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Author Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Leroy, H.; Henry, S.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue (down) 4 Pages 869-875  
  Keywords Equus caballus; horse; human–animal relationship; learning; memory; positive interaction; social cognition  
  Abstract Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.  
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  ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5418  
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Author Hausberger, M.; Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Wessel-Robert, S.; Richard-Yris, M.-A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare? Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Abbreviated Journal Naturwissenschaften  
  Volume 99 Issue (down) 4 Pages 291-302  
  Keywords Social play; Stress indicators; Animal welfare; Domestic horse  
  Abstract Play remains a mystery and adult play even more so. More typical of young stages in healthy individuals, it occurs rarely at adult stages but then more often in captive/domestic animals, which can imply spatial, social and/or feeding deprivations or restrictions that are challenging to welfare, than in animals living in natural conditions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that adult play may reflect altered welfare states and chronic stress in horses, in which, as in several species, play rarely occurs at adult stages in natural conditions. We observed the behaviour (in particular, social play) of riding school horses during occasional outings in a paddock and measured several stress indicators when these horses were in their individual home boxes. Our results revealed that (1) the number of horses and rates of adult play appeared very high compared to field report data and (2) most stress indicators measured differed between ‘players’ and ‘non-players’, revealing that most ‘playful’ animals were suffering from more chronic stress than ‘non-playful’ horses. Frequency of play behaviour correlated with a score of chronic stress. This first discovery of a relationship between adult play and altered welfare opens new lines of research that certainly deserves comparative studies in a variety of species.  
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  Publisher Springer-Verlag Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0028-1042 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5649  
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Author Henry, S.; Zanella, A.J.; Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Marko, A.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Adults may be used to alleviate weaning stress in domestic foals (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 106 Issue (down) 4 Pages 428-438  
  Keywords Weaning; Social influence; Abnormal behaviours; Young-adult interactions; Welfare; Horse  
  Abstract The present study aims to investigate whether the presence of unrelated adult horses at weaning would reduce the social stress of weaning and the emergence of undesirable behaviours. We tested this hypothesis in 32 domestic foals by comparing short and medium term behavioural and physiological responses to weaning in foals maintained in homogeneous groups of peers (PW) to those of foals grouped with both peers and unrelated adults (AW). In total, three trials were conducted, which each trial consisting of one AW group and one PW group. In all foals, weaning was followed by increased vocalization, increased locomotion and increased salivary cortisol concentration. However, signs of stress were less pronounced and shorter in duration in weanlings housed with unrelated adults (e.g. whinnies: p < 0.05; salivary cortisol: p < 0.05). Only foals without adults exhibited increased aggressiveness towards peers (p < 0.05) and abnormal behaviours (p < 0.05) such as excessive wood-chewing and redirected sucking towards peers. In conclusion, introducing adults to minimize weaning stress in foals and later on aggressiveness and abnormal behaviours appears as the most promising approach to date.  
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  ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5689  
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Author Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Henry, S.; Sankey, C.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballus Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 138 Issue (down) 3–4 Pages 216-228  
  Keywords Horses; Social behaviour; Aggression regulation; Coping in group; Management; Social development  
  Abstract 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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  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5648  
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Author Henry, S.; Hemery, D.; Richard, M.-A.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Human-mare relationships and behaviour of foals toward humans Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 93 Issue (down) 3-4 Pages 341-362  
  Keywords Horse; Human-animal relationship; Maternal influence; Early experience; Social facilitation  
  Abstract We studied experimentally whether horse dams influenced foals' relationships with humans. We investigated the influence of the establishment of positive human-mare relationships on foals' behaviour toward humans. Forty-one foals and their dams were involved in this experiment. Half of the mares were softly brushed and fed by hand during a short period (total of 1.25 h) during the first 5 days of their foals' lives (experimental group, n = 21). The other mares were not handled experimentally and their foals received no contact with the experimenter (control group, n = 20). The reactions of both experimental and control foals were recorded under various conditions, first, for 5 min in the presence of a motionless experimenter, when foals were 15 and 30-35 days old, then in an approach test when they were 15 days old and in a saddle-pad tolerance test when they were 30-35 days old. Finally, approach-stroking tests were performed successively by the familiar experimenter when foals were 11-13 months old and by an unfamiliar person when they were 13-15 months old. Several observations strongly suggest that mares can influence their foals' behaviour toward humans: (1) during the handling procedure, experimental foals of protective mares were further from the handler than foals of calm mares (p < 0.001); (2) experimental foals remained, at all ages, closer to the experimenter (p < 0.05) and initiated more physical contacts (sniffing, licking, etc.) with the experimenter (p < 0.05) than control foals; (3) avoidance and flight responses of experimental foals were considerably reduced during approaches by the experimenter (p < 0.01) and they accepted saddle-pads on their backs more easily (p < 0.01) and more quickly (p < 0.01) than control foals. Lastly, the consequences of handling mares had effects that lasted at least until foals were one year old (p < 0.05) and became generalized from experimenter to unfamiliar humans, who could approach and stroke experimental foals rapidly during a test (p < 0.05). This is the first report of an attempt to use observation of mother by foals to facilitate human-foal relationships. The procedure is simple, takes little time and can easily be applied to any dam-foal pair, as it is not intrusive and presents no risks of disrupting mare-foal bonds.  
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  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 331  
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Author Wolff, A.; Hausberger, M. url  openurl
  Title Learning and memorisation of two different tasks in horses: the effects of age, sex and sire Type Journal Article
  Year 1996 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 46 Issue (down) 3-4 Pages 137-143  
  Keywords Horse; Learning; Memory; Instrumental task; Spatial task  
  Abstract Learning and memory abilities of 1-3 year old horses were assessed using instrumental and spatial tasks. No important differences were observed in the success of learning of the instrumental task (chest opening) according to sex or age. Younger females, however, seemed to learn more quickly. The offspring of a particular stallion were slower to learn than other horses. All horses memorised this task and opened the chest in a very short time in the second session. The animals that learned the task easily were not necessarily faster in the memorisation test. In the spatial task, learning ability did not seem to be related to age but more females than males were successful. The offspring of one stallion were more successful than other horses. Only 76% of the horses succeeded in the memorisation test, independently of age or sex. No correlation was found between the tasks in the latencies of either the learning or the memorisation tests for the same horses. The instrumental and spatial tasks may involve different processes.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 855  
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Author Hausberger, M.; Gautier, E.; Muller, C.; Jego, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Lower learning abilities in stereotypic horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 107 Issue (down) 3-4 Pages 299-306  
  Keywords Stereotypies; Learning ability; Horses  
  Abstract The question of whether motor stereotypies may be associated with learning disorders is a highly debated issue both in humans and animals, but evidence is still scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours in horses where stereotypies are well described and learning abilities measurable. Seventy horses were observed in their box at two periods (August and November) and were then submitted to an instrumental task (opening a chest by raising the lid using the nose). Fifty-one of them had shown stereotypic behaviours at both periods. It appeared that more stereotypic horses (36/51) were unsuccessful than non-stereotypic horses (3/19) in the learning task. When successful, they required a longer time in order to perform the task (368 s on average against 220 for the non-stereotypic horses). No difference was found according to the type of stereotypy performed. This is to our knowledge the first time that a relation is found between stereotypy and learning in an animal species. The additional finding that stereotypic horses spent less time lying down and sleeping suggests a possible role of attentional processes. This finding has important implications for the horse industry.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4301  
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Author Le Scolan, N.; Hausberger, M.; Wolff, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Stability over situations in temperamental traits of horses as revealed by experimental and scoring approaches Type Journal Article
  Year 1997 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.  
  Volume 41 Issue (down) 3 Pages 257-266  
  Keywords Behavioural tests; Horse; Ratings; Temperament  
  Abstract Individual behavioural reactions of adult horses in a variety of experimental tests were compared with ratings by riding teachers. The tests were made in a non working situation, with the animals being released in an arena, a box (arena test, new object test, learning tests) or handled (new object/handling situation). The traits rated by teachers were fearfulness, nervousness, gregariousness and learning abilities at work (ridden or handled). Despite a great homogeneity in the reactions exhibited by the horses in the different situations, large individual differences were present. Correlations appeared between the reactivity in the arena test and the score of gregariousness, between the reactivity in the novel object test and the rating of nervousness when ridden, between the results in the handling test and the rating of general fearfulness and between the ability to memorise an instrumental task and the score of general learning ability. Such results strengthen the idea that there are underlying behavioural dispositions that are stable across situations and that the experimental tests may be good predictors of the temperament in untrained animals.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3591  
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Author George, I.; Cousillas, H.; Richard, J.-P.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Song perception in the European starling: hemispheric specialisation and individual variations Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Comptes Rendus Biologies Abbreviated Journal Compt. Rend. Biol.  
  Volume 325 Issue (down) 3 Pages 197-204  
  Keywords lateralisation; perception; birdsong; starling; electrophysiology; individual variations; latéralisation; perception; chant; étourneaux; électrophysiologie; variations individuelles  
  Abstract Hemispheric specialisation for speech in humans has been well documented. The lateralisation for song production observed in songbirds is reminiscent of this hemispheric dominance. In order to investigate whether song perception is also lateralised, we made multiunit recordings of the neuronal activity in the field L of starlings during the presentation of species-specific and artificial non-specific sounds. We observed a systematic stronger activation in one hemisphere than in the other one during the playback of species-specific sounds, with inter-subject variability in the predominant hemisphere for song perception. Such an asymmetry was not observed for artificial non-specific sounds. Thus, our results suggest that, at least at the individual level, the two hemispheres of the starlings' brain perceive and process conspecific signals differently.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4636  
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Author De Boyer Des Roches, A.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Henry, S.; Ezzaouia, M.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Laterality and emotions: visual laterality in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) differs with objects' emotional value Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal Physiol. Behav.  
  Volume 94 Issue (down) 3 Pages 487-490  
  Keywords Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Dominance, Ocular/*physiology; *Emotions; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Female; Horses/*physiology; Olfactory Pathways/physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Pregnancy; Statistics, Nonparametric; Visual Fields/physiology  
  Abstract Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects according to their emotional value and a clear asymmetry in visual exploration. When exploring the novel object, mares used preferentially their right eyes, while they showed a slight tendency to use their left eyes for the negative object. No asymmetry was evidenced for the object with the positive valence. A trend for an asymmetry in olfactory investigation was also observed. Our data confirm the role of the left hemisphere in assessing novelty in horses like in many vertebrate species and the possible role of the right hemisphere in processing negative emotional responses. Our findings also suggest the importance of both hemispheres in the processing positive emotions. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate clearly that the emotional valence of a stimulus induces a specific visual lateralization pattern.  
  Address UMR CNRS 6552 Ethologie-Evolution-Ecologie, Universite de Rennes 1, Avenue du General Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France. a.de-boyer@wanadoo.fr  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:18455205 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4762  
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