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Author (up) Christensen, J.W.; Rundgren, M.; Olsson, K.
Title Training methods for horses: habituation to a frightening stimulus Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Equine veterinary journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet J
Volume 38 Issue 5 Pages 439-443
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Conditioning (Psychology); *Fear; Heart Rate/*physiology; Horses/physiology/*psychology; Learning; Male; Random Allocation; *Reinforcement (Psychology); Safety; Time Factors
Abstract REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Responses of horses in frightening situations are important for both equine and human safety. Considerable scientific interest has been shown in development of reactivity tests, but little effort has been dedicated to the development of appropriate training methods for reducing fearfulness. OBJECTIVES: To investigate which of 3 different training methods (habituation, desensitisation and counter-conditioning) was most effective in teaching horses to react calmly in a potentially frightening situation. HYPOTHESES: 1) Horses are able to generalise about the test stimulus such that, once familiar with the test stimulus in one situation, it appears less frightening and elicits a reduced response even when the stimulus intensity is increased or the stimulus is presented differently; and 2) alternative methods such as desensitisation and counter-conditioning would be more efficient than a classic habituation approach. METHODS: Twenty-seven naive 2-year-old Danish Warmblood stallions were trained according to 3 different methods, based on classical learning theory: 1) horses (n = 9) were exposed to the full stimulus (a moving, white nylon bag, 1.2 x 0.75 m) in 5 daily training sessions until they met a predefined habituation criterion (habituation); 2) horses (n = 9) were introduced gradually to the stimulus and habituated to each step before the full stimulus was applied (desensitisation); 3) horses (n = 9) were trained to associate the stimulus with a positive reward before being exposed to the full stimulus (counter-conditioning). Each horse received 5 training sessions of 3 min per day. Heart rate and behavioural responses were recorded. RESULTS: Horses trained with the desensitisation method showed fewer flight responses in total and needed fewer training sessions to learn to react calmly to test stimuli. Variations in heart rate persisted even when behavioural responses had ceased. In addition, all horses on the desensitisation method eventually habituated to the test stimulus whereas some horses on the other methods did not. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Desensitisation appeared to be the most effective training method for horses in frightening situations. Further research is needed in order to investigate the role of positive reinforcement, such as offering food, in the training of horses.
Address Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition, Tjele, Denmark
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ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16986605 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1783
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Author (up) Christensen, J.W.; Zharkikh, T.; Ladewig, J.
Title Do horses generalise between objects during habituation? Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 114 Issue 3-4 Pages 509-520
Keywords Horse; Stimulus generalisation; Habituation; Fear
Abstract Habituation to frightening stimuli plays an important role in horse training. To investigate the extent to which horses generalise between different visual objects, 2-year-old stallions were habituated to feeding from a container placed inside a test arena and assigned as TEST (n=12) or REFERENCE horses (n=12). In Experiment 1, TEST horses were habituated to six objects (ball, barrel, board, box, cone, cylinder) presented in sequence in a balanced order. The objects were of similar size but different colour. Each object was placed 0.5m in front of the feed container, forcing the horses to pass the object to get to the food. TEST horses received as many 2min exposures to each object as required to meet a habituation criterion. We recorded behavioural reactions to the object, latency to feed, total eating time, and heart rate (HR) during all exposures. There was no significant decrease in initial responses towards a novel object with increasing object number, indicating that habituation was stimulus-specific. REFERENCE horses were exposed to the test arena without objects in the same period, and reactions of TEST and REFERENCE horses were subsequently compared in a fear-test (2m2.5m rubber mat placed under the feed container, forcing the horses to step on the mat to get food). There were no significant differences between the treatment groups, i.e. previous habituation of TEST horses to six visual objects did not reduce responses in a fear-test involving visual and tactile stimulation. Due to the lack of generalisation in Experiment 1, we designed a supplemental experiment (Experiment 2), in which REFERENCE horses were exposed to the same six objects except that object colour was kept constant. We found a significant reduction in response (behaviour and HR) with increasing object number, indicating that horses generalise between similarly coloured objects of varying shape. We conclude that a high degree of object similarity, e.g. identical colouring, appears to be crucial for object generalisation in horses.
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ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4756
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Author (up) Cook, M.; Mineka, S.; Wolkenstein, B.; Laitsch, K.
Title Observational conditioning of snake fear in unrelated rhesus monkeys Type Journal Article
Year 1985 Publication Journal of abnormal psychology Abbreviated Journal J Abnorm Psychol
Volume 94 Issue 4 Pages 591-610
Keywords Animals; *Conditioning, Classical; *Fear; Female; Macaca mulatta; Male; Snakes
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ISSN 0021-843X ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:4078162 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 707
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Author (up) de Waal, F.B.
Title The organization of agonistic relations within two captive groups of Java-monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) Type Journal Article
Year 1977 Publication Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie Abbreviated Journal Z. Tierpsychol.
Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 225-282
Keywords Age Factors; Aggression; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Competitive Behavior/*physiology; Fear; Female; Haplorhini; Humans; Macaca/*physiology; Macaca fascicularis/*physiology; Male; Sex Factors; Social Behavior; Social Dominance
Abstract The paper offers a detailed quantitative descripition of the distribution of agonistic activities over the members of two groups of Java-monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). These groups lived in captivity and were well-established: i.e. they had an extensive network of genealogical relationships. The study pays special attention to agonistic interactions with three or more participants. Its main purpose is an analysis of the way dyadic agonistic relations (e.g. dominance relations) are affected by third group members and the relations among these. The paper presents data on the ontogeny of 'dependent dominance', the 'control role' of the alpha-male, and the functions of different types of alliances.
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ISSN 0044-3573 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:412345 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 213
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Author (up) Domjan, M.
Title Determinants of the enhancement of flavored-water intake by prior exposure Type Journal Article
Year 1976 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 17-27
Keywords Animals; Arousal; *Awareness; Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; *Drinking Behavior; Environment; Escape Reaction; Fear; Male; Rats; Saccharin/administration & dosage; *Taste; Thirst; Time Factors; Water Deprivation
Abstract The intake of a 2.0% sodium saccharin solution in rats was observed to increase as a function of both the number (Experiment 1) and the duration (Experiment 3) of prior periods of access to the saccharin flavor, but did not increase when subjects were maintained on a fluid deprivation procedure in the absence of saccharin exposure (Experiment 2). The enhancement of intake was further influenced by the schedule of saccharin preexposures in the absence of variations in the amount of solution tasted (Experiment 4). The effect was not a function of the opportunity for subjects to determine their own pattern of contact with the saccharin flavor, the opportunity for association of the flavor with hunger and thirst reduction, or the amount of saccharin swallowed during preexposure (Experiment 5). These results suggest that mere exposure to a flavored solution is sufficient to increase subsequent intakes. The phenomenon is discussed in terms of the attenuation of neophobia elicited by the novelty of flavored solutions.
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ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:1249524 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2790
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Author (up) Falewee, C.; Gaultier, E.; Lafont, C.; Bougrat, L.; Pageat, P.
Title Effect of a synthetic equine maternal pheromone during a controlled fear-eliciting situation Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 101 Issue 1-2 Pages 144-153
Keywords Horses; Behaviour; Fear; Pheromone; Heart rate; Performance
Abstract Horses are known to show fear reactions when confronted with novelty and this can be a considerable hindrance in the context of working situations such as riding, dressage or racing. The aim of the present study was to measure the potential effects of a synthetic analogue of the Equine Appeasing Pheromone on saddled horses when subjected to a stressful situation using a double-blinded, placebo controlled study design. A group of 40 horses was analyzed during this study and horses were divided by sex, breed and reactivity into two homogenized groups. The test, which consisted of walking the horse through a fringed curtain, was selected from a range of tests which are used to assess behaviour for the selection of French breeding stock. Horses that could have been subjected to the test on a previous occasion, and therefore be familiar with it, were not included. Behavioural and physiological parameters were both taken into account with measures of time to go through the curtain, fear related typical behavioural patterns, based on available literature detailed in the bibliography, and heart rate being recorded. Parameters were analyzed by means of Mann-Whitney U-test. Significant differences were noticed between the two groups concerning heart rate data during the test (UMeanHR = 100.5, pMeanHR = 0.02; UMaxHR = 75, pMaxHR = 0.001) and during the whole measured period (UMeanHR = 67, pMeanHR = 0.005; UMaxHR = 58, pMaxHR = 0.002). Observation of the animals also revealed less behavioural items characteristic of fear within the treated group. As a result, horses performed the test with a better time performance when they received the pheromone analogue (U = 62, p = 0.002). The main parameter, area under the HR graph, is based on heart rate measure and performance. Differences noticed (U = 74, p = 0.002) for this parameter lead to the conclusion that horses who received EAP underwent less stress related consequences in terms of their cardiac physiology. As horses are subjected to a number of foreseeable stressful events this study suggests that the use of Equine Appeasing Pheromone could be a significant factor in improving the welfare of this species.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 3992
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Author (up) Forkman, B.; Boissy, A.; Meunier-Salaün, M.-C.; Canali, E.; Jones, R.B.
Title A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal Physiol. Behav.
Volume 92 Issue 3 Pages 340-374
Keywords Fear; Cattle; Sheep; Pig; Poultry; Horse; Open field; Tonic immobility; Novel object
Abstract FORKMAN, B., A., BOISSY, M.-C., SALAUN, E., CANALI, AND R.B., JONES. A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 000-000, 2007. Fear is arguably the most commonly investigated emotion in domestic animals. In the current review we attempt to establish the level of repeatability and validity found for fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus the review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test, and the restraint test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good and broad literature on factors that affect the outcome of the test, the validity of the test and its age dependency. However, there are comparatively few of these well defined and validated tests and what is especially missing for most tests is information on the robustness, i.e., what aspects can be changed without affecting the validity of the tests. The relative absence of standardized tests hampers the development of applied ethology as a science.
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ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4811
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Author (up) Fox, N.A.
Title Temperament and early experience form social behavior Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1038 Issue Pages 171-178
Keywords Adult; Animals; Child; Child Behavior Disorders/physiopathology; Fear/physiology; Humans; Individuality; Infant; Learning/*physiology; *Personality Development; *Social Behavior; Temperament/*physiology
Abstract Individual differences in the way persons respond to stimulation can have important consequences for their ability to learn and their choice of vocation. Temperament is the study of such individual differences, being thought of as the behavioral style of an individual. Common to all approaches in the study of temperament are the notions that it can be identified in infancy, is fairly stable across development, and influences adult personality. We have identified a specific temperament type in infancy that involves heightened distress to novel and unfamiliar stimuli. Infants who exhibit this temperament are likely, as they get older, to display behavioral inhibition-wariness and heightened vigilance of the unfamiliar-particularly in social situations. Our work has also described the underlying biology of this temperament and has linked it to neural systems supporting fear responses in animals. Children displaying behavioral inhibition are at-risk for behavioral problems related to anxiety and social withdrawal.
Address Institute for Child Study, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742-1131, USA. nf4@umail.umd.edu
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ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:15838111 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4131
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Author (up) Grandin, T.
Title Safe handling of large animals Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Occupational Medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Abbreviated Journal Occup Med
Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 195-212
Keywords Accidents, Occupational/*prevention & control/statistics & numerical data; Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animal Husbandry/*methods; Animals; *Behavior, Animal/physiology; Cattle; Conditioning, Operant/physiology; Crowding/psychology; Fear/physiology/psychology; Female; *Horses/physiology/psychology; Humans; Male; Movement/physiology; *Occupational Health; Risk Factors; *Ruminants/physiology/psychology
Abstract The major causes of accidents with cattle, horses, and other grazing animals are: panic due to fear, male dominance aggression, or the maternal aggression of a mother protecting her newborn. Danger is inherent when handling large animals. Understanding their behavior patterns improves safety, but working with animals will never be completely safe. Calm, quiet handling and non-slip flooring are beneficial. Rough handling and excessive use of electric prods increase chances of injury to both people and animals, because fearful animals may jump, kick, or rear. Training animals to voluntarily cooperate with veterinary procedures reduces stress and improves safety. Grazing animals have a herd instinct, and a lone, isolated animal can become agitated. Providing a companion animal helps keep an animal calm.
Address Department of Animal Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80526, USA
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ISSN 0885-114X ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:10329901 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3793
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Author (up) h:, M.; Lévy, F.; Fortin, M.; Leterrier, C.; LansadLansade, L.
Title Stress and temperament affect working memory performance for disappearing food in horses, Equus caballus Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication Animal Behaviour Abbreviated Journal
Volume 86 Issue 6 Pages 1233-1240
Keywords delayed-response task emotion; equid; Equus caballus; fearfulness; individual difference; personality; stress; temperament
Abstract In the present study, we sought to determine the influence of stress and temperament on working memory for disappearing food in horses. After assessment of five dimensions of temperament, we tested working memory of horses using a delayed-response task requiring a choice between two food locations. Delays ranging from 0 to 20 s were tested. The duration of working memory for disappearing food was first characterized without stressors (N = 26). The horses were then divided into two groups and their performance was assessed under stressful (exposure to acute stressors prior to testing, N = 12) or control conditions (N = 12). Results showed that the duration of working memory for disappearing food lasted at least 20 s under nonstressful conditions, and that under stressful conditions this duration lasted less than 12 s. This stress-induced impairment confirms in a nonrodent species that working memory performance is very sensitive to exposure to stressors. In addition, working memory performance in horses is influenced by the temperamental dimension of fearfulness according to the state of stress: fearful horses showed better performance under control conditions and worse performance under stressful conditions than nonfearful horses. These findings are discussed in the context of the Yerkes–Dodson law of stress and performance.
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ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5746
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