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Author |
Hartmann, E. |
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Title |
Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety |
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2010 |
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equine, behaviour, welfare, housing, mixing, aggression, injury, separation, habituation, learning |
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Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety
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reactions to mixing and separation
Hartmann, Elke (2010) Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety . Doctoral diss. Dept. of Animal Environment and Health, SLU. Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae vol. 2010:87.
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Abstract
The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether specific anecdotal concerns related to keeping horses in groups are supported by science and, if so, provide scientifically based recommendations that could be implemented in practice.
The aim of studies I and II was to identify methods for mixing unfamiliar horses that could minimise aggressive interactions and associated risk of injury. Results of study I revealed that pre-exposure of young horses in neighbouring boxes tended to lower contact-aggression (e.g. kicks, strikes) and biting behaviour in particular was reduced when the same pair of horses subsequently met in a paddock. This was not found when older horses were mixed (study II). Aggressive behaviour received by a new horse was not significantly different in meetings when it met one other horse compared to meeting two unfamiliar horses at the same time.
Removing a horse from a group of four in study III was generally unproblematic. Most horses approached the handler when she was catching the horse and while standing with it in the middle of the paddock. Thus, potential risk may be higher in situations when the handler remains relatively stationary, as other horses of the group have time to approach. Rank did not influence the number of horses following to the paddock gate and interactions between horses were rare.
Since horses naïve to social separation may be more difficult to handle away from the group, the objective in study IV was to investigate whether the initial presence of a companion horse would modify responses to separation. Results revealed no significant differences in heart rates and the number of training sessions required when the horses were subsequently trained in the absence of the partner compared to horses trained alone from the start.
In summary, results give little support for the original areas of concerns about mixing and separating horses. Risk of injury to both horses and humans should not be overestimated when handling horses in groups, but being aware of potential risk situations and being able to react accordingly is likely to increase horse welfare and human safety.
Faculty: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
Keywords:
equine, behaviour, welfare, housing, mixing, aggression, injury, separation, habituation, learning
Agrovoc terms:
horses, behaviour, bites, injurious factors, animal learning, animal welfare, sweden
ISBN: 978-91-576-7532-3
Series.: Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae
ISSN: 1652-6880
Volume: 2010:87
Papers/manuscripts:
I. Hartmann, E., Winther Christensen, J., Keeling, L.J. (2009). Social interactions of unfamiliar horses during paired encounters: Effect of pre-exposure on aggression level and so risk of injury. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 121, 214-221.
II. Hartmann, E., Rundgren, M., Keeling, L.J. (in press). Comparison of 3 methods for mixing unfamiliar horses (Equus caballus). Journal of Equine Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research.
III. Hartmann, E., Søndergaard, E., Keeling, L.J. Identifying potential risk situations for humans when removing horses from groups. Manuscript.
IV. Hartmann, E., Christensen, J.W., Keeling, L.J. (in press). Training young horses to social separation: Effect of a companion horse on training efficiency. Equine Veterinary Journal.
Number of pages: 75
Year of publication: 2010
Language: eng
ID Code: 2396
Deposited By: Hartmann, Elke
Deposited On: 08 November 2010 |
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Dept. of Animal Environment and Health, SLU. Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae |
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Ph.D. thesis |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5307 |
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Hausberger, M.; Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Wessel-Robert, S.; Richard-Yris, M.-A. |
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On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare? |
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2012 |
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Naturwissenschaften |
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99 |
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4 |
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291-302 |
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Social play; Stress indicators; Animal welfare; Domestic horse |
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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. |
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English |
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0028-1042 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5649 |
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Broom, D.M. |
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Title |
Cognitive ability and awareness in domestic animals and decisions about obligations to animals |
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2010 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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126 |
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1-2 |
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1-11 |
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Cognition; Awareness; Self-awareness; Feelings; Emotions; Cognitive bias; Sentience; Welfare; Domestic animals |
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Observation of behaviour, especially social behaviour, and experimental studies of learning and brain function give us information about the complexity of concepts that animals have. In order to learn to obtain a resource or carry out an action, domestic animals may: relate stimuli such as human words to the reward, perform sequences of actions including navigation or detours, discriminate amongst other individuals, copy the actions of other individuals, distinguish between individuals who do or do not have information, or communicate so as to cause humans or other animals to carry out actions. Some parrots, that are accustomed to humans but not domesticated, can use words to have specific meanings. In some cases, stimuli, individuals or actions are remembered for days, weeks or years. Events likely to occur in the future may be predicted and changes over time taken into account. Scientific evidence for the needs of animals depends, in part, on studies assessing motivational strength whose methodology depends on the cognitive ability of the animals. Recognition and learning may be associated with changes in physiology, behaviour and positive or negative feelings. Learning and other complex behaviour can result in affect and affect can alter cognition. The demonstration of cognitive bias gives indications about affect and welfare but should be interpreted in the light of other information. All of the information mentioned so far helps to provide evidence about sentience and the level of awareness. The term sentience implies a range of abilities, not just the capacity to have some feelings. The reluctance of scientists to attribute complex abilities and feelings to non-humans has slowed the development of this area of science. Most people consider that they have obligations to some animals. However, they might protect animals because they consider that an animal has an intrinsic value, or because of their concern for its welfare. In social species, there has been selection promoting moral systems that might result in behaviours such as attempts to avoid harm to others, collaboration and other altruistic behaviour. An evaluation of such behaviour may provide one of the criteria for decisions about whether or not to protect animals of a particular species. Other criteria may be: whether or not the animal is known as an individual, similarity to humans, level of awareness, extent of feelings, being large, being rare, being useful or having aesthetic quality for humans. Cognitive ability should also be considered when designing methods of enriching the environments of captive animals. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5135 |
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Burn, C.C.; Dennison, T.L.; Whay, H.R. |
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Relationships between behaviour and health in working horses, donkeys, and mules in developing countries |
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2010 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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126 |
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3-4 |
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109–118 |
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Animal welfare; Developing countries; Equine; Human-animal relationships; Inactivity; Sickness behaviour |
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Recent studies raise serious welfare concerns regarding the estimated 93.6 million horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries. Most equids are used for work in poor communities, and are commonly afflicted with wounds, poor body condition, respiratory diseases, parasites, dental problems, and lameness. Non-physical welfare problems, such as fear of humans, are also of concern. Interventions to improve working equine welfare aim to prioritise the conditions that cause the most severe impositions on the animals' subjectively experienced welfare, but data identifying which conditions these may be, are lacking. Here we describe a stage in the validation of behavioural welfare indicators that form part of a working equine welfare assessment protocol. Over 4 years, behavioural and physical data were collected from 5481 donkeys, 4504 horses, and 858 mules across nine developing countries. Behaviours included the animals' general alertness, and their responses to four human-interaction tests, using the unfamiliar observer as the human stimulus. Avoidance behaviours correlated significantly with each other across the human-interaction tests, with 21% of animals avoiding the observer, but they showed no associations with likely anthropogenic injuries. Over 13% of equids appeared [`]apathetic': lethargic rather than alert. Measures of unresponsiveness correlated with each other across the five tests, and were associated with poor body condition, abnormal mucous membrane colour, faecal soiling, eye abnormalities, more severe wounds, and older age, depending on the equine species. This suggests that working equids in poor physical health show an unresponsive behavioural profile, consistent with sickness behaviour, exhaustion, chronic pain, or depression-like states. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5158 |
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Kampmann, S.; Hampson, B.A.; Pollitt, C.C. |
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Population dynamics of feral horses (Equus caballus) following above-average rainfall in a semi-arid environment of Australia |
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2013 |
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Australian Veterinary Journal |
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Aust Vet J |
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91 |
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11 |
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482-487 |
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animal welfare; ecology; horses; reproduction; wildlife |
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Background Recent record rainfall in much of semi-arid Central Australia is the most likely reason for a feral horse population increase in excess of normal. Uncontrolled numbers of feral horses have habitat degradation and animal welfare implications. Objectives The aims of this study were to investigate the social structure of feral horses and assess their population growth rate following unseasonably high rainfall. Methods The study area was 4000 km2 of unmanaged, semi-arid country in Central Australia (latitude 24.50°S, longitude 132.10°E). Horses were identified by descriptive features from ground searches, movement-activated cameras and ‘hides’ positioned at key water holes. Wherever possible, sex and age categories were documented. Population growth rate was estimated by the number of foals divided by the number of horses older than 1 year in the observed population. Results A total of 1424 horses were identified and categorised, of which 335 were foals born within the current year. Only 123 juveniles were identified. Of the adult horses, 53.4% were male and 46.6% were female and this differed from parity (P = 0.04). Of the mares, 71.9% had a foal at foot and the population growth rate was 29.5%. Conclusions With a sustained population growth rate of 29.5%, this population of feral horses will more than double within 3 years. The high population increase will likely have a detrimental effect on native fauna and flora and the fragile, semi-arid ecosystems of Central Australia. After a period of high rainfall and plentiful resources, ‘normal’ drought conditions will return and many feral horses will starve and die as they compete for limited resources. |
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1751-0813 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5747 |
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Becker-Birck, M.; Schmidt, A.; Wulf, M.; Aurich, J.; von der Wense, A.; Möstl, E.; Berz, R.; Aurich, C. |
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Cortisol release, heart rate and heart rate variability, and superficial body temperature, in horses lunged either with hyperflexion of the neck or with an extended head and neck position |
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2013 |
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Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition |
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97 |
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2 |
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322-330 |
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animal welfare; equitation; stress; training |
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Bringing the head and neck of ridden horses into a position of hyperflexion is widely used in equestrian sports. In our study, the hypothesis was tested that hyperflexion is an acute stressor for horses. Salivary cortisol concentrations, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and superficial body temperature were determined in horses (n = 16) lunged on two subsequent days. The head and neck of the horse was fixed with side reins in a position allowing forward extension on day A and fixed in hyperflexion on day B. The order of treatments alternated between horses. In response to lunging, cortisol concentration increased (day A from 0.73 ± 0.06 to 1.41 ± 0.13 ng/ml, p < 0.001; day B from 0.68 ± 0.07 to 1.38 ± 0.13 ng/ml, p < 0.001) but did not differ between days A and B. Beat-to-beat (RR) interval decreased in response to lunging on both days. HRV variables standard deviation of RR interval (SDRR) and RMSSD (root mean square of successive RR differences) decreased (p < 0.001) but did not differ between days. In the cranial region of the neck, the difference between maximum and minimum temperature was increased in hyperflexion (p < 0.01). In conclusion, physiological parameters do not indicate an acute stress response to hyperflexion of the head alone in horses lunged at moderate speed and not touched with the whip. However, if hyperflexion is combined with active intervention of a rider, a stressful experience for the horse cannot be excluded. |
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
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1439-0396 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6182 |
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Björk, N. |
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Is it possible to measure the welfare of the ridden horse? |
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2008 |
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horse, welfare, training, learning, measure, assess |
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Since the time of domestication, humans have trained horses for the purpose of serving man. Different training methods have been developed throughout the centuries; some were developed with consideration for the horse's welfare, while others disregarded welfare to a great extent. Most present day training is based upon making the horse perform a desired behaviour through dominance and subordination. Although cooperative training techniques have gained popularity, everyday training lacks the application of learning theory or neglects the horse's learning capacities and their species' specific behaviour. Thus, the horse's welfare may be jeopardised.
The aim with this review is to consider methods that allow an objective assessment of the welfare of horses undergoing training. The review gives a brief insight into the history of horse training and handling. It proceeds with an overview of the horse"s learning abilities which is argued to be of paramount importance for effective training. The review then describes a few selected training techniques that are used today, based on negative and positive reinforcement, and discusses parameters from which it could be possible to assess the welfare of the ridden horse. The work concludes with suggestion for future |
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Bachelor's thesis |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4749 |
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Cloutier, S.; Newberry, R.C.; Honda, K. |
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Comparison of social ranks based on worm-running and aggressive behaviour in young domestic fowl |
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2004 |
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Behavioural Processes |
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Behav. Process. |
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65 |
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1 |
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79-86 |
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Aggression; Social behaviour; Dominance; Play; Chickens; Animal welfare |
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Worm-running is behaviour in which a chick runs carrying a worm-like object while flock mates follow and attempt to grab the object from its beak. We hypothesised that social ranks based on worm-running frequency are stable over time and are positively correlated with social ranks based on success in aggressive interactions when older. At 8-12 days of age, we scored worm-running in 17 groups of 12 female White Leghorn chicks during three 10-min tests. Based on instantaneous scans at 5-s intervals, the bird carrying the `worm' most often was placed in rank one and so on down the rank order. These tests were repeated at 68-70 days of age. An aggression index for each bird was calculated as the number of aggressive acts given, divided by the number given and received, during three 1-h observation periods when the birds were 68-70 days. Ranks obtained in worm-running tests were positively correlated over the two age periods (P<0.05) but were not correlated with ranks based on the aggression index (P>0.05). Our results indicate that worm-running ranks are not predictive of success in aggressive interactions. Instead, worm-running fits some criteria for play. |
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Skandakumar, S.; Stodulski, G.; Hau, J. |
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Salivary IgA: a Possible Stress Marker In Dogs |
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1995 |
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Animal Welfare |
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4 |
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4 |
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339-350 |
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Animal Welfare; Behaviour; Cortisol; Dog; Salivary Iga (S-Iga); Stress; Well-Being |
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Stress in humans has been reported to be associated with a decrease in the salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) levels enabling the possible use of s-IgA to assess stress. Prolonged stress, if reliably assessed in a non-invasive manner, may be used to assess animal welfare. This study analysed groups of dogs undergoing physical and temperamental training and s-IgA levels were measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis in prospective samples. Behavioural assessment was carried out and cortisol levels in saliva were measured by ELISA. A significant negative correlation (P < 0.007) between the logarithmic cortisol concentrations and s-IgA levels in saliva was recorded. The behavioural assessment of the dogs agreed well with the biochemical markers. It is concluded that IgA levels in saliva may be a useful marker of dog well-being and that stress results in decreased s-IgA levels. |
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5964 |
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Menke, C.; Waiblinger, S.; Foelsch, D.W.; Wiepkema, P.R. |
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Social Behaviour and Injuries of Horned Cows in Loose Housing Systems |
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1999 |
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Animal Welfare |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim Welfare |
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8 |
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3 |
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243-258 |
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Animal Welfare; Horned Dairy Cows; Human-Animal Relationship; Injuries; Loose Housing; Management; Social Behaviour |
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Abstract |
The relationship between social behaviour and skin injuries (caused by horns) of loose housed horned cows was investigated on 35 dairy farms. While the frequencies of two agonistic behaviour elements (push and chase away) were positively correlated with the occurrence of skin injuries, the frequencies of butting and homing were not. Butting appears to have an ambivalent motivation, in that its occurrence is correlated positively both with agonistic behaviour and with social licking. Horning showed a positive correlation with social licking only. Four groups of husbandry conditions that may be associated with the occurrence of social behaviour and of injuries were distinguished: i) herd management, with variables including problem solving management by the farmer, integration of new cows, and dealing with periparturient and oestrus cows; ii) human-animal relationship, with variables including ability to identify individual cows, frequency of brushing the cows, number of milkers, and frequency of personnel changes; iii) animal characteristics, with the variable of herd size; and iv) stable characteristics, with the variable of space per cow (m2). The relevance of the husbandry variables investigated here had been confirmed in a previous stepwise regression analysis (Menke 1996). The variables for herd management and human-animal relationship conditions correlated in a consistent way with the occurrence of agonistic behaviour and/or of injuries, while most of them also correlated in the opposite direction with the occurrence of social licking. Herd size correlated positively with agonistic behaviour, but negatively with social licking. Space per cow correlated negatively with agonistic behaviour and injuries. In more than 70 per cent of the herds investigated, the levels of agonistic behaviour and of skin injuries were low, implying that horned dairy cows can be kept with less risk than is often assumed. We argue that such risks strongly depend on management factors that can be improved. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5480 |
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