| Records |
| Author |
Burla, J.-B.; Siegwart, J.; Nawroth, C. |
| Title |
Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2018 |
Publication |
Animal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Animal |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
96 |
| Keywords |
detour task; equids; social cognition; social learning; spatial cognition |
| Abstract |
Horses’ ability to adapt to new environments and to acquire new information plays an important role in handling and training. Social learning in particular would be very adaptive for horses as it enables them to flexibly adjust to new environments. In the context of horse handling, social learning from humans has been rarely investigated but could help to facilitate management practices. We assessed the impact of human demonstration on the spatial problem-solving abilities of horses during a detour task. In this task, a bucket with a food reward was placed behind a double-detour barrier and 16 horses were allocated to two test groups of 8 horses each. One group received a human demonstration of how to solve the spatial task while the other group received no demonstration. We found that horses did not solve the detour task more often or faster with human demonstration. However, both test groups improved rapidly over trials. Our results suggest that horses prefer to use individual rather than social information when solving a spatial problem-solving task |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
6392 |
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| Author |
Burden, F.; Thiemann, A. |
| Title |
Donkeys Are Different |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2015 |
Publication |
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proceedings of the 2015 Equine Science Society Symposium |
| Volume |
35 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
376-382 |
| Keywords |
Donkey; Ass; Equid; Mule |
| Abstract |
As a unique species of equine, the donkey has certain specific variations from the horse. This review highlights the origins of the donkey and how this impacts on its behavior, physiology, and propensity to disease. The donkey is less of a flight animal and has been used by humans for pack and draught work, in areas where their ability to survive poorer diets, and transboundary disease while masking overt signs of pain and distress has made them indispensable to human livelihoods. When living as a companion animal, however, the donkey easily accumulates adipose tissue, and this may create a metabolically compromised individual prone to diseases of excess such as laminitis and hyperlipemia. They show anatomic variations from the horse especially in the hoof, upper airway, and their conformation. Variations in physiology lead to differences in the metabolism and distribution of many drugs. With over 44 million donkeys worldwide, it is important that veterinarians have the ability to understand and treat this equid effectively. |
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0737-0806 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6541 |
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| Author |
Baragli,P.; Cozzi,A; Rugani, R.; Sighieria, C.; Regolin, L. |
| Title |
Delayed search for non-social goals by Equids (Equus caballus and Equus asinus) |
Type |
Conference Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
IESM 2008 |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Keywords |
cognitive abilities, delayed-response, Equids, working memory. |
| Abstract |
Delayed-responses have been traditionally employed to investigate the temporal characteristics of animals“ ability to represent and recall objects that have disappeared. In the typical condition, the animal, usually a mammal, observes the experimenter hiding an interesting goal (e.g. some food) in a certain location. A delayed-response task (DRT) was administered to 4 female Esperia pony (2 years old) coming from a free-range breed (Frosinone, Italy) and to 7 female Amiata donkeys (4.2±2 years old) coming from a conservation stock (University of Pisa, Italy). The DRT's apparatus was located in a square fence. A single ”U-shaped“ screen (330x160x140 cm) made by wood shavings blocks was positioned in the centre of the fence. A gap (40x50 cm) on the ground was in the middle of the central side of the U-shaped-screen and served to make the food-attractor disappear. The food-attractor consisted in cereal flakes and fresh grass for ponies and cereal flakes for donkeys. A bucket full of food was placed on a dolly tied on a rope which could be pulled by an experimenter. In a preliminary training each animal was allowed to eat food from the bucket and, while the animal was eating, the dolly was gently pulled away from the animal, and beyond the screen through the gap. The subjects needed to move around of the screen in order to retrieve the food. As a reinforcement, they were allowed to eat some food from the bucket once behind the screen. From trial to trial, the bucket was presented farther and farther (starting with a distance of 1 m in front of the screen to reach 7 m). Therefore subjects were tested in the DRT requiring them to rejoin the bucket with the goal-food disappearing behind the screen as in the preliminary training but following a 10 s delay. For the DRT, the bucket was placed 7 m in front of the screen, 3 m away from the animal's starting area. Then the dolly was pulled away from the animal. Ten seconds after the disappearance of the dolly behind the screen the animal was released from the starting area. The DRT ended when the subject had reached the attractor behind the screen on 3 consecutive trials. Results showed that all animals were able to rejoin the food behind the screen after 10 s delay. The mean time of the delayed-response (mean±sd, in s) in the ponies (1st: 19.8±8; 2nd: 10.8±2.2; 3rd: 12.8±2.8) and in the donkeys (1st: 28.4±10; 2nd: 26.9±13; 3rd: 24.3±16.6) showed a trend to decrease from first trial to third. These preliminary results suggest that like other mammals our ponies and donkeys can maintain a working memory trace of the location where biologically attractive objects have been seen to disappear. In conclusion, this study paves the way to set up a viable model system for the investigation of the more sophisticated aspects of Equids” cognitive abilities such as working memory. |
| Address |
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2 – 56124, Pisa, Italy |
| Corporate Author |
Cozzi, A |
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IESM 2008 |
| Notes |
Talk 15 min IESM 2008 |
Approved |
yes |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4475 |
| Permanent link to this record |
