|
|
Hausberger, M., & Richard-Yris, M. - A. (2005). Individual differences in the domestic horse, origins, development and stability. In D. S. Mills, & McDonnell (Eds.), The domestic horse : the origins, development, and management of its behaviour (pp. 33–52). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2005.
|
|
|
|
Sankey, C., Henry, S., André, N., Richard-Yris, M. - A., & Hausberger, M. (2011). Do Horses Have a Concept of Person? PLoS ONE, 6(3), e18331 EP -.
Abstract: <sec> <title>Background</title> <p>Animals' ability for cross-modal recognition has recently received much interest. Captive or domestic animals seem able to perceive cues of human attention and appear to have a multisensory perception of humans.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title> <p>Here, we used a task where horses have to remain immobile under a vocal order to test whether they are sensitive to the attentional state of the experimenter, but also whether they behave and respond differently to the familiar order when tested by a familiar or an unknown person. Horses' response varied according to the person's attentional state when the order was given by an unknown person: obedience levels were higher when the person giving the order was looking at the horse than when he was not attentive. More interesting is the finding that whatever the condition, horses monitored much more and for longer times the unknown person, as if they were surprised to hear the familiar order given by an unknown voice.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>Conclusion/Significance</title> <p>These results suggest that recognition of humans may lie in a global, integrated, multisensory representation of specific individuals, that includes visual and vocal identity, but also expectations on the individual's behaviour in a familiar situation.</p> </sec>
|
|
|
|
Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Henry, S., Fureix, C., Nassur, F., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus). Anim. Cogn., 13(5), 753-764.
Abstract: A central question in the interspecific human/animal relationship is how domestic animals perceive humans as a significant element of their environment. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the use of positive or negative reinforcement in horse training may have consequences on the animals’ perception of humans, as a positive, negative or neutral element. Two groups of ponies were trained to walk backwards in response to a vocal order using either positive or negative reinforcement. Heart rate monitors and behavioural observations were used to assess the animals’ perception of humans on the short (just after training) and long (5 months later) terms. The results showed that the type of reinforcement had a major effect on the subsequent animals’ perception of familiar and unfamiliar humans. Negative reinforcement was rapidly associated with an increased emotional state, as revealed by heart rate measurements and behavioural observations (head movements and ears laid back position). Its use led the ponies to seek less contact with humans. On the contrary, ponies trained with positive reinforcement showed an increased interest in humans and sought contact after training. This is especially remarkable as it was reached in a maximum of 5 sessions of 1 to 3 min (i.e. 5 to 15 min) and had lasting effects (visible after 5 months). Even learning was positively influenced by positive reinforcement. Overall, horses seem capable of associating humans to particular experiences and display extended long-term memory abilities.
|
|
|
|
Hausberger, M., Fureix, C., Bourjade, M., Wessel-Robert, S., & Richard-Yris, M. - A. (2012). On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare? Naturwissenschaften, 99(4), 291–302.
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.
|
|
