Abstract: Social licking patterns of heifer and steer herds were observed and recorded during periods of resting and intermittent feeding. The results revealed the following features: (1) heifers and steers had 15.0 and 15.2 social licking interactions per hour which lasted for 37.8 and 41.0 s on average, respectively. The average time an animal spent licking was about 25 s per hour; (2) all the animals in the herds were licked by others, but only 72.3% of the animals licked other animals; (3) the animals close in the social hierarchy tended to lick each other for a longer time than did remote animals; (4) the time receiving l licking and weight gain tended to be positively correlated. The observations suggest that (1) the motivation of giving licking may be individual-specific and may be influenced by genetic factors, while that of receiving licking appears to be general, and that (2) social licking may mean not only cleaning the skin and hair of a passive partner, but also leading it to psychological stability.

Abstract: This experiment was designed to determine if a horse could learn the location of grain by watching another horse find grain in one of two feed buckets. Both experimental and control groups contained 9 quarter horses consisting of five 2-year-old mares, two 2-year-old geldings, and two 3-year-old geldings. Two mature geldings were used as “demonstrators”. An “experimental” was a horse that could watch three times daily another horse, the “demonstrator”, choose between and eat grain from a black or white bucket, only one of which contained grain. A “control” was a horse that could watch a demonstrator in the same arena for 3 min daily when both feed buckets were removed. When the demonstrator was removed on each of 15 successive days, the experimental or control horse was given five trials to determine if it could find the feed bucket with grain. No significant difference between experimentals and controls occurred for both first and total correct choices and for time to reach the feed bucket with grain. We conclude that no observational learning occurred. This experiment was also used to determine if the identity of horses that learned rapidly by trial and error could be predicted by the time it took to reach the feed bucket with grain. Data from the last three trials of experimentals and controls were combined. Significantly less time to find feed was needed by horses with more than the median number of correct choices. Both number of correct choices and time needed to contact a feed bucket summed over the first 5 days accurately predicted the same data summed over the last 10 days. We conclude that horses that learn rapidly by trial and error make correct choices rapidly, and that these horses can by identified after 5 days of testing.

Abstract: Forty weanling Quarter Horses, from the Pitchfork Ranch, Dickens, Texas, were randomly assigned to one of five groups based on the amount of handling they would receive. The five groups were: (1) limited handling; (2) 1 week of handling; (3) 2 weeks of handling; (4) 3 weeks of handling; (5) continuous handling for 18 months. As 2-year-olds, the horses were tested in a simple place-learning T-maze after being preconditioned. A maximum of 30 daily trials were conducted for 20 consecutive days, with feed location alternating between sides on successive days. If a horse met the criterion of 11 out of 12 correct responses with 8 correct responses being consecutive, it was retired without completing the 30 trials. Group 1 made fewer correct responses during the 20 days than any other group except Group 3. All groups achieved learning by Day 10, but the most-handled group reached a consistently higher percentage of correct responses earlier than the less-handled groups. Group 5, the group receiving the most handling, was the least emotional, as determined by the animals' reactivity to a novel stimulus, and received the highest scores for trainability after being ridden. Preconditioning trainability scores, or estimates of the horses' ability to learn prior to conditioning and testing, tended to predict maze-learning ability. These scores were also significantly correlated with post-maze training scores.

Abstract: Sixteen Quarter Horses were randomly divided into two groups after sorting by age and sex. After a 10-day preconditioning period, each animal was scored for emotionality and trainability. Each group then completed a series of learning tasks in a modified T-maze for 20 consecutive days. Group P/D was initially tested on a simple place-learning task, while Group D/P was trained in a visual discrimination task. The groups were tested alternately on the two tasks with 10-day extinction periods between each task. Upon reaching a criterion of 11 of 12 correct responses (the last 8 responses consecutive), a horse was retired for the day. If this criterion was not attained, the horse completed 20 trials. Learning occurred at a faster rate on the discrimination tasks compared to the gradual learning curves observed on place tasks. Animals learned more rapidly and reached higher levels of performance as the series of tasks progressed. Trainability and emotionality scores tended to predict the final level of learning achieved. Correlations of performance ranks within emotionality and training groups were higher between tasks of the same type than between the different tasks. Rank correlations between odd and even days on each task indicated that the within-group rankings were more consistent on the discrimination task than on the place task.

Abstract: Individual differences in shading behaviour within a flock of sheep could be due to differences in thermoregulatory capabilities or to the influence of social factors. The possible influence of social factors on shade-use is examined in this paper. Two measures of dominance were made on 39 Merino wethers. These were based on the hierarchy determined by butting during feeding and on priority of access to limited feed. Leadership was also assessed while driving the sheep to a woolshed and as the sheep entered weighing scales. These behavioural traits were compared with leadership to shade and shade-use observed on 9 days during summer in a small pastureless enclosure containing natural shade. Maximum ambient temperature on these 9 days varied between 29.0 and 39.5[degree sign]C. All behavioural traits examined were significantly repeatable. The two dominance ranks were negatively correlated (P<0.05). The butting hierarchy was correlated with shading behaviour; those sheep that butted the larger proportion of the flock were seen to shade for longer periods of time (P=0.05). This relationship became more significant as environmental temperature increased. Significant (P<0.05) differences in the amount of time each sheep spent shading were evident throughout the flock, but in particular seven individuals shaded much less than others. Shade-use increased in hot weather and was slightly more strongly correlated with radiation load than with air temperature. The non-shading leadership ranks were related neither to each other nor to the leadership to shade. However, the sheep that moved to shade first remained there longest (P<0.05). Reduced motivation to feed did not appear to explain early movement to shade. Few overtly aggressive or other interactions between animals were seen to be associated with movements to or within shade. Nonetheless, the results indicate that social forces do exert some influence on shade-use.