieved by the harem stallion, further demonstrating that alternative tactics are not equally profitable.
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Czeh, B., Muller-Keuker, J. I. H., Rygula, R., Abumaria, N., Hiemke, C., Domenici, E., et al. (2006). Chronic Social Stress Inhibits Cell Proliferation in the Adult Medial Prefrontal Cortex: Hemispheric Asymmetry and Reversal by Fluoxetine Treatment. Neuropsychopharmacology, 32(7), 1490–1503.
Abstract: Profound neuroplastic changes have been demonstrated in various limbic structures after chronic stress exposure and antidepressant treatment in animal models of mood disorders. Here, we examined in rats the effect of chronic social stress and concomitant antidepressant treatment on cell proliferation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We also examined possible hemispheric differences. Animals were subjected to 5 weeks of daily social defeat by an aggressive conspecific and received concomitant, daily, oral fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) during the last 4 weeks. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling and quantitative stereological techniques were used to evaluate the treatment effects on proliferation and survival of newborn cells in limbic structures such as the mPFC and the hippocampal dentate gyrus, in comparison with nonlimbic structures such as the primary motor cortex and the subventricular zone. Phenotypic analysis showed that neurogenesis dominated the dentate gyrus, whereas in the mPFC most newborn cells were glia, with smaller numbers of endothelial cells. Chronic stress significantly suppressed cytogenesis in the mPFC and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, but had minor effect in nonlimbic structures. Fluoxetine treatment counteracted the inhibitory effect of stress. Hemispheric comparison revealed that the rate of cytogenesis was significantly higher in the left mPFC of control animals, whereas stress inverted this asymmetry, yielding a significantly higher incidence of newborn cells in the right mPFC. Fluoxetine treatment abolished hemispheric asymmetry in both control and stressed animals. These pronounced changes in gliogenesis after chronic stress exposure may relate to the abnormalities of glial cell numbers reported in the frontolimbic areas of depressed patients.
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