Abstract: The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of gymnastic training (GYM) and dynamic mobilization exercises (DMEs) on stride length (SL) and epaxial muscle size in therapy horses. Nine cross-bred hippotherapy horses that performed three, 25-minute therapeutic riding sessions per week throughout the study period were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: a control group in which the horses were sedentary with no additional physical activity; a group that performed DMEs; and a group that performed both DMEs and additional GYM including pelvic tilting, backing, turning in small circles, and walking over a raised rail to strengthen the abdominal and pelvic stabilizer muscles. The exercises were performed 3 days per week for 3 months, with evaluations at the start and end of the study. Stride quality was assessed by measuring SL and tracking distance (TD). Epaxial muscle size was monitored by ultrasonographic measurement of m. longissimus dorsi (LD) thickness and m. multifidi (MM) cross-sectional area. Paired t tests were used to compare within groups across time, and between groups were detected using analysis of variance with Tukey post hoc test. When walking at 1.3 m/s, SL and TD at walk increased significantly (P < .05) in horses subjected to GYM. Thickness of LD did not change in any group, but cross-sectional area of MM increased significantly by 3.55 cm2 (DME) and 3.78 cm2 (GYM). It was concluded that GYM training improved stride quality and DME-stimulated MM hypertrophy which has been shown to improve intervertebral joint stability in other species.

Abstract: This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P<0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2=36.67, P<0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Abstract: This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P<0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2=36.67, P<0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Abstract: Dominance hierarchies in horses primarily influence priority access to limited resources of any kind, resulting in predictable contest outcomes that potentially minimize aggressive encounters and associated risk of injury. Levels of aggression in group-kept horses under domestic conditions have been reported to be higher than in their feral counterparts but can often be attributed to suboptimal management. Horse owners often express concerns about the risk of injuries occurring in group-kept horses, but these concerns have not been substantiated by empirical investigations. What has not yet been sufficiently addressed are human safety aspects related to approaching and handling group-kept horses. Given horse's natural tendency to synchronize activity to promote group cohesion, questions remain about how group dynamics influence human-horse interactions. Group dynamics influence a variety of management scenarios, ranging from taking a horse out of its social group to the prospect of humans mimicking the horse's social system by taking a putative leadership role and seeking after an alpha position in the dominance hierarchy to achieve compliance. Yet, there is considerable debate about whether the roles horses attain in their social group are of any relevance in their reactions to humans. This article reviews the empirical data on social dynamics in horses, focusing on dominance and leadership theories and the merits of incorporating those concepts into the human-horse context. This will provide a constructive framework for informed debate and valuable guidance for owners managing group-kept horses and for optimizing human-horse interactions.

Abstract: The human-horse relationship forms an essential component in the diversity of todays use of horses. The reactions of horses to interactions with humans are mostly the result of interplay between their own temperament; the temperament and skills of the human and their previous experience – with humans. Moreover, the understanding of the human-horse relationship may improve the welfare of horses and humans. Nowadays, “sympathetic” training methods are gaining tremendous attention of horse owners. In the “sympathetic” training method the focus lies on the use of body language in human-horse communication, as well as respecting the horses natural needs. With 28 horses the effect of a “sympathetic” training method versus a conventional training method on the horse“s response on a human-approach test was studied. Fourteen horses of 3.5 years of age were subjected to a five week training period with a conventional training method, the other fourteen horses were subjected to a ”sympathetic“ training method. The overall frequency of snorting during the human approach tests decreased on average from 4.4 (± 1.1) before the training period to 3.1 (± 0.9) after the training period (both groups). However, there was a significant (p=0.006) difference between training methods: the horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method decreased snorting by 4.3 (±1.1) while the horses trained in the conventional method increased with 1.5 (±0.9). While horses trained in the conventional method whinnied less in the second human approach test, horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method whinnied more after the period of training. This difference was found to be significant (p=0.006). Defecating decreased over time, but was not different between training methods. The frequency of touching the unfamiliar handler increased over time for both training methods. The horses trained in a conventional method increased from 1.5 to 2.5 and for the sympathetic trained horses from 1.9 to 3.7. This increase was not significantly different for the training methods. Heart rate showed a minor decrease between the human approach tests (before training period 85.3 bpm, after training period 74.3 bpm) but there were no significant differences between training methods. Similarly, there was a slight increase in heart rate variability (rmssd: from 37.0 to 45.2), but no significant differences between training methods. Overal it was concluded that horses trained with this ”sympathetic“ method tended to be more trustful and less stressful in the presence of an (unfamiliar) human compared to horses trained with a conventional method. This may have been due to reduced stress during horse-human contact in the ”sympathetic" training method used. The long term effects on the welfare of the horses, still needs to be investigated.