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Author Hausberger, M.; Muller, C.
Title A brief note on some possible factors involved in the reactions of horses to humans Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 76 Issue 4 Pages 339-344
Keywords Horses; Aggressiveness; Behavioural reactions; Human-animal relationship
Abstract In order to investigate relationships of adult horses to humans, we developed a simple evaluation test and scores based on observations. The first reactions of 224 adult horses to the presence of an experimenter were observed and scored. All these horses belonged to the same riding school, had the same general housing conditions and were all geldings. The evaluation was based on the horse's posture. Individual differences that could be related to some extent to the breed but also to human factors emerged clearly. French saddlebreds showed more often friendly behaviour than Angloarabs, whereas thoroughbreds were more indifferent. Clear variations occurred between groups of horses that depended on different caretakers. In this school, one caretaker is responsible for the whole daily management of a group of horses and is probably a very important factor in their well-being. The effects of this daily relation to a human seemed to be involved in the reactions to a strange person. Further studies are required to investigate what, in practice, may be determinant.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 329
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Author Boyd, L.; Bandi, N.
Title Reintroduction of takhi, Equus ferus przewalskii, to Hustai National Park, Mongolia: time budget and synchrony of activity pre- and post-release Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 78 Issue 2-4 Pages 87-102
Keywords Equids; Przewalski's horses; Takhi; Behaviour patterns; Time budgets; Behavioural synchrony; Reintroduction
Abstract A harem of takhi (Equus ferus przewalskii) was observed during introduction to the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve of Mongolia. The goals were to examine whether the harem exhibited significant behavioural synchrony, whether release had an effect on time budget, and what the implications might be regarding acclimatisation to the wild. Behaviours were scan sampled every 10 min between the hours of 06:00 and 22:00, twice before release, twice immediately after release, and twice 2 years after reintroduction. Time budgets were constructed from these data. Considerable behavioural synchrony was evidenced both before and after release. Crepuscular grazing and midday resting were typical, regardless of the date relative to release. Upon release, the amount of time spent moving doubled for all age classes. It is suggested that this increase resulted from exploration. The amount of time spent grazing and standing remained unchanged; the increased amount of time spent moving came at the expense of resting. Two years later, the horses still spent more time moving than when captive. Somewhat less time was spent grazing, although the difference was not significant. More time was spent resting in 1996 than immediately after release. These time budgets provide evidence of successful acclimatisation to the wild. Trekking between favoured sites could account for the persistent increase in time spent moving, with concomitantly less time needed to meet nutritional needs by grazing and more time available for resting. Housing captive takhi in large enclosures is evidently insufficient to permit the amount of movement exhibited by this wild harem. The time budget of the 1- and 2-year olds was more similar to that of adults than foals, indicating approaching adulthood. That 1- and 2-year olds were nursed, without loss of body condition by the dam, provided additional evidence that the takhi achieved excellent nutritional status in the wild.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3690
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Author Seaman, S.C.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Waran, N.K.
Title How reliable is temperament assessment in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)? Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 78 Issue 2-4 Pages 175-191
Keywords Temperament assessment; Behavioural tests; Horses; Active and passive copers; Factor analysis
Abstract Differences in behavioural characteristics between individuals of the same species are often described as being due to the temperament of the individuals. These differences can have enormous implications for welfare with some individuals apparently being able to adapt to environmental challenge more easily than others. Such differences have resulted in animals often being described as either `active' copers, which try to escape from or remove an aversive stimulus, or `passive' copers, which show no outward signs of a situation being aversive, thus, appearing to be unaffected. Tests previously developed to assess the temperament of animals have been criticised for several reasons. Behaviour is often recorded and categorised using methods that are not objective and tests are generally carried out once with no consideration of whether or not behavioural responses are consistent over time. This study takes these factors into account. The behaviour of 33 horses was recorded in three types of test--an arena test, response to a person and response to an object. In order to test whether or not responses were consistent over time, the tests were repeated three times with an average of 9 days between trials. Test results were validated using responses from questionnaires completed by the farm team leader. The data were analysed using an initial principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis. The horses were found to behave consistently over the three trials in their responses in the arena test. The responses to the person test and the object test were similar to each other; however, these responses were not consistent over trials. The behaviour in the arena test was unable to be used to make a prediction of behaviour in the person and object tests and vice versa. The responses shown by the horses did not enable them to be categorised as either active or passive copers. Behavioural responses in the tests were not predictive of the response to a startle test (water spray), nor could they be used to predict status or response to being reintroduced to the group after testing. There was no relationship between the responses in the tests and the ratings given by the farm team leader. It was concluded that horses vary widely in their responses to artificial behavioural tests, with only the responses to an open-field arena test being consistent over time, and therefore, the only type of test which can indicate some core factor of temperament.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 520
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Author Vieuille, C.; Berger, F.; Le Pape, G.; Bellanger, D.
Title Sow behaviour involved in the crushing of piglets in outdoor farrowing huts--a brief report Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 80 Issue 2 Pages 109-115
Keywords Pig-maternal behaviour; Crushing; Free-ranging; Welfare
Abstract This study focuses on maternal activities involved in the trapping of piglets by the sow's body in outdoor farrowing systems and examine the mother-piglet context leading either to the death of piglets or to their survival. The behaviour of six Large-WhitexLandrace sows and their litters was continuously video recorded at their first and second parity, during the 40 h following parturition. Crushing mainly occurred at evening and night, during the first 12 h of farrowing and involved changes between lying, sitting and standing positions, as well as between udder and side lying. No piglet died from savaging. Nevertheless, aggressive behaviours of sows were observed, particularly in their first maternal experience. The immediate context of trapping was related to the labour of the sow and to the feeding and resting of piglets. The immediate crushing context was related to active avoidance of restless piglets while lying down, as well as sitting and standing behaviours. These results are discussed in terms of differential reactions of the sow to suckling attempts of piglets.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2235
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Author Breuer, K.; Sutcliffe, M.E.M.; Mercer, J.T.; Rance, K.A.; Beattie, V.E.; Sneddon, I.A.; Edwards, S.A.
Title The effect of breed on the development of adverse social behaviours in pigs Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 84 Issue 1 Pages 59-74
Keywords Pig; Breed; Harmful social behaviour; Ear-biting; Tail-biting; Tail-chew test
Abstract Tail-biting and other harmful social behaviours are a common problem on pig farms. The aims of the current experiment were (1) to investigate the genetic component of harmful social behaviours such as tail-biting by assessing breed differences, and (2) to further investigate the reliability and predictability of a test, [`]the tail-chew test', previously identified as potentially being capable of predicting a pig's predisposition for tail- and ear-biting. The behaviour of three pig breeds (Large White (LW), Landrace (LR), Duroc (DR)), with 100 pigs per breed, was observed in a [`]tail-chew test', and by observing the performance of harmful social behaviour directed to pen mates in flat deck pens after weaning. The tail-chew test, carried out on two consecutive days pre-weaning, involved observing the behaviour of individual pigs towards two suspended ropes. Pigs were weaned at 28 days and the occurrence of harmful social behaviour was recorded 4 weeks later over 2 consecutive days (1 h per day) using a group [`]period occurrence' scanning method. Breed had a significant effect on rope-directed behaviour in the tail-chew test and on harmful social behaviour. DR pigs interacted with the ropes in the tail-chew test more often (median 23.0 vs 19.0 and 17.5 times in 20 min, P<0.001) and for longer (31.0 vs 20.0 and 23.2 s, P<0.001) than LR and LW pigs, respectively. Although not significantly different from LW, DR pigs tended to direct more total harmful social behaviour towards pen mates than the other breeds. In particular, DR were observed in more total pig-directed biting of pen mates (median 9.0 vs 6.0 and 7.0, P<0.01) than LR and LW, and tended to nose pen mates more often than the other breeds (13.0 vs 11.0 and 10.0, P=0.06). LR pigs bit the ears of pen mates less often than LW and DR (4.0 vs 5.0 and 6.0, P<0.001). Belly-nosing activity was low, with a median of 0 for all breeds, but LR belly-nosed pen mates more often than Durocs (interquartile ranges 0-2.0 vs 0-1.0 and 0-1.0, P<0.01). The behaviour observed in the tail-chew test on day 1 correlated significantly with that observed on day 2 of the test (e.g. frequency of rope-directed behaviour rs=0.380,P<0.01). There were significant but weak correlations between rope-directed behaviour and the performance of some harmful social behaviours. The significant breed differences indicate some genetic contribution to expression of harmful social behaviours. However, the tail-chew test was found to be of limited ability to predict tail- and ear-biting under commercial conditions.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4979
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Author Rousing, T.; Waiblinger, S.
Title Evaluation of on-farm methods for testing the human-animal relationship in dairy herds with cubicle loose housing systems--test-retest and inter-observer reliability and consistency to familiarity of test person Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 85 Issue 3-4 Pages 215-231
Keywords Cattle welfare; Fearful behaviour; Human-animal relationship
Abstract The human-animal relationship is an important factor when considering animal welfare at herd level. In the present study, two behavioural tests for the on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level of dairy cows housed in loose housing cubicle systems were evaluated with respect to inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability, effect of familiarity of test person as well as inter-correlation of the two tests. In a voluntary animal approach (VAA) test, the number of cows and the latencies to approach and touch a stationary test person was measured. In an avoidance (AV) test, the cows' avoidance reactions to an approaching test person were categorised. A first study was carried out in 12 commercial Danish and Austrian dairy farms. On each farm, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day and repeated within 4-5 days. For each test, cows were tested by both an unfamiliar and a familiar test person (the stock-person) and two observers simultaneously registered the animals' test responses. The inter-observer reliability of both behavioural tests was found to be high (VAA: 2.5-m approach r=0.98 (P<0.001) and touch r=0.97 (P<0.001); AV: Kappa coefficientweighted=0.886 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is 0.636)). The cows at herd level showed shortest latency for touching an unfamiliar test person on the first test day (P=0.006). Further, the AV test had a high test-retest reliability (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.503 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.660)) and results indicated no effect of familiarity of test person (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.463 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.677)). In a second study, the correlation between the two behavioural tests (similar measures) was evaluated. On each of 10 commercial Danish dairy farms with loose housing cubicle systems at four repeated sessions, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day. For each test cows were tested by the stock-person. The VAA and AV tests at herd level were highly correlated (rs=-0.84; P=0.002). The results suggest that the AV test is valid and applicable for on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level. This accounts only partly for the VAA test, which seem to be more unclear regarding motivation for the animals' approach behaviour.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4398
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Author Rietmann, T.R.; Stuart, A.E.A.; Bernasconi, P.; Stauffacher, M.; Auer, J.A.; Weishaupt, M.A.
Title Assessment of mental stress in warmblood horses: heart rate variability in comparison to heart rate and selected behavioural parameters Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 88 Issue 1-2 Pages 121-136
Keywords Horse; Hrv; Heart rate; Mental stress; Behaviour; Autonomic nervous system
Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate whether heart rate variability (HRV) could assess alterations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) at different levels of excitement. The behavioural and physiological responses of 20 warmblood horses to a challenging ground exercise task were studied. Prior to the experiment, the horses were evaluated at rest and during forward walking (FW). The horses were then forced to move backwards continuously during 3 min according to a standardised protocol (BW1). Subsequently, the horses were exposed to two training sessions, after which the backward walking (BW2) was re-evaluated. Heart rate (HR) and HRV-parameters such as the standard deviation of the beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR), the low (LF; sympathetic tone) and high frequency (HF) component of HRV (HF; parasympathetic tone) and their ratio (LF/HF; index representing the sympatho-vagal balance) were sampled at rest, and during FW, BW1 and BW2. Stress-related behaviour during BW1 and BW2 was determined from video recordings. The results of the different evaluations were compared to each other. Compared to rest and FW, the first backward experiment induced a significant rise in HR, LF and LF/HF and a significant decrease of HF. SDRR decreased from both FW and rest with only the latter reaching significance. In BW2 after the training sessions, HR and the parameters of the sympathetic branch of the ANS (LF, LF/HF) were decreased and the vagal tone (HF) increased compared to BW1; all changes were significant. The duration of stress indicating behavioural patterns revealed also a significant decrease of excitement after the training, when backward walking did not differ from forward walking in any parameter. Correlations between HRV-parameters and stress indicating behaviour as well as HR were found. We conclude that the HRV-parameters LF and HF are valuable measures to quantify sympatho-vagal balance, which allows a more precise assessment of the responses of HR and SDRR to mental stress during low intensity exercise.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 314
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Author Minero, M.; Zucca, D.; Canali, E.
Title A note on reaction to novel stimulus and restraint by therapeutic riding horses Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 97 Issue 2-4 Pages 335-342
Keywords Horse; Therapeutic riding; Behavioural indicators; Heart rate; Lymphocyte proliferation
Abstract Little research has been done to measure reactivity objectively in therapeutic riding horses (TRH). As individual reactivity and chronic stress could be assessed by exposing animals to acute, novel stressors, the authors of this work aimed at comparing reactions of TRHs and jumping horses (JH) to two challenges. Four TRHs and four JHs were exposed to a restraint covering their head with a hood for 1 h and to a startling stimulus (a 40 cm long, red and white synthetic holiday garland shaken with a rustling noise inside the box). Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded continuously and telemetrically, the reaction was video-recorded and analysed with a software for behavioural analysis. Blood samples were collected before and after each challenge to determine lymphocyte proliferation and other biochemical parameters. Horses spent most of the time immobile, during the challenges (p < 0.05). TRHs had a significantly higher average basal HR than JH (p < 0.05), probably due to their better condition. HR varied among different behaviours during the restraint (p < 0.05): the average HR during “pawing” was higher than during other behaviours (p < 0.005). A significant decrease in the proliferation of lymphocytes in samples taken after the removal of the hood (p < 0.05) was found, while the other stress related parameters did not vary significantly after the challenges. The authors conclude that TRHs did not react less than JHs to the new stimuli and this should be taken into consideration while planning their daily work and management.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 279
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Author Chaya, L.; Cowan, E.; McGuire, B.
Title A note on the relationship between time spent in turnout and behaviour during turnout in horses (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 98 Issue 1-2 Pages 155-160
Keywords Horse; Behaviour; Turnout; Welfare
Abstract We examined if time spent in turnout influenced behaviour during turnout for horses maintained in stalls and given either 2 h/week (n = 7) or 12 h/week (n = 7) of turnout. Horses turned out for 2 h/week were more likely than those turned out for 12 h/week to trot, canter, and buck. Frequency of trotting and cantering was also higher and frequency of grazing lower in horses turned out for 2 h/week. These results have welfare implications and support previous studies showing that horses react to confinement with increased activity when not confined.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4815
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Author Lensink, J.; Veissier, I.; Boissy, A.
Title Enhancement of performances in a learning task in suckler calves after weaning and relocation: Motivational versus cognitive control?: A pilot study Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 100 Issue 3-4 Pages 171-181
Keywords Calves; Weaning; Learning; Cognition; Behavioural test
Abstract Weaning in suckler calves influences performance in a learning task. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the improved performance after weaning, including relocation, is due to differences in motivation for the reward or in learning abilities. Forty Aubrac calves were used; half of them were weaned from their dams at around eight months, the other half were weaned one month later. After weaning, calves were housed in groups of four in a new setting. From the day after weaning of the last group of calves, the animals were subjected to two tests: (1) an arena test, (2) a T-maze test where one arm led to either a social or a food reward. The T-maze test consisted of three sessions: in Session 1, trials were conducted until the animal acquired the task (i.e. did not take the unrewarded arm on three consecutive trials); in Session 2, the motivation for the reward was assessed via the walking time of the animal to reach the reward; in Session 3, the place of reward was reversed and the animals were trained until they acquired the new task. Calves weaned for one day explored more (P < 0.05) and had lower heart rates during the arena test (P < 0.05) compared to the ones weaned for one month. During the T-maze test, calves weaned for one month versus one day did not differ in their capacities to learn the initial route (Session 1) or in their motivation for either the social or food reward (Session 2). Calves weaned for one day learned significantly faster (P < 0.05) the reversed route (Session 3) than calves weaned for one month. Hence, the better performances at reversal in the T-maze by calves that have just been weaned cannot be accounted for by a higher motivation for the reward. A better cognitive control of their behaviour due to a lower stress state is suggested by our results.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 285
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