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Author Goodwin, D.
Title The importance of ethology in understanding the behaviour of the horse Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Equine Veterinary Journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Veterinary Journal
Volume 31 Issue S28 Pages 15-19
Keywords (up) horse; behaviour; domestication; interspecific communication
Abstract Summary Domestication has provided the horse with food, shelter, veterinary care and protection, allowing individuals an increased chance of survival. However, the restriction of movement, limited breeding opportunities and a requirement to expend energy, for the benefit of another species, conflict with the evolutionary processes which shaped the behaviour of its predecessors. The behaviour of the horse is defined by its niche as a social prey species but many of the traits which ensured the survival of its ancestors are difficult to accommodate in the domestic environment. There has been a long association between horses and man and many features of equine behaviour suggest a predisposition to interspecific cooperation. However, the importance of dominance in human understanding of social systems has tended to overemphasise its importance in the human-horse relationship. The evolving horse-human relationship from predation to companionship, has resulted in serial conflicts of interest for equine and human participants. Only by understanding the nature and origin of these conflicts can ethologists encourage equine management practices which minimise deleterious effects on the behaviour of the horse.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher American Medical Association (AMA) Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6714
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Author Yeon, S.C.
Title Acoustic communication in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Abbreviated Journal
Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 179-185
Keywords (up) horse; communication; vocalization
Abstract Equine vocalization and acoustic sounds can communicate a horse’s emotional state, physiological state, and situation to other individuals, including other horses and humans. These vocalizations and acoustic sounds can be divided into several types. The whinny, nicker, squeal, blow, snore, snort, roar, and groan are typical types of horse vocalizations and acoustic sounds. The sound localization thresholds of horses are markedly poorer than those of other large mammals, such as humans and elephants. The audiogram of horse has shown their best sensitivity and hearing range in which it perceives sound. Laryngeal diseases, such as laryngeal hemiplegia, dorsal displacement of the soft palate, and alar fold paralysis, can cause laryngeal sounds in the upper airway. The analyses of horses’ vocalizations and laryngeal sounds that are reviewed in this article were conducted with computer-aided analysis programs using spectrograms and spectra that evaluate several parameters, including amplitude, fundamental frequency, duration, and formants. Laryngeal sound analysis could be a useful method for diagnosing upper airway diseases. This article presents a review of the literature describing scientific analyses of horse vocalizations and acoustic sounds to elucidate equine acoustic communications and aid in the development of horse-human bonds.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-7878 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5681
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Author Maros, K.; Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á
Title Comprehension of human pointing gestures in horses ( Equus caballus ) Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 11 Issue 3 Pages 457-466
Keywords (up) Human-animal communication – Pointing – Horse
Abstract Abstract Twenty domestic horses (Equus caballus) were tested for their ability to rely on different human gesticular cues in a two-way object choice task. An experimenter hid food under one of two bowls and after baiting, indicated the location of the food to the subjects by using one of four different cues. Horses could locate the hidden reward on the basis of the distal dynamic-sustained, proximal momentary and proximal dynamic-sustained pointing gestures but failed to perform above chance level when the experimenter performed a distal momentary pointing gesture. The results revealed that horses could rely spontaneously on those cues that could have a stimulus or local enhancement effect, but the possible comprehension of the distal momentary pointing remained unclear. The results are discussed with reference to the involvement of various factors such as predisposition to read human visual cues, the effect of domestication and extensive social experience and the nature of the gesture used by the experimenter in comparative investigations.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4388
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Author Bartosova, J.; Dvorakova, R.; Vancatova, M.; Svobodova, I.
Title Comprehension of human pointing gesture in domestic horses: Effect of training method Type Conference Article
Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords (up) Human-horse communication, Pointing, Training methods, Horsemanship
Abstract Horses have been considered to rely on human gesticular cues (McKinley and Sambrook 2000, Anim Cogn 3:13-22; and recently Maros et al. 2008, Anim Cogn 11:457-466), however large variability among individuals tested in two-ways object choice tasks was found. Part of the horses in those studies (40 and 26 %, respectively) even failed to pass adequately through the training session which preceded the testing phase and served to learn a horse to carry out a task. Therefore, we alternated the experimental design designed by McKinley and Sambrook (reduced number of testing trials to 10 per horse to keep its attention, applied just one, a dynamic-sustained pointing cue with touching the bucket, etc.), and tested an effect of training method, sex, age, and learning on proportion of correct choices. We hypothesised, that horses trained by “traditional” method (TTM) will get lower score than those experienced with “horsemanship-based” methods (HTM), being characterized by closer and more frequent human-horse contact and also extended exercising “from the ground” with frequent using of arms cues. Despite simplification of the methods, only about 60 % of tested horses passed through the training phase (i.e., learned to come to and upturn the bucket with hidden treat). Successful completion of training phase was reached regardless of age or sex of a horse, but by the training method; HTM horses ran better compared to TTM ones. No significant effect of age, sex, or learning (i.e., trial order within all 10), and training method as well was found on proportion of correct trials in the testing phase. Horses made a correct choice in more than 70% of trials. Individual scores ranged from 50 to 100 %. In conclusion, horses showed high level of comprehension of human pointing gesture, regardless of their sex or age. No effects of training method or learning process within a test suggest low impact of handling and learning on the level of comprehension at least of the most vivid human pointing gesture. Horses trained by methods based on “natural human-horse communication” did enhance cooperation with people.
Address Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Pratelstvi 815, CZ-104 00 Praha Uhrineves, Czech Republic
Corporate Author Bartosova, J. Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008
Notes Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Approved yes
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4464
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Author Birke, L.
Title “Learning to speak horse”: The culture of “natural horsemanship” Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Society and Animals Abbreviated Journal
Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages 217-239
Keywords (up) natural horsemanship – riding technologies – communication – social change
Abstract This paper examines the rise of what is popularly called “natural horsemanship” (NH), as a definitive cultural change within the horse industry. Practitioners are often evangelical about their methods, portraying NH as a radical departure from traditional methods. In doing so, they create a clear demarcation from the practices and beliefs of the conventional horse-world. Only NH, advocates argue, properly understands the horse. Dissenters, however, contest the benefits to horses as well as the reliance in NH on disputed concepts of the natural. Advocates, furthermore, sought to rename technologies associated with riding while simultaneously condemning technologies used in conventional training (such as whips). These contested differences create boundaries and enact social inclusion and exclusion, which the paper explores. For horses, the impact of NH is ambiguous: Depending on practitioners, effects could be good or bad. However, for the people involved, NH presents a radical change-which they see as offering markedly better ways of relating to horses and a more inclusive social milieu.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4393
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Author Connor, R.C.; Mann, J.; Tyack, P.L.; Whitehead, H.
Title Social evolution in toothed whales Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Trends in Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal Trends. Ecol. Evol
Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages 228-232
Keywords (up) odontocetes; toothed whales; social evolution; communication; bottlenose dolphins; sperm whales; long-term studies; foraging
Abstract Two contrasting results emerge from comparisons of the social systems of several odontocetes with terrestrial mammals. Researchers have identified remarkable convergence in prominent features of the social systems of odontocetes such as the sperm whale and bottlenose dolphin with a few well-known terrestrial mammals such as the elephant and chimpanzee. In contrast, studies on killer whales and Baird's beaked whale reveal novel social solutions to aquatic living. The combination of convergent and novel features in odontocete social systems promise a more general understanding of the ecological determinants of social systems in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats, as well as the relationship between relative brain size and social evolution.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0169-5347 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4789
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Author Bugnyar, T.; Kotrschal, K.
Title Movement coordination and signalling in ravens (Corvus corax): an experimental field study Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Acta ethologica Abbreviated Journal Acta. Ethol.
Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 101-109
Keywords (up) Ravens – Corvus corax – Foraging – Coordination – Communication
Abstract Vagrant non-breeding ravens frequently attract conspecifics to rich ephemeral food sources. There, grouping may allow them to overcome the defence of territorial breeders. Here, we focus on ravens making use of regular food supplies in a game park, where they divert food from the provision of park animals. We investigated if ravens foraging in the Cumberland game park (Grünau, Austria) are attentive towards one another when they experience some unpredictability in food provisioning. We confronted a group of 30-50 ravens with two different treatments. Ten minutes ahead of the feeding of either wolves or wild boars we showed buckets containing pieces of meat to the ravens flying overhead. In the reliable cue treatment (RCT), the meat was placed next to one of the two enclosures, whereas in the unreliable cue treatment (UCT), the buckets were placed simultaneously in front of both enclosures though only in one of the enclosures were the animals fed 10 min later. Thus, during RCT but not during UCT, ravens could predict where food would become available. Only during UCT, ravens moved in large groups between the two feeding sites. Many ravens moving at the same time in the same direction may indicate some co-ordination in space and time, which is most likely achieved by social attraction among individuals. Furthermore, the number of ravens approaching and leaving, respectively, a feeding site cross-correlated with a temporary increase in the rate of a food-associated call, the yell. This suggests that in addition to watching each other, calling may have contributed to group formation. Possible benefits of group formation during food inspection are discussed.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 2081
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Author Merola, I.; Lazzaroni, M.; Marshall-Pescini, S.; Prato-Previde, E.
Title Social referencing and cat–human communication Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 18 Issue 3 Pages 639-648
Keywords (up) Social referencing; Cats; Gaze alternation; Social learning; Human–cat communication
Abstract Cats’ (Felis catus) communicative behaviour towards humans was explored using a social referencing paradigm in the presence of a potentially frightening object. One group of cats observed their owner delivering a positive emotional message, whereas another group received a negative emotional message. The aim was to evaluate whether cats use the emotional information provided by their owners about a novel/unfamiliar object to guide their own behaviour towards it. We assessed the presence of social referencing, in terms of referential looking towards the owner (defined as looking to the owner immediately before or after looking at the object), the behavioural regulation based on the owner’s emotional (positive vs negative) message (vocal and facial), and the observational conditioning following the owner’s actions towards the object. Most cats (79 %) exhibited referential looking between the owner and the object, and also to some extent changed their behaviour in line with the emotional message given by the owner. Results are discussed in relation to social referencing in other species (dogs in particular) and cats’ social organization and domestication history.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Berlin Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5885
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Author Zenzinger, S.
Title Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur optischen Kommunikation bei im Zoo gehaltenen Schabracken- und Flachlandtapiren (Tapirus indicus und Tapirus terrestris) Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Der Zoologische Garten Abbreviated Journal
Volume 79 Issue 4-5 Pages 162-174
Keywords (up) Tapirus indicus; Tapirus terrestris; communication; optical stimuli; posters; white ear rims; key stimulus
Abstract Until now, unlike their relatives, rhinos and horses tapirs have received considerably less attention in studies about communication. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to test which stimuli contain optical information for tapirs. For this purpose, the reactions of tapirs on optical stimuli (posters with edited tapir silhouettes) were examined. Research visits took place at the zoos of Berlin, Dortmund, Heidelberg, Munich, Nuremberg and Osnabrück during the year 2006. A total of 23 individuals, thereof 8 (5.3) Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) and 15 (5.10) Lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) attended the experiment. The results of the optical test with variously intense edited tapir silhouettes speak for the importance of the white ear rims as a family specific key stimulus. But that effect could not be amplified by adding a greater extent of white to the silhouette. Tapirs of both species reacted most strongly to the normal tapir silhouette followed by a silhouette without proboscis.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0044-5169 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5321
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