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	Author	Rochais, C.; HENRY, S.; Sankey, C.; Nassur, F.; Gorecka-Bruzda, A.; HAUSBERGER, M.
	Title	Visual attention, an indicator of human-animal relationships? A study of domestic horses (Equus caballus)			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2014	Publication	Frontiers in Psychology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	5	Issue		Pages
	Keywords
	Abstract	BACKGROUND: As visual attention is an intrinsic part of social relationships, and because relationships are built on a succession of interactions, their establishment involves learning and attention. The emotional, rewarding or punishing, content can modulate selective attention. In horses, the use of positive/negative reinforcement during training determines short and long-term human-horse relationships. In a recent study in horses, where either food or withers' grooming were used as a reward, it appeared that only the food-rewarded horses learned the task and show better relationship with humans. In the present study, we hypothesized that this differential effect of grooming/food rewards on learning performances could be due to attentional processes. Monitoring, gazes and behaviors directed towards the trainer revealed that the use of a food reward (FR) as positive reinforcement increased horses' selective attention towards their trainer. Conversely, horses trained with grooming reward (GR) expressed more inattentive responses and did not show a decrease of “agitated” behavior. However, individual plotting of attention vs. rate of learning performances revealed a complex pattern. Thus, while all FR horses showed a “window” of attention related to faster learning performances, GR horses' pattern followed an almost normal curve where the extreme animals (i.e., highest and lowest attention) had the slowest learning performances. On the other hand, learning was influenced by attention: at the end of training, the more attentive horses had also better learning performances. This study, based on horses, contributes to the general debate on the place of attentional processes at the interface of emotion and cognition and opens new lines of thought about individual sensitivities (only individuals can tell what an appropriate reward is), attentional processes and learning.
	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	1664-1078	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5909
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	Author	Fureix, C.; Jego, P.; Henry, S.; Lansade, L.; Hausberger, M.
	Title	Towards an Ethological Animal Model of Depression? A Study on Horses			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2012	Publication	PLoS ONE	Abbreviated Journal	PLoS ONE
	Volume	7	Issue	6	Pages	e39280 EP -
	Keywords
	Abstract	<sec><title>Background</title><p>Recent reviews question current animal models of depression and emphasise the need for ethological models of mood disorders based on animals living under natural conditions. Domestic horses encounter chronic stress, including potential stress at work, which can induce behavioural disorders (<italic>e.g.</italic> “apathy”). Our pioneering study evaluated the potential of domestic horses in their usual environment to become an ethological model of depression by testing this models’ face validity (<italic>i.e.</italic> behavioural similarity with descriptions of human depressive states).</p></sec><sec><title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title><p>We observed the spontaneous behaviour of 59 working horses in their home environment, focusing on immobility bouts of apparent unresponsiveness when horses displayed an atypical posture (termed <italic>withdrawn</italic> hereafter), evaluated their responsiveness to their environment and their anxiety levels, and analysed cortisol levels. Twenty-four percent of the horses presented the withdrawn posture, also characterized by gaze, head and ears fixity, a profile that suggests a spontaneous expression of “behavioural despair”. When compared with control “non-withdrawn” horses from the same stable, withdrawn horses appeared more indifferent to environmental stimuli in their home environment but reacted more emotionally in more challenging situations. They exhibited lower plasma cortisol levels. Withdrawn horses all belonged to the same breed and females were over-represented.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions/Significance</title><p>Horse might be a useful potential candidate for an animal model of depression. Face validity of this model appeared good, and potential genetic input and high prevalence of these disorders in females add to the convergence. At a time when current animal models of depression are questioned and the need for novel models is expressed, this study suggests that novel models and biomarkers could emerge from ethological approaches in home environments.</p></sec>
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Public Library of Science	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
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5709
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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			Type	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.
	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		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	3591
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	Author	George, I.; Cousillas, H.; Richard, J.-P.; Hausberger, M.
	Title	Song perception in the European starling: hemispheric specialisation and individual variations			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2002	Publication	Comptes Rendus Biologies	Abbreviated Journal	Compt. Rend. Biol.
	Volume	325	Issue	3	Pages	197-204
	Keywords	lateralisation; perception; birdsong; starling; electrophysiology; individual variations; latéralisation; perception; chant; étourneaux; électrophysiologie; variations individuelles
	Abstract	Hemispheric specialisation for speech in humans has been well documented. The lateralisation for song production observed in songbirds is reminiscent of this hemispheric dominance. In order to investigate whether song perception is also lateralised, we made multiunit recordings of the neuronal activity in the field L of starlings during the presentation of species-specific and artificial non-specific sounds. We observed a systematic stronger activation in one hemisphere than in the other one during the playback of species-specific sounds, with inter-subject variability in the predominant hemisphere for song perception. Such an asymmetry was not observed for artificial non-specific sounds. Thus, our results suggest that, at least at the individual level, the two hemispheres of the starlings' brain perceive and process conspecific signals differently.
	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		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	4636
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	Author	Basile, M.; Boivin, S.; Boutin, A.; Blois-Heulin, C.; Hausberger, M.; Lemasson, A.
	Title	*Socially dependent auditory laterality in domestic horses (Equus caballus)*			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2009	Publication	Animal Cognition	Abbreviated Journal	Anim. Cogn.
	Volume	12	Issue		Pages	611-619
	Keywords
	Abstract	Laterality is now known to be an ubiquitous phenomenon among the vertebrates. Particularly, laterality of auditory processing has been demonstrated in a variety of species, especially songbirds and primates. Such a hemispheric specialization has been shown to depend on factors such as sound structure, species specificity and types of stimuli. Much less is known on the possible influence of social familiarity although a few studies suggest such an influence. Here we tested the influence of the degree of familiarity on the laterality of the auditory response in the domestic horse. This species is known for its social system and shows visible reactions to sounds, with one or two ears moving towards a sound source. By comparing such responses to the playback of different conspecific whinnies (group member, neighbor and stranger), we could demonstrate a clear left hemisphere (LH) preference for familiar neighbor calls while no preference was found for group member and stranger calls. Yet, we found an opposite pattern of ear side preference for neighbor versus stranger calls. These results are, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate auditory laterality in an ungulate species. They open further lines of thought on the influence of the social “value” of calls and the listener's arousal on auditory processing and laterality.
	Address	Universite de Rennes I, EthoS, Ethologie animale et humaine-UMR 6552-CNRS Station Biologique de Paimpont, 35380, Paimpont, France, basilemuriel@hotmail.com
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1435-9456	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes	PMID:19283416			Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	4761
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	Author	Benhajali, H.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Ezzaouia, M.; Charfi, F.; Hausberger, M.
	Title	Reproductive status and stereotypies in breeding mares: A brief report			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2010	Publication	Applied Animal Behaviour Science	Abbreviated Journal	Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
	Volume	128	Issue	1-4	Pages	64-68
	Keywords	Stereotypies; Breeding mare; Sire; Reproductive-status
	Abstract	The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between age, reproductive status and sire of the mare and the tendency to perform stereotypies. One hundred and fourteen purebred Arab mares, offspring of 39 sires ( offspring per sire) and aged 4-21 years () were observed from the 30th March to the 15th of May 2005 using instantaneous scan sampling. We used a multivariate logistic regression in order to study the relationship between age, reproductive status and sire of the mare and the tendency to perform stereotypies. 28% of the observed mares showed stereotypic behaviour, mostly weaving (22%). Neither age (χ2 Wald = 9.36, p = 0.89) nor sire (χ2 Wald = 4.34, p = 1.0) affected the occurrence of stereotypies whilst the reproductive status of the mare influenced significantly the occurrence (χ2 Wald = 10.75, p = 0.001) but also the type (χ2 = 12.1, p < 0.001) of stereotypic behaviour. Weaving was more frequent in non foaling mares (41.4%) than in foaling mares (1.8%) that performed mostly stall-walking.
	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	0168-1591	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5279
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	Author	Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Henry, S.; Fureix, C.; Nassur, F.; Hausberger, M.
	Title	*Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus)*			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2010	Publication	Animal Cognition	Abbreviated Journal	Anim. Cogn.
	Volume	13	Issue	5	Pages	753-764-764
	Keywords	Perception of humans – Human/animal relationship – Positive reinforcement – Negative reinforcement – Equus caballus
	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.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Springer Berlin / Heidelberg	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		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	5175
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	Author	Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Leroy, H.; Henry, S.; Hausberger, M.
	Title	Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2010	Publication	Animal Behaviour	Abbreviated Journal	Anim. Behav.
	Volume	79	Issue	4	Pages	869-875
	Keywords	Equus caballus; horse; human–animal relationship; learning; memory; positive interaction; social cognition
	Abstract	Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.
	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	0003-3472	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5418
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	Author	Hausberger, M.; Fureix, C.
	Title	*On the significance of puzzling behaviours: what do yawning and adult play tell us about horse (Equus caballus) welfare?*			Type	Conference Article
	Year	2012	Publication	Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting	Abbreviated Journal	Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg
	Volume	in press	Issue		Pages
	Keywords	welfare indicators, yawning, adult play, altered welfare, horse
	Abstract	Some behaviours remain a mystery and their determinants are still uncertain. Here we propose a critical interpretation of two puzzling behaviours, i.e. yawning and adult play, recorded in large samples of domestic horses kept in sub-optimal conditions (e.g. time-restricted feeding practices, social isolation). Yawning is involved in behavioural state changes, especially in quiet contexts of motor relaxation, but seems also to be triggered by stress and emotional contexts. Thus, we investigated specific correlates of yawning and stereotypic behaviours in two large samples of working horses (n1 = 87, n2 = 59). A clear co-occurrences of yawning and stereotypic behaviours appeared: stereotypic horses yawned more than the non-stereotypic horses (Fisher test, p < 0.02), yawning increased at the same time periods as stereotypic behaviours did (Wilcoxon tests, p < 0.05 to 0.001) and yawning frequency was even sometimes positively correlated with stereotypic behaviour frequencies (Spearman correlations, p < 0.005). Play, more typical of young stages in healthy individuals, occurs rarely at adult stages but then more often in captive/domestic animals (which can be challenging to welfare) than in animals living in natural conditions. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that adult play may reflect altered welfare states in horses, where, as in several species, play rarely occurs at adult stages in natural conditions. We observed the behaviour (in particular social play) of 29 adult riding school horses during occasional outings in a paddock and measured several stress indicators (health-related, behavioural and physiological) when these horses were in their home individual boxes. Results revealed that the number of horses and rates of adult play appeared very high compared to field report data and that most stress indicators measured differed between “players” and “non-players”, revealing that most “playful” animals were more prone to suffer from chronic stress contrarily to “non-playful” horses (Fisher, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation tests, p < 0.05 to 0.001). Altogether, these results show that yawning and adult play can both reflect altered welfare states in horses, highlighting that these puzzling behaviours should not be considered, as currently thought, as reliable indicators of good welfare states and / or expression of positive emotions.
	Address
	Corporate Author	Hausberger, M.			Thesis
	Publisher	Xenophon Publishing	Place of Publication	Wald	Editor	Krueger, K.
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	978-3-9808134-26	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5516
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	Author	Hausberger, M.; Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Wessel-Robert, S.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.
	Title	On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare?			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2012	Publication		Abbreviated Journal	Naturwissenschaften
	Volume	99	Issue	4	Pages	291-302
	Keywords	Social play; Stress indicators; Animal welfare; Domestic horse
	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.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Springer-Verlag	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0028-1042	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5649
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