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Houpt, K. A., Parsons, M. S., & Hintz, H. F. (1982). Learning ability of orphan foals, of normal foals and of their mothers. J. Anim Sci., 55(5), 1027–1032.
Abstract: The maze learning ability of six pony foals that had been weaned at birth was compared to that of six foals reared normally. The foals' learning ability was also compared to their mothers' learning ability at the same task; the correct turn in a single choice point maze. The maze learning test was conducted when the foals were 6 to 8 mo old and after the mothered foals had been weaned. There was no significant difference between the ability of orphaned (weaned at birth) and mothered foals in their ability to learn to turn left (6 +/- .7 and 5.1 +/- .1 trials, respectively) or to learn the reversal, to turn right (6.7 +/- .6 and 6.2 +/- .6 trials, respectively). The orphan foals spent significantly more time in the maze in their first exposure to it than the mothered foals (184 +/- 42 vs 55 +/- 15 s. Mann Whitney U = 7, P less than .05). The mothers of the foals (n = 11) learned to turn left as rapidly as the foals (5.9 +/- .7 trials), but they were slower to learn to turn right (9.8 +/- 1.4 vs 6.4 +/- .4 trials, Mann Whitney U = 33, P less than .05), indicating that the younger horses learned more rapidly. There was no correlation between the trials to criteria of the mare and those of her foal, but there was a significant negative correlation between rank in trials to criteria and age (r = -65, P less than .05) when data from the mare and foal trials were combined. The dominance hierarchy of the mares was determined using a paired feeding test in which two horses competed for one bucket of feed. Although there was no correlation between rank in the hierarchy and maze learning ability, there was a correlation between body weight and rank in the hierarchy (r = .7, P less than .05). This may indicate either that heavier horses are likely to be dominant or that horses high in dominance gain more weight. Maternal deprivation did not appear to seriously retard learning of a simple maze by foals, although the orphans moved more slowly initially. The lack of maternal influence on learning is also reflected in the lack of correlation between the mare's learning ability and that of her foal. Young horses appear to learn more rapidly than older horses.
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Brown, R. F., Houpt, K. A., & Schryver, H. F. (1976). Stimulation of food intake in horses by diazepam and promazine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 5(4), 495–497.
Abstract: In two adult horses doses of 0.02-0.03 mg/kg diazepam, intravenously, increased 1 hr intake 54-75% above control levels. Intake was stimulated when the diet was a high grain, calorically dense one and also when the diet was a high fiber, calorically dilute one. Two young rapidly growing weanling horses showed an even more pronounced stimulation of intake. Following diazepam 1 hr intake was increased 105-240% above control lelvels. Promazine at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg also stimulated intake in adult horses, but not as markedly as did diazepam. A transquilizer and a neuroleptic appear to have a stimulatory eff upon short-term intake in horses.
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Houpt, K. A. (1976). Animal behavior as a subject for veterinary students. Cornell Vet, 66(1), 73–81.
Abstract: Knowledge of animal behavior is an important asset for the veterinarian; therefore a course in veterinary animal behavior is offered at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine as an elective. The course emphasizes the behavior of those species of most interest to the practicing veterinarian: cats, dogs, horses, cows, pigs and sheep. Dominance heirarchies, animal communication, aggressive behavior, sexual behavior and maternal behavior are discussed. Play, learning, diurnal cycles of activity and sleep, and controls of ingestive behavior are also considered. Exotic and zoo animal behaviors are also presented by experts in these fields. The critical periods of canine development are related to the optimum management of puppies. The behavior of feral dogs and horses is described. The role of the veterinarian in preventing cruelty to animals and recognition of pain in animals is emphasized. Whenever possible behavior is observed in the laboratory or on film.
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Houpt, T. R., & Houpt, K. A. (1971). Nitrogen conservation by ponies fed a low -protein ration. Am J Vet Res, 32(4), 579–588. |
Haag, E. L., Rudman, R., & Houpt, K. A. (1980). Avoidance, maze learning and social dominance in ponies. J. Anim. Sci., 50, 329–335. |
Houpt, K. A. (1979). Intelligence of the horse. Equine Pract., 1, 20–26. |
Houpt, K. A., Zahorik, D. M., & Swartzman-Andert, J. A. (1990). Taste aversion learning in horses. J. Anim Sci., 68(8), 2340–2344.
Abstract: The ability of ponies to learn to avoid a relatively novel food associated with illness was tested in three situations: when illness occurred immediately after consuming a feed; when illness occurred 30 min after consuming a feed; and when illness was contingent upon eating one of three feeds offered simultaneously. Apomorphine was used to produce illness. The feeds associated with illness were corn, alfalfa pellets, sweet feed and a complete pelleted feed. The ponies learned to avoid all the fees except the complete feed when apomorphine injection immediately followed consumption of the feed. However, the ponies did not learn to avoid a feed if apomorphine was delayed 30 min after feed consumption. They could learn to avoid alfalfa pellets, but not corn, when these feeds were presented with the familiar “safe foods,” oats and soybean meal. Ponies apparently are able to learn a taste aversion, but there were constraints on this learning ability. Under the conditions of this study, they did not learn to avoid a food that made them sick long after consumption of the food, and they had more difficulty learning to avoid highly palatable feeds.
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Stahlbaum, C. C., & Houpt, K. A. (1989). The role of the Flehmen response in the behavioral repertoire of the stallion. Physiol. Behav., 45(6), 1207–1214.
Abstract: The role of the Flehmen response in equine behavior was investigated under field and laboratory conditions. In Experiment 1, a field study made of five stallions on pasture with between three and eighteen mares each during the season indicated the following: 1) The Flehmen response was most frequently preceded by nasal, rather than oral, investigation of substances; 2) The stallions' rate of Flehmen varied with the estrous cycles of the mares; 3) The rate of Flehmen response did not show a variation with time of day; and 4) The Flehmen response was most frequently followed by marking behaviors rather than courtship behaviors. The results suggest that the Flehmen response is not an immediate component of sexual behavior, e.g., courtship of the stallion but may be involved in the overall monitoring of the mare's estrous cycle. Therefore the Flehmen response may contribute to the chemosensory priming of the stallion for reproduction. In Experiment 2 stallions were presented with urine or feces of mares in various stages of the reproductive cycle as well as with their own or other males' urine or feces. The occurrence of sniffing and Flehmen was used to determine the discriminatory ability of the stallions. Stallions can differentiate the sex of a horse on the basis of its feces alone, but cannot differentiate on the basis of urine. This ability may explain the function of fecal marking behavior of stallions.
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Houpt, K. A., & Wolski, T. R. (1980). Stability of equine hierarchies and the prevention of dominance related aggression. Equine Vet J, 12(1), 15–18.
Abstract: The dominance hierarchy of a herd of 10 Thoroughbred mares was determined twice, at an interval of 18 months, using paired feeding tests. Each mare's rank was correlated significantly between the 2 tests. This indicated that the hierarchy within the herd was stable. The offspring of dominant and subordinate mares were also tested for dominance in their own age groups. The offspring of dominant mares tended to be near the top of the hierarchy while those of middle and low ranking mares were not consistently found in the middle or bottom of their own hierarchies. Paired feeding tests were carried out on 8 ponies. During tests the time that each pony spent eating and the ponies' aggressive interactions were recorded. Two situations were used. Each pony-pair was tested when both ponies were in the same paddock and also when they were separated by a rail fence. The subordinate ponies spent significantly more time eating and the domonant pony was significantly less aggressive, when the pony-pair was separated by a fence than when they were in one paddock. It was concluded that the dominance hierarchies of adult horse groups changed very little over time and that the foals of dominant mares will tend to be dominant in their own age groups. Management practices can be used to reduce aggression and consequent injury that may arise in group feeding situations.
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Houpt, K. A. (1980). Review of some research areas of applied and theoretical interest in domestic animal behavior. Appl. Animal. Ethol., 6(2), 111–119.
Abstract: There are numerous areas worthy of study in the field of domestic animal behavior or applied ethology. In this paper a few areas are offerred as particularly worthy of attention. These areas are worthwhile either because they have received little or no study and are of basic interest or because they have application to current problems of livestock production. The study of cat behavior falls in the former category. Neither the food and water sources, the reproductive success rate nor even the social interactions of cats in the large populations found in both rural and urban environments are known. Pigs as a species have already been the subjects of many behavior studies; nevertheless, there are still gaps in our knowledge of the underlying principles of swine behavior. The physiological basis of maternal behavior, for example, has not been studied in swine or in any domestic species. The sensory basis of udder location by the neonatal piglet deserves study also. Some aspects of olfactory and vocal communication of pigs have been studied, but only one of what may be a large number of pheromones of pigs has been chemically identified. The message conveyed by the vocal interactions between adult swine of the same sex is unknown, as is the role of facial and postural expressions in porcine communication. The two major problems of pig behavior under conditions of intensive livestock management are tail biting and reproductive failure. The application of behavioral techniques to these problems might help to attenuate those problems as well as broaden our understanding of normal pig behavior. Horse behavior has also been a relatively neglected field of study. Of particular interest is the significance of the flehmen gesture used by both mares and stallions in a variety of situations. Flehmen may be related to the function of the vomeronasal organ, but both observational and physiological studies should be performed to verify the hypothesis.
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