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Author |
Le Scolan, N.; Hausberger, M.; Wolff, A. |
Title |
Stability over situations in temperamental traits of horses as revealed by experimental and scoring approaches |
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Journal Article |
Year |
1997 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
41 |
Issue |
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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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3591 |
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Author |
Krueger, K.; Flauger, B. |
Title |
Social feeding decisions in horses (Equus caballus) |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
78 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
76-83 |
Keywords |
Feeding decision; Horse; Rank; Social behaviour |
Abstract |
Like many other herbivores, in a natural environment equids feed on rather evenly distributed resources. However, the vegetation in their vast habitats constantly changes. If food is plentiful only little competition occurs over food, and in non-competitive situations domestic horses tend to return to the same feeding site until it is overgrazed. In contrast, they compete over limited food for which the social status of the individuals appears to be important. Especially in ruminants several studies have proved an influence of social organisations, rank, sex and the depletion of feeding sites on the feeding behaviour of individuals. However, it is not yet understood whether and how social aspects affect horses“ feeding decisions. Curiosity about the influence of social rank on the horses” feeding decisions between two, equally with high-quality surplus food-filled buckets placed in different social feeding conditions, led us to create the test below. The observer horses were alternately tested with a dominant and a subordinate demonstrator placed in one of the three different positions. We conclude that domestic horses use social cognition and strategic decision making in order to decide where to feed in a social feeding situation. When possible they tend to return to the same, continuously supplied feeding site and switch to an “avoidance tendency” in the presence of dominant horses or when another horse is already feeding there. Thus, the social rank and the position of conspecifics affect the feeding strategy of horses. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4394 |
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Author |
Feh, C.; Munkhtuya, B. |
Title |
Male infanticide and paternity analyses in a socially natural herd of Przewalski`s horses: Sexual selection? |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
78 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
335-339 |
Keywords |
DNA paternity analysis; Human disturbance; Male infanticide; Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii); Sexual selection |
Abstract |
The sexual selection hypothesis explains infanticide by males in many mammals. In our 11-year study, we investigated this hypothesis in a herd of Przewalski's horses where we had witnessed infanticidal attacks. Infanticide was highly conditional and not simply linked to takeovers. Attacks occurred in only five of 39 cases following a takeover, and DNA paternity revealed that, although infanticidal stallions were not the genetic fathers in four cases out of five, stallions present at birth did not significantly attempt to kill unrelated foals. Infanticide did not reduce birth intervals; only in one case out of five was the infanticidal stallion, the father of the next foal; mothers whose foals were attacked subsequently avoided associating with infanticidal stallions. Therefore, evidence for the sexual selection hypothesis was weak. The “human disturbance” hypothesis received some support, as only zoo bred stallions which grew up in unnatural social groups attacked foals of mares which were pregnant during takeovers. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4632 |
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Author |
Wolff, A.; Hausberger, M.; Le Scolan, N. |
Title |
Experimental tests to assess emotionality in horses |
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Journal Article |
Year |
1997 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
40 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
209-221 |
Keywords |
Emotivity; Gregariousness; Horse; Neophobia; Open-field |
Abstract |
Different tests were used to assess different aspects of the emotionality of 1-3 year-old horses: arena test; a [`]novel object' test; and a handling test. In reaction to the test situations no important differences were observed according to age or sex in the behaviour patterns, but clear individual differences were observed within these classes. The arena test seemed to reveal the degree of gregariousness of the animals whereas the results in the two other tests were correlated and seemed to reflect an inherent degree of fearfulness in the horse. Indices were developed that enabled to rank the animals, by taking into account all behaviour patterns shown. Such individual characteristics might have some genetic basis: half-siblings tended to behave the same way in most cases. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5018 |
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Hanggi, E.B.; Ingersoll, J.F. |
Title |
Stimulus discrimination by horses under scotopic conditions |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
82 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
45-50 |
Keywords |
Discrimination learning; Equine; Horse; Night vision; Scotopic vision |
Abstract |
Scotopic vision in horses (Equus caballus) was investigated using behavioral measurements for the first time. Four horses were tested for the ability to make simple visual discriminations of geometric figures (circles and triangles) under various brightness levels within an enclosed building. Measurements of brightness ranging from 10.37 to 24.12 magnitudes per square arcsecond (mag/arcsec2; in candelas per square meter--7.70 to 2.43E-05 cd/m2) were taken using a Sky Quality Meter. These values approximated outdoor conditions ranging from twilight in open country to a dark moonless night in dense forest. The horses were able to solve the discrimination problems in all brightness settings up to 23.77 mag/arcsec2 (3.35E-05 cd/m2). Moreover, they easily navigated their way around obstacles located within the testing area in extremely dim light (>23.50 mag/arcsec2; 4.30E-05 cd/m2), which were in conditions too dark for the human experimenters to see. These findings support physiological data that reveal a rod-dominated visual system as well as observations of equine activity at night. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5051 |
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Fureix, C.; Pagès, M.; Bon, R.; Lassalle, J.-M.; Kuntz, P.; Gonzalez, G. |
Title |
A preliminary study of the effects of handling type on horses' emotional reactivity and the human-horse relationship |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
82 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
202-210 |
Keywords |
Emotional reactivity; Handling style; Horse; Human-horse relationship |
Abstract |
Handling is a crucial component of the human-horse relationship. Here, we report data from an experiment conducted to assess and compare the effect of two training methods. Two groups of six Welsh mares were trained during four sessions of 50 min, one handled with traditional exercises (halter leading, grooming/brushing, lifting feet, lunging and pseudo-saddling (using only girth and saddle pad) and the second group with natural horsemanship exercises (desensitization, yielding to body pressure, lunging and free-lunging). Emotional reactivity (ER) and the human-horse relationship (HHR) were assessed both prior to and following handling. A social isolation test, a neophobia test and a bridge test were used to assess ER. HHR was assessed through test of spontaneous approach to, and forced approach by, an unknown human. Horses' ER decreased after both types of handling as indicated by decreases in the occurrence of whinnying during stressful situations. Head movement (jerk/shake) was the most sensitive variable to handling type. In the spontaneous approach tests, horses in the traditional handling group showed higher latencies to approach a motionless person after handling than did the natural horsemanship group. Our study suggests that natural horsemanship exercises could be more efficient than traditional exercises for improving horses' HHR. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5092 |
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Cozzi, A.; Sighieri, C.; Gazzano, A.; Nicol, C.J.; Baragli, P. |
Title |
Post-conflict friendly reunion in a permanent group of horses (Equus caballus) |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
85 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
185-190 |
Keywords |
aggression; affiliative interactions; conflict resolution; horse; post conflict; behaviour; reconciliation |
Abstract |
Gregarious animals living in permanent social groups experience intra-group competition. Conflicts over resources can escalate into costly aggression and, in some conditions, non-dispersive forms of conflict resolution may be favoured. Post-conflict friendly reunions, hence reconciliation, have been described in a variety of species. The aim of this study was to explore, for the first time, the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of domestic horses (Equus caballus) and learn more about strategies used to maintain group cohesion. The behaviour of seven horses living as permanent group in an enclosure for at least 2 years was observed by video for 108 h from June to August 2007. We used a Post-Conflict/Matched Control method to assess the existence of reconciliation and third-party affiliation. Behaviours recorded Post-Conflict, or during Matched Control periods, were classified as affiliative based on previous descriptions of visual communication patterns in horses. The proportion of attracted pairs over total post-conflict situations was significantly greater than the proportion of dispersed pairs, both during dyadic interactions (p < 0.001) and during triadic interactions (p = 0.002). The results of the present study show that both dyadic reconciliation and third-party post-conflict affiliative interactions form important social mechanisms for managing post-conflict situations in horses. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5168 |
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Author |
Slater, C.; Dymond, S. |
Title |
Using differential reinforcement to improve equine welfare: Shaping appropriate truck loading and feet handling |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
86 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
329-339 |
Keywords |
Positive reinforcement; Differential reinforcement; Shaping; Autoshaping; sign tracking; Common handling; Multiple baseline; Changing criterion; Horses |
Abstract |
Inappropriate behavior during common handling procedures with horses is often subject to aversive treatment. The present study replicated and extended previous findings using differential reinforcement to shape appropriate equine handling behavior. In Study 1, a multiple baseline across subjects design was used with four horses to determine first the effects of shaping target-touch responses and then successive approximations of full truck loading under continuous and intermittent schedules of reinforcement. Full loading responses were shaped and maintained in all four horses and occurrences of inappropriate behaviors reduced to zero. Generalization of the loading response was also observed to both a novel trainer and trailer. In Study 2, a changing criterion design was used to increase the duration of feet handling with one horse. The horse's responding reached the terminal duration criterion of 1 min and showed consistent generalization and one-week maintenance. Overall, the results of both studies support the use of applied equine training systems based on positive reinforcement for increasing appropriate behavior during common handling procedures. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5323 |
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Blackmore, T.L.; Foster, T.M.; Sumpter, C.E.; Temple, W. |
Title |
An investigation of colour discrimination with horses (Equus caballus) |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
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Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
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78 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
387-396 |
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Chromatic discrimination; Colour vision; Horse; Operant |
Abstract |
The ability of four horses (Equus caballus) to discriminate coloured (three shades of blue, green, red, and yellow) from grey (neutral density) stimuli, produced by back projected lighting filters, was investigated in a two response forced-choice procedure. Pushes of the lever in front of a coloured screen were occasionally reinforced, pushes of the lever in front of a grey screen were never reinforced. Each colour shade was randomly paired with a grey that was brighter, one that was dimmer, and one that approximately matched the colour in terms of brightness. Each horse experienced the colours in a different order, a new colour was started after 85% correct responses over five consecutive sessions or if accuracy showed no trend over sessions. All horses reached the 85% correct with blue versus grey, three horses did so with both yellow and green versus grey. All were above chance with red versus grey but none reached criterion. Further analysis showed the wavelengths of the green stimuli used overlapped with the yellow. The results are consistent with histological and behavioural studies that suggest that horses are dichromatic. They differ from some earlier data in that they indicate horses can discriminate yellow and blue, but that they may have deficiencies in discriminating red and green. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5336 |
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Hanggi, E.B.; Ingersoll, J.F. |
Title |
Lateral vision in horses: A behavioral investigation |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2012 |
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Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
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91 |
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1 |
Pages |
70-76 |
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Lateral vision; Horse; Equine; Stimulus discrimination; Field of view; Peripheral |
Abstract |
This study investigated lateral vision in horses (Equus caballus) for the first time from a behavioral point of view. Three horses were tested using a novel experimental design to determine the range of their lateral and caudolateral vision with respect to stimulus detection and discrimination. Real-life stimuli were presented along a curvilinear wall in one of four different positions (A, B, C, D) and one of two height locations (Top, Bottom) on both sides of the horse. To test for stimulus detection, the correct stimulus was paired against a control; for stimulus discrimination, the correct stimulus was paired against another object. To indicate that the correct stimulus was detected or discriminated, the horses pushed one of two paddles. All horses scored significantly above chance on stimulus detection trials regardless of stimulus position or location. They also accurately discriminated between stimuli when objects appeared in positions A, B, and C for the top or bottom locations; however, they failed to discriminate these stimuli at position D. This study supports physiological descriptions of the equine eye and provides new behavioral data showing that horses can detect the appearance of objects within an almost fully encompassing circle and are able to identify objects within most but not all of their panoramic field of view. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5621 |
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