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Bottom, S. H. Age-related changes in taste and gustatory response and feeding behaviour in the stabled horse.. Nottingham, UK: Nottingham Trent University.
Abstract: There is a paucity of research relating to the anatomy and physiology of gustation and olfaction in the horse. Moreover, whilst an age-related decline in gustation and olfaction has been recorded in humans, no such study has been conducted in the horse. The horse is reliant on gustation and olfaction to make appropriate decisions relating to both short and long term diet selection and thus, any compromise in function, has implications for food intake and potentially welfare. The principal aim of this study was to establish if, and to what extent, taste andgustatory responses are affected by age in the horse. Horses were allocated to the age groups Young (2-5 years), Middle (8-14 years) and Old (16 plus years) for the study of taste (n=18) and to Young (4-6 years), Middle (10-14 years) and Old (16 plus years) for the study of gustation (n=18). Individual taste responses and gustatory responses (taste in the absence of additional olfactory cues) were identified using two-choice preference testing and monadic testing. Statistical analysis was conducted using Minitab 14.0 and behaviour data was analysed using The Observer 5.0 (Noldus, Netherlands). No effect of age on taste response or gustatory response was recorded.
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Brinkmann, L., Gerken, M., Hambly, C., Speakman, J. R., & Riek, A. (2014). Saving energy during hard times: Energetic adaptations of Shetland pony mares. J. Exp. Biol., 217, 4320–4327.
Abstract: Recent results suggest that wild Northern herbivores reduce their metabolism during times of low ambient temperatures and food shortage in order to reduce their energetic needs. It is however not known if domesticated animals are also able to reduce their energy expenditure. We exposed ten Shetland pony mares to different environmental conditions (summer and winter) and to two food quantities (60 and 100% of maintenance energy requirement, respectively) during low winter temperatures to examine energetic and behavioural responses. In summer ponies showed a considerably higher field metabolic rate (FMR) (63.4±15.0 MJ d-1) compared to restrictively fed and control animals in winter (24.6±7.8 MJ d-1 and 15.0±1.1 MJ d-1, respectively). During summer conditions locomotor activity, resting heart rates and total water turnover were considerably elevated (P<0.001) compared to winter. Restrictively fed animals (N=5) compensated for the decreased energy supply by reducing their FMR by 26% compared to control animals (N=5). Furthermore, resting heart rate, body mass and body condition score were lower (29.2±2.7 beats min-1; 140±22 kg; 3.0±1.0 points) than in control animals (36.8±41 beats min-1; 165 ±31 kg; 4.4±0.7 points; P<0.05). While the observed behaviour did not change, nocturnal hypothermia was elevated. We conclude that ponies acclimatize to different climatic conditions by changing their metabolic rate, behaviour and some physiological parameters. When exposed to energy challenges, ponies, like wild herbivores, exhibited hypometabolism and nocturnal hypothermia.
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Golynski, M., Szczepanik, M. P., Wilkolek, P. M., Adamek, L. R., Sitkowski, W., & Taszkun, I. (2018). Influence of hair clipping on transepidermal water loss values in horses: a pilot study. Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences, vol. 21(No 1).
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Pongrácz, P., Miklósi, Á., Kubinyi, E., Gurobi, K., Topál, J., & Csányi, V. (2001). Social learning in dogs: the effect of a human demonstrator on the performance of dogs in a detour task. Anim. Behav., 62(6), 1109–1117.
Abstract: We recorded the behaviour of dogs in detour tests, in which an object (a favourite toy) or food was placed behind a V-shaped fence. Dogs were able to master this task; however, they did it more easily when they started from within the fence with the object placed outside it. Repeated detours starting from within the fence did not help the dogs to obtain the object more quickly if in a subsequent trial they started outside the fence with the object placed inside it. While six trials were not enough for the dogs to show significant improvement on their own in detouring the fence from outside, demonstration of this action by humans significantly improved the dogs' performance within two-three trials. Owners and strangers were equally effective as demonstrators. Our experiments show that dogs are able to rely on information provided by human action when confronted with a new task. While they did not copy the exact path of the human demonstrator, they easily adopted the detour behaviour shown by humans to reach their goal.
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Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social Facilitation. Science, 149(3681), 269–274.
Abstract: 300 Multiple ChoicesThis is a pdf-only article and there is no markup to show you.full-text.pdf
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Outram, A. K., Stear, N. A., Bendrey, R., Olsen, S., Kasparov, A., Zaibert, V., et al. (2009). The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking. Science, 323(5919), 1332–1335.
Abstract: Horse domestication revolutionized transport, communications, and warfare in prehistory, yet the identification of early domestication processes has been problematic. Here, we present three independent lines of evidence demonstrating domestication in the Eneolithic Botai Culture of Kazakhstan, dating to about 3500 B.C.E. Metrical analysis of horse metacarpals shows that Botai horses resemble Bronze Age domestic horses rather than Paleolithic wild horses from the same region. Pathological characteristics indicate that some Botai horses were bridled, perhaps ridden. Organic residue analysis, using δ13C and δD values of fatty acids, reveals processing of mare's milk and carcass products in ceramics, indicating a developed domestic economy encompassing secondary products.
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Horses' (Equus Caballus) Laterality, Stress Hormones, and Task Related Behavior in Innovative Problem-Solving.
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Harlow, H. F. (1950). Learning and satiation of response in intrinsically motivated complex puzzle performance by monkeys. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 43(4), 289–294.
Abstract: Two rhesus monkeys, given 60 two-hour sessions with a six-device mechanical puzzle showed clear evidence of learning, the curve showing ratio of incorrect to correct responses appearing quite comparable to similar curves obtained during externally rewarded situations. When, on the thirteenth day of tests, the subjects were presented with the puzzle 100 times at 6-minute intervals, the number of devices manipulated decreased regularly throughout the day, although there was no significant change in the number of times the problem assembly was attacked.
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Birch, H. G. (1945). The relation of previous experience to insightful problem-solving. J Comp Psychol, 38, 367–383.
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Liker, A., & Bókony, V. (2009). Larger groups are more successful in innovative problem solving in house sparrows. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 106(19), 7893–7898.
Abstract: Group living offers well-known benefits to animals, such as better predator avoidance and increased foraging success. An important additional, but so far neglected, advantage is that groups may cope more effectively with unfamiliar situations through faster innovations of new solutions by some group members. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by presenting a new foraging task of opening a familiar feeder in an unfamiliar way to house sparrows in small and large groups (2 versus 6 birds). Group size had strong effects on problem solving: sparrows performed 4 times more and 11 times faster openings in large than in small groups, and all members of large groups profited by getting food sooner (7 times on average). Independently from group size, urban groups were more successful than rural groups. The disproportionately higher success in large groups was not a mere consequence of higher number of attempts, but was also related to a higher effectiveness of problem solving (3 times higher proportion of successful birds). The analyses of the birds' behavior suggest that the latter was not explained by either reduced investment in antipredator vigilance or reduced neophobia in large groups. Instead, larger groups may contain more diverse individuals with different skills and experiences, which may increase the chance of solving the task by some group members. Increased success in problem solving may promote group living in animals and may help them to adapt quickly to new situations in rapidly-changing environments.
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