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Hartmann, E.; Søndergaard, E.; Keeling, L.J. |
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Title |
Keeping horses in groups: A review |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Equine; Behaviour; Welfare; Housing; Social |
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Although husbandry conditions for horses have improved over the last decades, many horses are still kept singly with limited or no physical contact to other horses. This is surprising, given the fact that keeping horses in groups is recognised best to fulfil their physical and behavioural needs, especially their need for social contact with conspecifics, as well as to have a beneficial effect on horse–human interactions during training. Group housing of farm animals is widely applied in practice. As a consequence, scientists have investigated numerous aspects of group housing to help further improve animal welfare and human–animal interactions under these conditions. However, compared to this literature available in farm animals, and the plentiful studies conducted of feral horse populations, there is much less done when it comes to the management of horses kept in groups in the domestic environment. In particular, limited scientific information is available into the effect of group size and group composition on behaviour and methods of introducing new horses into established groups, even though problems related to social integration are repeatedly taken as arguments against keeping horses in groups. This review, therefore, aims to provide an overview of the current scientific knowledge regarding keeping horses in groups. Furthermore, it aims to give insight into whether or not some of the concerns related to keeping horses in groups are justified and to review scientifically based solutions that could be useful in practice to improve horse welfare and human safety. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5490 |
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Newberry, R.C.; Swanson, J.C. |
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Implications of breaking mother-young social bonds |
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2008 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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110 |
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1-2 |
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3-23 |
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Animal welfare; Emotion; Separation; Social attachment; Weaning |
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Whereas mammalian mothers and young may retain long-term social affiliations in nature, the management of animals in captivity typically dictates that offspring are abruptly and permanently separated from their mothers at a relatively early age, often prior to the time of natural weaning. For animal breeders, this strategy can enhance the yield of offspring from a breeding population. Morbidity and mortality can also precipitate severance of mother-young bonds. Although it is recognized that early weaning provides nutritional challenges for the young, relatively little attention has been paid to the psychological consequences and long-term impacts of breaking the mother-young bond in non-human mammals. Furthermore, whereas great strides are being made in our understanding of the neurobiological and genetic underpinnings of social bonding, the mechanisms underlying the process of detachment following establishment of a mother-young bond remain relatively unexplored, although parallels can be drawn with processes involved in withdrawal from addictive substances. In this review, we outline mechanisms involved in social bonding. We consider the diversity in extent and duration of mother-young attachment across mammalian lineages and implications for predicting the outcome of severing ties between mothers and young at different times post-partum. We identify characteristics signalling emotional distress resulting from separation of mothers and young and discuss strategies for mitigating separation-induced distress. These include postponement of separation, ensuring high-quality maternal care of young prior to separation, providing bonded individuals with opportunities to separate voluntarily for brief periods prior to permanent separation, use of anti-suck devices prior to separation, allowing a period of partial (fence line) contact prior to full separation, providing substitutes for stimuli previously exchanged between mother and young, providing social buffers, gradual introduction to new housing arrangements, and pharmacological intervention. Areas for future research are proposed, including the use of functional neuroimaging technologies and functional genomics approaches, in combination with behavioural assessments of reinstatement motivation, individual recognition memory and long-term consequences of early separation, to shed further light on the nature of mother-young bonding and detachment in animals. |
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Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, United States |
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Export Date: 23 October 2008; Source: Scopus |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4556 |
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Croneya, C.C. |
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Title |
Group size and cognitive processes |
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2007 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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103 |
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3-4 |
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15-228 |
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Group size; Social complexity; Social learning; Cognitive processes |
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Animal group sizes may exert important effects on various cognitive mechanisms. Group
size is believed to exert pressures on fundamental brain structures that correlate with the
increased social demands placed on animals living in relatively large, complex and dynamic
social organizations. There is strong experimental evidence connecting social complexity,
social learning and development of other cognitive abilities in a broad range of wild and
domesticated animal species. In particular, group size seems to have significant effects on
animals? abilities to derive concrete and abstract relationships. Here, we review the literature
pertaining to cognitive processes and behaviours of various animal species relative to group
size, with emphasis on social learning. It is suggested that understanding the relationship
between group size and cognition in animals may yield practical animal management
benefits, such as housing and conservation strategies, and may also have implications for
improved animal welfare. |
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Ruth C. Newberryb |
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refbase @ user @ |
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277 |
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Christensen, J.W.; Keeling, L.J.; Nielsen, B.L. |
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Responses of horses to novel visual, olfactory and auditory stimuli |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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93 |
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1-2 |
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53-65 |
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Horses; Novelty responses; Fear; Behaviour; Heart rate |
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Responses of horses towards fear-eliciting stimuli can have important consequences for both human and horse safety. This experiment was designed to investigate behavioural and heart rate (HR) responses of horses to novel visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli. Twenty-four 2-year-old, previously unhandled, stallions were habituated to receive a food reward from a container in a test arena. Each horse was exposed to three 2 min tests in a balanced design where in addition to the feed container, either a traffic cone (visual test), white noise (auditory test) or eucalyptus oil applied to the inside of the container (olfactory test) were used as the novel stimuli. Compared to the control, less time was spent eating during all tests. There was no difference in locomotion activity in the different test situations, but presentation of the novel visual and auditory stimuli elicited significantly increased HR responses in the horses, compared to their response to the arena without novel stimuli (control), whereas there was no increase in HR response to the olfactory stimulus. However, during the olfactory test, the horses had an increased number of eating bouts and became more vigilant towards their surroundings, whereas during the visual and auditory tests, more time was spent alert towards the stimulus. The horses also took significantly more steps backwards in response to the auditory test. The heart rate responses correlated between tests and reflect a non-differentiated activation of the sympathetic nervous system, while the behavioural responses were linked to the type of stimulus. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2256 |
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Nicol, C.J.; Badnell-Waters, A.J.; Bice, R.; Kelland, A.; Wilson, A.D.; Harris, P.A. |
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The effects of diet and weaning method on the behaviour of young horses |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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95 |
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3-4 |
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205-221 |
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Horse; Diet; Weaning; Temperament test |
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The effects of diet on horse behaviour have not previously been quantified in detail. In this study, we examined the behaviour of 17 foals from the age of 2 to 40 weeks. Each foal received either a starch and sugar (SS) diet or a fat and fibre (FF) diet. The two diets contained similar digestible energy, crude protein and micronutrients, but differed in the fat and non-structural carbohydrate balance. The baseline behaviour of the foals was observed every 2 weeks by focal animal sampling. Additional behavioural observations were conducted when the foals were weaned by one of two methods. Approximately 2 months after weaning, the temperament and tractability of the young horses was assessed using standardised tests. Responses to a novel object, to a novel person, and during a handling test were observed and quantified. Horses grew well on both diets with no apparent effects of diet on growth rate or baseline behaviour. Immediately after weaning, horses receiving the FF diet cantered less frequently (F = 5.10; p < 0.05), for a shorter duration (F = 7.23; p < 0.05) and appeared to be more settled. Foals that were barn-weaned appeared more stressed than foals that were paddock-weaned. In the temperament tests, horses receiving the FF diet spent significantly more time investigating (F = 6.78; p < 0.05), and less time looking at (F = 7.93; p < 0.05), the novel object than horses receiving the SS diet. They also spent less time walking away from the novel person (F = 5.16; p < 0.05) and their time taken to complete the handling test was significantly lower (F = 8.72; p = 0.01). Overall, the horses that received the FF diet appeared less distressed immediately after weaning and seemed calmer and more inquisitive during a range of temperament tests. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3642 |
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McCall, C.A.; Hall, S.; McElhenney, W.H.; Cummins, K.A. |
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Evaluation and comparison of four methods of ranking horses based on reactivity |
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2006 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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96 |
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1-2 |
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115-127 |
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Horse; Reactivity tests; Heart rate; Emotionality; Temperament |
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Four methods of ranking horses on reactivity were evaluated and compared: isolation from conspecifics, presentation of a static novel stimulus, traversing a novel stimulus in a runway (isolation, novel stimulus and runway tests, respectively) and assigning subjective emotionality scores. In all tests, horses' heart rates were recorded and behaviour was videotaped. To be considered a valid test of reactivity, at least one heart rate and one behavioural measurement in the test had to change significantly between treatments (tranquilizer administation versus sham tranquilizer administration), and behavioural measures had to be displayed in at least 75% of the trials. Forty horses performed each of the three tests daily on three different days in a switchback design. Horses were assigned randomly to a daily test sequence, which was maintained throughout the study. In the runway test, no significant difference in heart rate values in tranquilized and non-tranquilized horses was found, and no behavioural attribute was displayed in more than 52% of the trials; therefore it was rejected as a valid test of reactivity. Both isolation and novel stimulus tests produced valid measurements. Mean heart rate was the most precise physiological measure for these tests, and walking and defecation frequency were the most precise behavioural measures for novel stimulus and isolation tests, respectively. Mean heart rates on the novel stimulus and isolation tests were correlated (rs = 0.79, P < 0.01) indicating that these tests produced similar rankings based on physiological responses. However, behavioural measures ranked horses differently (rs = 0.27, P < 0.10) on the tests. Rank correlations between mean heart rates and behavioural measures were higher in the novel stimulus (rs = 0.66, P < 0.01) than the isolation test (rs = 0.55, P < 0.01), indicating that the novel stimulus test ranked horses based on either physiological or behavioural responses more similarly than did the isolation test. Therefore, the novel stimulus test was considered the more accurate evaluation of reactivity. Subjective emotionality scores were correlated moderately with mean heart rates (rs > 0.33, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus and isolation tests and with walking scores (rs = 0.47, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus test. Assignment of subjective emotionality scores was not as accurate as the novel stimulus or isolation tests in ranking horses for reactivity. Using physiological data alone, combining physiological and behavioural measurements or using more than one behavioural measurement in reactivity tests may reflect the reactivity of the horse better than a single behavioural measurement. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3578 |
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Goodwin, D.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P. |
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Selection and acceptance of flavours in concentrate diets for stabled horses |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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95 |
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3-4 |
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223-232 |
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Horse; Flavour; Diet; Selection; Acceptance |
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Like most large grazing herbivores, horses select their food based on visual cues, odour, taste, texture, availability and variety. There is relatively little published information about the role of flavour in diet selection by domestic horses in comparison with other domestic and companion animals. However, previous trials investigating effects of diet flavour in stabled horses indicated significant effects on foraging behaviour and selection. In this series of three trials we aimed to determine relative acceptance by presenting flavour preference tests to eight horses. Horses were stabled and fed hay ad lib on trial data collection days plus a standard unflavoured concentrate ration at 7:30 a.m. In Trial 1, 15 flavours were separately presented in standard 100 g cereal by-product meals and the trial was replicated. Quantity consumed, time of completion, partial rejection or refusal were recorded. Order of presentation was determined by a Latin Square design. Trial data were collected on five sampling days, separated by a minimum of 1 day. Horses were presented with six flavoured meals daily; minimum 1 h between the meals. Twelve flavours were universally accepted and of these the eight flavours with fastest mean consumption times (banana, carrot, cherry, cumin, fenugreek, oregano, peppermint and rosemary) were presented in paired preference tests in Trial 2. In Trial 2, all paired combinations of the eight flavours were presented, in two tests per day at noon and 4 p.m. Presentations of the same flavour were separated by at least 1 day. Paired presentations were in 300 g cereal by-product. Presentations were terminated when approximately half of the total amount presented had been consumed. Flavour preferences were expressed as a ratio from 0 (rejection) to 1 (exclusive consumption). Paired flavour preferences produced the following rank order: fenugreek, banana, cherry, rosemary, cumin, carrot, peppermint, oregano. In Trial 3, relative consumption times of mineral pellets flavoured with fenugreek and banana were significantly reduced in comparison with unflavoured pellets. In these short-term trials, flavour had significant effects on diet acceptance, selection and consumption times. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3643 |
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Thorne, J.B.; Goodwin, D.; Kennedy, M.J.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P. |
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Foraging enrichment for individually housed horses: Practicality and effects on behaviour |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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94 |
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1-2 |
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149-164 |
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Horse; Foraging behaviour; Eating; Feeding; Enrichment; Welfare |
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The stabled (UK) or stalled (USA) horse is commonly fed a restricted-forage diet in contrast to the varied ad libitum high-fibre diet it evolved to consume. A low-forage diet has been linked to the performance of stereotypical behaviour and health problems including gastric ulceration and impaction colic (in cases where horses are bedded on straw). Provision of a diet closer to that which the horse is adapted to and which enables more natural feeding behaviour warrants investigation. This trial aimed to establish whether the behavioural effects observed in short-term trials when stabled horses were provided with a multiple forage diet persist over longer periods. It also aimed to develop a practical methodology for maintaining stabled horses under forage-enriched conditions. Nine horses (aged 5-20 years, various breeds), acting as their own controls, participated in an 18-day, cross-over, Latin Square designed trial, in which they received comparable weights of two dietary treatments: a Single Forage (SF, hay) diet and a Multiple Forage (MF) diet (three long-chop and three short-chop commercially available forages). Following a 2-day acclimatisation, horses were maintained on the forage treatments for 7 days. Horses were observed on alternate days, morning and afternoon, during the 25 min following forage presentation. Horses then crossed over onto their second treatment and, following a further 2 days' acclimatisation, the same protocol was followed for a further 7 days. Observations from video were made using The Observer 3.0(R) and SPPS (version 11). Horses on the MF treatment performed foraging behaviour significantly more frequently and for significantly longer periods than horses on the SF treatment. On the MF treatment horses sampled all forages during observations. However, there were significant differences in the frequency and duration of foraging on individual forages, indicating that horses demonstrated individual preferences for particular forages. Stereotypic weaving behaviour only occurred on the SF treatment. The results indicate that the potentially beneficial behavioural effects of short-term multiple forage provision do persist when horses are managed on a MF diet for a 7-day period. They suggest that a MF diet provides a means of enriching the stabled horse's environment, by offering variety and enabling patch foraging behaviour. The methodology proved practical for maintaining horses under forage-enriched conditions and could easily be adopted by horse owners to facilitate foraging behaviour. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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McGreevy, P.D.; Rogers, L.J. |
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Motor and sensory laterality in thoroughbred horses |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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92 |
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4 |
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337-352 |
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Horse; Lateralisation; Training; Olfaction; Forelimb preference |
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We investigated lateralisation in horses because it is likely to be important in training and athletic performance. Thoroughbred horses (n = 106) were observed every 60 s for 2 h, when they were at pasture, and the position of the forelimbs in relation to one another was recorded. There was a population bias skewed to standing with the left forelimb advanced over the right (i.e. directional lateralisation). Using the first 50 observations, the distribution of preferences was 43 significantly left, 10 significantly right with 53 being non-significant (i.e. ambidextextrous). The strength of motor bias increased with age, suggesting maturation or an influence of training. The horses were also presented with an olfactory stimulus (stallion faeces) to score the tendency to use one nostril rather than the other. A significant preference to use the right nostril first was shown in horses under 4 years of age (n = 61) but not in older horses. Of the 157 horses tested for nostril bias, 76 had been assessed for motor bias and so were used for analysis of the relationship between laterality in the two modalities. There was no significant relationship between direction of foreleg motor bias and first nostril used, total number of inhalations or laterality index of nostril use. The absence of a correlation between laterality of nostril use and motor bias indicates that lateralisation of the equine brain occurs on at least two levels of neural organisation--sensory and motor--a finding that is consistent with other examples of lateralisation in species that have been examined in more detail. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ room 3.029 |
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1827 |
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Murphy, J.; Sutherland, A.; Arkins, S. |
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Idiosyncratic motor laterality in the horse |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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91 |
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3-4 |
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297-310 |
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Horse; Idiosyncratic motor behaviour; Laterality; Sidedness |
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Abstract |
Idiosyncratic motor behaviour was investigated during four experimental procedures in 40 horses (males = 20, females = 20) to establish if horses revealed evidence of significant right or left laterality. The experimental procedures included (1) detection of the preferred foreleg to initiate movement (walk or trot), (2) obstacle avoidance within a passageway (right or left), (3) obstacle avoidance when ridden and (4) idiosyncratic motor bias when rolling. The influence of the horses' sex on both the direction and the degree of the laterality was explored within and between experimental procedures. The findings showed that the direction, but not the degree of idiosyncratic motor preference in the horses was strongly sex-related. Male horses exhibited significantly more (t = 3.74, d.f. = 79, P < 0.001) left lateralised responses and female horses exhibited significantly more (t = -6.35, d.f. = 79, P < 0.01) right lateralised responses. There was also significant positive correlation (P < 0.05) between four of six possible inter-experimental relationships. The results suggest two discrete trends of laterality associated with the sex of the horse. The primary cause of idiosyncratic motor laterality may be genetically predetermined, influenced by environmental factors or a combination of these two and the current findings may support the development of sex-specific training schedules for the horse. Further, work in this area might assist in defining the mechanisms of brain hemisphere lateralisation and allocation of cognitive function in the horse. |
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