Abstract: Synopsis
Beginning with equine evolution and domestication, Dr. Miller and Rick Lamb focus on the contributions of such classical horsemen as Xenophon, Pluvinel, nineteenth-century “whisperers, tamers, and professors,” and modern masters like the Dorrances, Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli, John Lyons, and their disciples, and the connection between rodeo and natural horsemanship. The authors describe how the horse's mind works, how horses learn, and how the revolution has used those principles, especially with regard to a training regimen for newborn foals developed by Dr. Miller that produces positive results to last a lifetime. These training methods include new techniques in riding, such as preliminary groundwork and the independent seat, as well as visualization and other aspects of sport psychology, yoga, and allied disciplines. Appendices assess innovations in hoof care, nutrition, and veterinary treatment, including so-called “alternative therapies.”

Abstract: We describe a method for quantifying relative sociability within a group of animals, which is defined as the tendency to be close to others within the group and based on the identification of nearest neighbours. The method is suitable for groups of animals in which all individuals are visible and identifiable and has application as a tool in other areas of behavioural research. A sociability index (SI) is calculated, which is equivalent to the relative proportion of time that an individual spends as the nearest neighbour of other animals in the group and is scaled to have an expectation of 1.0 under the null hypothesis of random mixing. Associated pairs, which are animals seen as nearest neighbours more often than would be expected by chance, are also identified. The method tests for consistency across a number of independent observation periods, by comparison with values obtained from simulations in which animal identities are randomised between observation periods. An experiment is described in which 8 groups of 7 grazing sheep were each observed for a total of 10, one-hour periods and the identities and distances away of the 3 nearest neighbours of each focal animal recorded at 5-min intervals. Significant within-group differences in SIs were found in four of the groups (P < 0.001). SIs calculated using the nearest neighbour, two nearest neighbours or three nearest neighbours, were generally highly correlated within all groups, with little change in the ranking of animals. There were significant negative correlations between SIs and nearest neighbour distances in five of the groups. It was concluded that there was no advantage in recording more than one neighbour to calculate the SI. Advantages of the SI over other methods for measuring sociability and pair-wise associations are discussed.

Abstract: The stabled (UK) or stalled (USA) horse is commonly fed a restricted-forage diet in contrast to the varied ad libitum high-fibre diet it evolved to consume. A low-forage diet has been linked to the performance of stereotypical behaviour and health problems including gastric ulceration and impaction colic (in cases where horses are bedded on straw). Provision of a diet closer to that which the horse is adapted to and which enables more natural feeding behaviour warrants investigation. This trial aimed to establish whether the behavioural effects observed in short-term trials when stabled horses were provided with a multiple forage diet persist over longer periods. It also aimed to develop a practical methodology for maintaining stabled horses under forage-enriched conditions. Nine horses (aged 5-20 years, various breeds), acting as their own controls, participated in an 18-day, cross-over, Latin Square designed trial, in which they received comparable weights of two dietary treatments: a Single Forage (SF, hay) diet and a Multiple Forage (MF) diet (three long-chop and three short-chop commercially available forages). Following a 2-day acclimatisation, horses were maintained on the forage treatments for 7 days. Horses were observed on alternate days, morning and afternoon, during the 25 min following forage presentation. Horses then crossed over onto their second treatment and, following a further 2 days' acclimatisation, the same protocol was followed for a further 7 days. Observations from video were made using The Observer 3.0(R) and SPPS (version 11). Horses on the MF treatment performed foraging behaviour significantly more frequently and for significantly longer periods than horses on the SF treatment. On the MF treatment horses sampled all forages during observations. However, there were significant differences in the frequency and duration of foraging on individual forages, indicating that horses demonstrated individual preferences for particular forages. Stereotypic weaving behaviour only occurred on the SF treatment. The results indicate that the potentially beneficial behavioural effects of short-term multiple forage provision do persist when horses are managed on a MF diet for a 7-day period. They suggest that a MF diet provides a means of enriching the stabled horse's environment, by offering variety and enabling patch foraging behaviour. The methodology proved practical for maintaining horses under forage-enriched conditions and could easily be adopted by horse owners to facilitate foraging behaviour.

Abstract: Bystanders are capable of extracting cues from signalling interactions between others and appear to use information gained via eavesdropping when confronted with the watched individuals. A question that has gained little attention is whether observing fights affects bystander behaviour outside the context of interacting with the watched individuals. Our aim was to determine whether watching fights elicits general changes in bystander aggression levels in Xiphophorus helleri. We manipulated the bystanders' ability to witness encounters using clear, one-way-mirror and opaque partitions. After watching (or not watching) an initial contest, the bystanders were pitted against naive conspecifics instead of the animals they had seen fight. Observing fights did not alter the bystanders' propensity to initiate aggression, escalate, or win against naive individuals, indicating that bystanders do not experience general changes in aggressive behaviour after watching a fight. Earlier work in this species, however, has shown that bystanders respond in predictable ways to individuals they have witnessed winning or losing a fight. Taken together, these data support the notion that bystanders consistently modify their behaviour towards previously watched winners or losers in response to information gained via eavesdropping. We discuss our results in light of some recent work on the behavioural and endocrinological responses triggered by watching fights and suggest that comparative approaches to understanding networking phenomena may be productive.

Abstract: The movements of the horse's back and trunk can be deducted from the foot sequences of the horse's basic paces. This knowledge builds a solid foundation in the schooling of the rider's seat. The decisive aspects of these movements are described here.
Some basics (mostly well-known) in the schooling of the rider's seat are graded here. More recent findings from observing the horse's back and trunk movements and their consequence for the rider's seat can easily be explained in three points. These points will be enhanced by graphic explanations of the principle as a whole