Abstract: Feral horses are social animals, which have to rely on survival strategies centered on the formation of cohesive social bonds within their bands. Many problems in the husbandry of social animals such as horses, are due to the fact that the limits of their adaptive abilities are exceeded. Evidence suggests that the fundamental social characteristics of domestic horses have remained relatively unchanged. The social structure, social strategies and social interactions were investigated (3 non-consecutive years, 24 hr per day for several weeks) in long term established groups of domestic horses (mares and geldings of all ages) and a few small introduced groups, kept in (semi)natural environments. The general aim was to investigate the social needs of domestic horses. The social life of domestic horses was characterised by long lasting bonds with preferred partners which were established and maintained by allogrooming, play, proximity and dominance behaviours. Bonding partners were mainly found within the same sex-age group, but adult geldings also bonded with sub-adult mares and geldings. Adult mares were clustered in a group, while the other animals formed a second group. Among the adult mares, subgroups according to reproductive state were formed. Individuals regulated their social network by interfering with interactions between other members of the herd, which in itself is complex. An intervention is a behavioural action of one animal that actively interferes with an ongoing interaction between a dyad with the apparent aim of altering that interaction. This was verified by post-hoc analyses of disturbed and undisturbed interactions. Interventions in allogrooming or play were performed significantly more often when at least one member of the initial dyad was a preferred partner of, or familiar to (within the small introduced bands) the intervener. The stronger the preferred association in allogrooming between the intervener and member(s) of the initial dyad, the higher the probability the intervener would displace one initial member and continue allogrooming with the other. Just five behaviours were extracted which reliably reflected the dominance relations among horses. Aggression with the hind quarters was used both offensively and defensively and therefore not suitable as a reliable parameter. Individual dominance relationships were related to social experience. The implications of these findings for horse husbandry were assessed. It is argued that the execution of affiliative behaviours may be rewarding in itself, and therefore always will be a highly motivated behaviour. It is shown that social positive physical interactions (allogrooming, play) with other horses is an ethological need and therefore indispensable in modern husbandry systems. Ethological needs are so important for the animal that husbandry systems that lack the possibilities to execute such behaviours will cause chronic stress. It is concluded that all horses need physical social contact, and that horses, which lack appropriate social learning experiences during ontogeny, may be hampered in their social functioning later in life. Solutions for problems, including dominance problems, in individual social housing and group housing are presented.

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.

Abstract: Objective  The aims of this work were to (1) develop a low-cost equine movement tracking collar based on readily available components, (2) conduct preliminary studies assessing the effects of both paddock size and internal fence design on the movements of domestic horses, with and without foals at foot, and (3) describe distances moved by mares and their foals. Additional monitoring of free-ranging feral horses was conducted to allow preliminary comparisons with the movement of confined domestic horses. Procedures  A lightweight global positioning system (GPS) data logger modified from a personal/vehicle tracker and mounted on a collar was used to monitor the movement of domestic horses in a range of paddock sizes and internal fence designs for 6.5-day periods. Results  In the paddocks used (0.8-16 ha), groups of domestic horses exhibited a logarithmic response in mean daily distance travelled as a function of increasing paddock size, tending asymptotically towards approximately 7.5 km/day. The distance moved by newborn foals was similar to their dams, with total distance travelled also dependent on paddock size. Without altering available paddock area, paddock design, with the exception of a spiral design, did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled. Feral horses (17.9 km/day) travelled substantially greater mean daily distances than domestic horses (7.2 km/day in 16-ha paddock), even when allowing for larger paddock size. Conclusions  Horses kept in stables or small yards and paddocks are quite sedentary in comparison with their feral relatives. For a given paddock area, most designs did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled.

Abstract: Sport horse studbooks frequently use performance tests to identify, evaluate and approve stallions for future breeding programmes. The aim of this study was to analyse behaviour-related traits of Polish Warmblood stallions participating in studbook 100-day performance tests. Both relatedness and differences of traits and their contribution to overall variability were analysed. Three-year-old stallions (n = 374) participated in 100-day performance test programmes at two Polish training stations from 2004 to 2008. Traits including character, temperament and trainability (trainer rated), free-jumping, jumping under the rider, walk, trot and canter (independently rated by both trainer and the selection jury) and jumping ability, dressage-ability and rideability (rated by the independent test rider) were subjected to Factor Analysis (FA) with varimax rotation. The FA produced three factors [Cooperation (Cp), Jumping Potential (JP) and Dressage Potential (DP)] with eigenvalues > 1, which accounted for 64.6% of the total variance of the traits examined. After rotation, the factors represented Cp: 23.2.0%, JP: 21.5% and DP: 19.8% of variance respectively. The traits of character, temperament, trainability, jumping under the rider, rideability, dressage and jumping abilities had high loadings on the second factor (Cp) and thereafter, the assessment of all behaviour-related traits contributed to the general evaluation with approximately one-fifth of total variability. The findings may indicate that successful sport careers for any horse may be much more closely associated with willingness to cooperate with the rider and riding and handling behaviour, than to the horse's actual physical performance potential. It would appear that only so-called sport-suitable performance of the horse is being selected for in performance tests (during jumping and dressage suitability testing). This approach may be short-sighted and inadequate with serious implications for horse under-performance in leisure activities notwithstanding general horse welfare within the disciplines of equitation.

Abstract: Unwanted oral investigative in horses has been anecdotally attributed to the practice of hand-feeding. Fears over such behaviour developing as a consequence of using food rewards, for example in clicker training, have been implicated as a common reason for not employing food-based positive reinforcement training techniques. This study used data generated as part of a larger research project, and explored associations between five common oral investigative behaviours and the practices of hand-feeding and clicker training. Data were from a convenience sample of UK leisure horse owners using two self-administered Internet surveys. Ninety-one percent of respondents reported giving their horse food by hand and this practice was significantly associated with three of the five oral investigative behaviours, licking hands (P = 0.006), gently searching clothing (P < 0.001) and roughly searching clothing (P = 0.003). Nipping hands and biting clothes were not associated with hand-feeding, suggesting that risk factors for these behaviours originate outside of this practice. Clicker training techniques were employed by 14% of respondents and their use was not associated with the incidence of any of the five oral investigative behaviours. These findings suggest that horse owners should not be deterred from using food-based positive reinforcement techniques with their horses, as fears that this practice will result in unwanted oral investigative behaviours from their horses appear unfounded.