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Normando, S.; Meers, L.; Samuels, W.E.; Faustini, M.; Ödberg, F.O. |
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Variables affecting the prevalence of behavioural problems in horses. Can riding style and other management factors be significant? |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2011 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
133 |
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3-4 |
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186-198 |
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Horse; Management; Problem behaviour; Riding style; Saddle; Stereotypies |
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The effects of riding style and various management factors on the prevalence of stereotypies and other behavioural problems among 346 mixed-breed saddle horses (phase 1) and 101 Arabian horses (phase 2) were analysed through a questionnaire answered by owners. In phase 1, the questionnaire data were partially validated through 20-min observations of 81 (23.3%) of the cases. Results indicate that horses primarily ridden in the English style were reported to be significantly more likely to display stereotypies (p < 0.001), problems when transported (p = 0.001), multiple behavioural problems (p < 0.001), and to have more restrictive stabling (p < 0.001) than horses ridden with other styles. When only Arabian horses were assessed in phase 2, however, there was no significant difference in behavioural problems between the Arabian horses ridden English style versus other riding styles. However Arabian horses were housed less restrictively than horses in phase 1 and English riding style and restrictive stabling tended to exacerbate each other's association with stereotypies. Management-related effects were found when, e.g., horses housed in restrictive stabling were more frequently reported to show locomotion stereotypies (p = 0.02) and those denied ad libitum hay displayed stereotypic wood-chewing behaviour (p = 0.02). To aid diagnosing and prioritizing interventions and care, the most predictive subsets of factors were computed for the various problem behaviours. E.g., among saddle horses, a statistical model comprised of the main riding style, duration of access to a paddock, and horse's age predicted whether a horse was reported to display any behavioural problem 62% of the time. This study supports the effects of management and handling on the prevalence of behavioural problems, and helps prioritize the relative importance of broad management categories on equine welfare. In particular, it underscores the importance of riding style on the well-being of saddle horses. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5399 |
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Weng, R.C.; Edwards, S.A.; English, P.R. |
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Title |
Behaviour, social interactions and lesion scores of group-housed sows in relation to floor space allowance |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1998 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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59 |
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4 |
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307-316 |
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Pig-social behaviour; Space requirements; Anomalous behaviour |
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The space allowance appropriate for sows in group housing remains scientifically undefined, since the social space requirement of a group of animals and the factors which affect this are unknown. Eight established groups of six pregnant, multiparous sows were used in a replicated Latin Square design of experiment, with 7 day periods, to compare four pen sizes providing 2.0, 2.4, 3.6 or 4.8 m2/sow. For the last 48 h of each 7 day period, a continuous video recording was made to determine general behaviour and all social interactions. Time spent rooting increased progressively with increasing space allowance, whereas time spent sitting and standing inactive were both progressively reduced. The total frequency of social interactions and aggressive behaviour both increased with decreasing space allowance. The Attack:Retreat ratio was significantly higher, and the Avoidance Index significantly lower, in the smallest pen. All body regions had the highest count of lesions after sows had been in the smallest pen, with damage levels being reduced as pen area increased. Analysis of body lesion scores, combining incidence and severity, gave the same treatment effects. In conclusion, the results indicated that a minimum space of between 2.4 and 3.6 m2/sow was necessary in the conditions of this experiment to promote good welfare. This result cannot be generalised to situations of different group size, group stability or feeding method. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5474 |
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König von Borstel, U.; Pasing, S.; Gauly, M. |
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Towards a more objective assessment of equine personality using behavioural and physiological observations from performance test training |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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135 |
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4 |
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277-285 |
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Horse; Personality; Behaviour; Heart rate variability; Riding; Performance test |
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Current definitions of horse personality traits are rather vague, lacking clear, universally accepted guidelines for evaluation in performance tests. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to screen behavioural and physiological measurements taken during riding for potential links with scores the same horses received in the official stallion performance test for rideability and personality traits. Behaviour, heart rate (HR) and HR variability from thirty-six stallions participating in a performance test were recorded repeatedly during their performance test training. Using the coefficient of determination, regression analysis revealed that about 1/3 of variation (ranging between r = 0.26 (“constitution” (i.e. fitness, health)) and r = 0.46 (rideability)) in the personality trait scores could be explained by selecting the three most influential behaviour patterns per trait. These behaviour patterns included stumbling (with all traits except character), head-tossing (temperament, rideability), tail-swishing (willingness to work), involuntary change in gait (character) and the rider's use of her/his hands (constitution, rideability), voice (temperament) or whip (constitution). Subsequent mixed model analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) influence of the behaviour pattern “horse-induced change in gait” on character (-0.98 ± 0.31 scores per additional occurrence of change in gaits), of head-tossing (-0.25 ± 0.08 scores) and rider's use of voice (-0.51 ± 0.25; P = 0.0594) on temperament, and of stumbling on each of the following: willingness to work (-2.5 ± 1.2), constitution (-2.5 ± 1.2 scores; P = 0.0516) and rideability scores (-3.3 ± 1.4). In addition, constitution scores tended (P = 0.0889) to increase with higher low frequency/high frequency heart rate variation ratios (LF/HF), indicating a shift towards sympathetic dominance and thus a higher stress load in horses with higher scores for constitution. Rideability scores from the training phase were also significantly influenced by head-tossing (-0.5 ± 0.1), and in addition rideability scores from the final test were influenced by the training rider, ranging between average estimated rideability scores of 6.8 ± 0.4 for one training rider and 8.36 ± 0.3 scores for another training rider. Horses ridden with their nose-line predominantly behind the vertical received higher scores for rideability (8.3 ± 0.3) than horses ridden with their nose-line at the vertical (7.7 ± 0.2). These findings indicate that either judges perceive horses to have a better rideability when they readily offer a more extreme poll flexion, or that riders make use of horses’ better rideability by imposing a more extreme poll flexion. Several of the above described associations, but also of the non-existing links (e.g. no association between shying or heart rate and temperament) between behaviour patterns and scores for personality traits are rather surprising, warranting further investigation regarding the underlying causes of these relationships. Some of these behaviour patterns should be considered when redesigning the current guidelines for evaluation of personality traits during breeding horse performance tests, ultimately leading to improved genetic selection for equine personality traits. However, ethical implication of defining aversive behaviour such as head-tossing as an indicator of, for example, poor temperament, should not be neglected when devising new guidelines: such aversive behaviour may in fact be an indication of inadequate training techniques rather than poor horse personality. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5489 |
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Hartmann, E.; Søndergaard, E.; Keeling, L.J. |
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Title |
Keeping horses in groups: A review |
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Journal Article |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Equine; Behaviour; Welfare; Housing; Social |
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Although husbandry conditions for horses have improved over the last decades, many horses are still kept singly with limited or no physical contact to other horses. This is surprising, given the fact that keeping horses in groups is recognised best to fulfil their physical and behavioural needs, especially their need for social contact with conspecifics, as well as to have a beneficial effect on horse–human interactions during training. Group housing of farm animals is widely applied in practice. As a consequence, scientists have investigated numerous aspects of group housing to help further improve animal welfare and human–animal interactions under these conditions. However, compared to this literature available in farm animals, and the plentiful studies conducted of feral horse populations, there is much less done when it comes to the management of horses kept in groups in the domestic environment. In particular, limited scientific information is available into the effect of group size and group composition on behaviour and methods of introducing new horses into established groups, even though problems related to social integration are repeatedly taken as arguments against keeping horses in groups. This review, therefore, aims to provide an overview of the current scientific knowledge regarding keeping horses in groups. Furthermore, it aims to give insight into whether or not some of the concerns related to keeping horses in groups are justified and to review scientifically based solutions that could be useful in practice to improve horse welfare and human safety. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5490 |
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Van de Weerd, H.A.; Seaman, S.; Wheeler, K.; Goddard, P.; Mclean, B. |
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Use of artificial drinkers by unhandled semi-feral ponies |
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Journal Article |
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2012 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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139 |
Issue |
1-2 |
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86-95 |
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Semi-feral Dartmoor ponies; Drinking behaviour; Preference tests; Welfare |
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This study investigated drinking behaviour of unhandled, semi-feral Dartmoor ponies. Aspects studied were drinking behaviour, latency to drink from novel unfamiliar drinkers after transport, preferences for different types of artificial water drinkers, effects of mixing with unfamiliar ponies and group size, on drinking behaviour, and the effect of a simulated market on the latency to drink. Ponies were tested in groups of three or six animals, or as individuals in test pens that were equipped with three water drinkers: bucket, automatic drinking bowl, flowing water trough. Behaviour was recorded using time-lapse video. An individual pony drank on average 10 l per day. Ponies also drank, but at a lower rate, during the night. The latencies to drink after 4.5 h of transport showed large variation, but most ponies drank within the first hour after being transported (all groups 80.5 ± 32.94 min, mean ± SEM). In the individual choice tests, the preferred drinkers were the bucket and the flowing water trough, but not the automatic drinking bowl (drinking time 25.2 ± 4.66, 11.5 ± 4.26, 2.4 ± 2.23 min for bucket, trough and bowl respectively, mean ± SEM; paired t-tests, bowl versus other drinkers, all tests p < 0.02). A possible reason for the avoidance of the automatic bowl was the noise it made when filling. After mixing a group of three ponies with a group of three unfamiliar animals, the ponies did not express their individual drinker preferences anymore. The use of the previously preferred bucket decreased significantly and the use of the initially, non-preferred, bowl increased significantly. This was likely caused by the fact that ponies were either intentionally or accidentally obstructing drinkers in certain areas of the pen and unfamiliar ponies did not want to push past them. In the simulated market, the differences in latencies to drink between ponies in the home pen and market groups did not reach significance. No significant effect of group size (groups of three versus six ponies) on drinking behaviour was detected. The results have implications for situations where only automatic water bowls are provided, such as during pony sales at livestock markets. Preventing ponies from expressing their drinking choice, either by offering non-preferred drinkers or by mixing with unfamiliar animals, could adversely affect their welfare especially if this happens in conjunction with other stressful events such as transport and markets, and potentially weaning. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5596 |
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Author |
Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Henry, S.; Sankey, C.; Hausberger, M. |
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Title |
Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballus |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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138 |
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3–4 |
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216-228 |
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Horses; Social behaviour; Aggression regulation; Coping in group; Management; Social development |
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Horses are highly social animals that have evolved to live in social groups. However, in modern husbandry systems, single housing prevails where horses experience social isolation, a challenge-to-welfare factor. One major reason for this single housing is the owners’ concerns that horses may injure each other during aggressive encounters. However, in natural conditions, serious injuries due to aggressive encounters are rare. What could therefore explain the claimed risks of group living for domestic horses? Basing our questioning on the current knowledge of the social life of horses in natural conditions, we review different practices that may lead to higher levels of aggression in horses and propose practical solutions. Observations of natural and feral horses mostly indicate a predominance of low frequencies and mild forms of aggression, based on subtle communication signals and ritualized displays and made possible by group stability (i.e. stable composition), dominance hierarchy and learning of appropriate social skills by young horses. Obviously, adults play a major role here in canalizing undesirable behaviours, and social experience during development, associated with a diversity of social partners, seems to be a prerequisite for the young horse to become socially skilled. Given the natural propensity of horses to have a regulation of aggression in groups, the tendency to display more aggression in groups of domestic horses under some management practices seems clearly related to the conditions offered. We therefore review the managing practices that could trigger aggressiveness in horses. Non social practices (space, resource availability) and social practices (group size, stability of membership, composition and opportunities for social experiences during development) in groups of domestic horses are discussed here. Finally, we propose simple practical solutions leading to more peaceful interactions in groups of domestic horses, based on the knowledge of horses’ natural social life which therefore should be enhanced (e.g. ensuring roughage availability, favouring group stability, introducing socially experienced adults in groups of young horses, etc.). The state of the art indicates that many questions still need to be answered. Given the importance of the associated welfare issues and the consequences on the use of horses, further research is required, which could benefit horses… and humans. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5648 |
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Ahrendt, L.P.; Christensen, J.W.; Ladewig, J. |
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The ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through social observation |
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2012 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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139 |
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1 |
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105-113 |
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Horse; Social learning; Social interaction; Instrumental task; Investigative behaviour; Aggression |
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The ability of horses to learn through social observation may ease the implementation of new management systems, because the use of automatic feeders etc. by naive horses could be facilitated by observation of experienced horses. However, previous studies found no documentation for observational learning abilities in horses. This study aimed to investigate the ability of horses to learn an instrumental task from a familiar conspecific when social interaction was allowed during the demonstration. Two similar experiments were performed. In the first experiment, Observer horses (n=11) participated in ten successive demonstrations, where a trained Demonstrator opened an operant device by pushing a sliding lid aside with the muzzle in order to obtain a food reward. Immediately after the demonstrations the Observer horses were given the opportunity to operate the device alone. Control horses (n=11) were aware that the device contained food but were presented to the operant device without demonstration of the task. The learning criterion was at least two openings. Accomplishment of and latency to accomplish the learning criterion, and investigative behaviour towards the operant device were recorded. Five Observers and one Control, out of the eleven horses in each treatment group, accomplished the learning criterion. Even though this presents a high odds ratio (OR) in favour of the Observer treatment (OR=7.6), there was no significant difference between the treatment groups (P=0.15). Analysis of investigative behaviour showed, however, that the demonstrations increased the motivation of the Observer horses to investigate the device. Subsequently, a similar experiment was performed in a practical setting with 44 test horses (mixed age, gender and breed). We used the same operant device and the same number and type of demonstrations, although the horses were held on a loose rope to minimise aggression. In this second experiment, six of 23 Observer horses and five of 21 Control horses learned the instrumental task, representing no influence of the demonstration. Thus, this study did not demonstrate an ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through observation. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00087-1 |
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5773 |
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Rocha, A.D. de L.; Menescal-de-Oliveira, L.; da Silva, L.F.S. |
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Effects of human contact and intra-specific social learning on tonic immobility in guinea pigs, Cavia porcellus |
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Journal Article |
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2017 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Cohabitation; Fear; Motor response; Defensive behaviour; Predator-prey |
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Abstract Social learning is the capacity of animals to acquire adaptive information from others. In the case of fear responses, animals can learn fearful or non-fearful responses by observing the behavior of conspecifics. Tonic immobility (TI) is an anti-predatory behavior elicited during intense fear situations. Studies have revealed that regular contact with humans can reduce TI responses in animals. In our study, we evaluated the effect of human contact on the TI responses in guinea pigs. We also evaluated the effect of cohabitation (non-fearful animals with fearful animals) on their TI responses. To achieve this, we measured the TI responses induced by postural inversion and restraint in guinea pigs as a result of different treatments. In our first experiment, we determined the effect of human contact on TI responses by establishing 3 treatment groups: no contact, handled, and habituated. In our second experiment, we addressed the effect of social learning on TI response by testing TI response in habituated, and unhabituated animals that had cohabitated for 10 days. In the first experiment, 10 days of either handling or habituation did not prevent TI in guinea pigs, but habituation did increase latency [F(2,119) = 14.19; p < 0.0001] and handling or habituation decrease duration [F(2,119) = 15.01; p < 0.0001] of the TI behavior in the guinea pigs. In the second experiment, the cohabitation of unhabituated and habituated animals reduced TI duration [F(2,93) = 5.058; p < 0.008]. These data suggest that both forms of human interaction can reduce experimenter fear in guinea pigs. It therefore seems that unhabituated guinea pigs learn not to fear the experimenter by cohabitating with habituated guinea pigs. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6133 |
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König v. Borstel, U.; Visser, E.K.; Hall, C. |
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Title |
Indicators of stress in equitation |
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Journal Article |
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2017 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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190 |
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43-56 |
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Stress; Horse; Riding; Heart rate variability; Cortisol; Behaviour |
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Abstract Stress is a generic concept describing the body's reaction to external stimuli, including both physiological and psychological factors. Therefore, by definition, the assessment of psychological stress in the exercising horse encompasses the problem of teasing apart the psychological and physiological factors both of which result in stress responses. The present study reviews the existing literature on various measures of stress taken specifically in the context of equitation science. Particular attention has been paid to short-term effects, and commonly used measurements of short-term stress include heart rate, a number of heart rate variability parameters, blood or saliva cortisol levels, eye temperature, and various behaviour parameters including in particular behaviour patterns presumably indicative of conflict with the rider's/trainer's aids. Inspection of the individual studies' results revealed that disagreement between these different measures of stress is commonplace. For physiological parameters, the largest proportion of agreement (i.e. both parameters simultaneously indicated either higher, insignificant or lower stress compared to a control treatment) was found for heart rate and heart rate variability parameters, while generally limited agreement was found for cortisol. It appears that cortisol levels may not be particularly useful for assessing/assessment of the valence of a situation in the exercising horse as cortisol levels are predominantly linked to activation and exercise levels. Although heart rate variability parameters reflect in theory more closely sympathovagal balance compared to cortisol levels, great care has to be taken regarding the use of appropriate time-frames, appropriate raw data correction methods as well as the use of appropriate equipment. In spite of its wide-spread and apparently successful use, popular equipment may in fact not be accurate enough under field conditions. Eye temperature is another promising parameter for assessment of psychological stress, but the technique is likewise susceptible to application errors. Given the high susceptibility of physiological parameters to errors at various experimental stages, behavioural rather than physiological parameters may in fact provide more accurate measures of valence when conducting experiments in the exercising horse. Behavioural parameters that appear to be particularly practical in assessing stress in ridden horses' behaviour are associated with frequencies of behaviour indicative of conflict. However, while increased frequencies of are a good indicator of stress, the absence of conflict behaviour does not provide proof of the absence of stress due to the possible occurrence of conditions such as Learned Helplessness. In future studies, the above issues should be taken into consideration when designing experiments to assess psychological stress in ridden horses. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6160 |
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Author |
Hagen, K.; Broom, D.M. |
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Title |
Emotional reactions to learning in cattle |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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85 |
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3 |
Pages |
203-213 |
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Keywords |
Cattle; Expressive behaviour; Operant learning; Reinforcer |
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Abstract |
It has been suggested that during instrumental learning, animals are likely to react emotionally to the reinforcer. They may in addition react emotionally to their own achievements. These reactions are of interest with regard to the animals' capacity for self-awareness. Therefore, we devised a yoked control experiment involving the acquisition of an operant task. We aimed to identify the emotional reactions of young cattle to their own learning and to separate these from reactions to a food reward. Twelve Holstein-Friesian heifers aged 7-12 months were divided into two groups. Heifers in the experimental group were conditioned over a 14-day period to press a panel in order to open a gate for access to a food reward. For heifers in the control group, the gate opened after a delay equal to their matched partner's latency to open it. To allow for observation of the heifers' movements during locomotion after the gate had opened, there was a 15m distance in the form of a race from the gate to the food trough. The heart rate of the heifers, and their behaviour when moving along the race towards the food reward were measured. When experimental heifers made clear improvements in learning, they were more likely than on other occasions to have higher heart rates and tended to move more vigorously along the race in comparison with their controls. This experiment found some, albeit inconclusive, indication that cattle may react emotionally to their own learning improvement. |
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0168-1591 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6551 |
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