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Smith, D. G., & Pearson, R. A. (2005). A review of the factors affecting the survival of donkeys in semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Trop Anim Health Prod, 37 Suppl 1, 1–19.
Abstract: The large fluctuations seen in cattle populations during periods of drought in sub-Saharan Africa are not evident in the donkey population. Donkeys appear to have a survival advantage over cattle that is increasingly recognized by smallholder farmers in their selection of working animals. The donkey's survival advantages arise from both socioeconomic and biological factors. Socioeconomic factors include the maintenance of a low sustainable population of donkeys owing to their single-purpose role and their low social status. Also, because donkeys are not usually used as a meat animal and can provide a regular income as a working animal, they are not slaughtered in response to drought, as are cattle. Donkeys have a range of physiological and behavioural adaptations that individually provide small survival advantages over cattle but collectively may make a large difference to whether or not they survive drought. Donkeys have lower maintenance costs as a result of their size and spend less energy while foraging for food; lower energy costs result in a lower dry matter intake (DMI) requirement. In donkeys, low-quality diets are digested almost as efficiently as in ruminants and, because of a highly selective feeding strategy, the quality of diet obtained by donkeys in a given pasture is higher than that obtained by cattle. Lower energy costs of walking, longer foraging times per day and ability to tolerate thirst may allow donkeys to access more remote, under-utilized sources of forage that are inaccessible to cattle on rangeland. As donkeys become a more popular choice of working animal for farmers, specific management practices need to be devised that allow donkeys to fully maximize their natural survival advantages.
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Houpt, K. A. (2006). Why horse behaviour is important to the equine clinician. Equine Vet J, 38(5), 386–387.
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Scheibe, K. M., & Gromann, C. (2006). Application testing of a new three-dimensional acceleration measuring system with wireless data transfer (WAS) for behavior analysis (Vol. 38).
Abstract: A wireless acceleration measurement system was applied to free-moving cows and horses. Sensors were available as a collar and a flat box for measuring leg or trunk movements. Results were transmitted simultaneously by radio or stored in an 8-MB internal memory. As analytical procedures, frequency distributions with standard deviations, spectral analyses, and fractal analyses were applied. Bymeans of the collar sensor, basic behavior patterns (standing, grazing, walking, ruminating, drinking, and hay uptake) could be identified in cows. Lameness could be detected in cows and horses by means of the leg sensor. The portion of basic and harmonic spectral components was reduced; the fractal dimension was reduced. The system can be used for the detection and analysis of even small movements of free-moving humans or animals over several hours. It is convenient for the analysis of basic behaviors, emotional reactions, or events causing flight or fright or for comparing different housing elements, such as floors or fences.
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Christensen, J. W., Rundgren, M., & Olsson, K. (2006). Training methods for horses: habituation to a frightening stimulus. Equine Vet J, 38(5), 439–443.
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Responses of horses in frightening situations are important for both equine and human safety. Considerable scientific interest has been shown in development of reactivity tests, but little effort has been dedicated to the development of appropriate training methods for reducing fearfulness. OBJECTIVES: To investigate which of 3 different training methods (habituation, desensitisation and counter-conditioning) was most effective in teaching horses to react calmly in a potentially frightening situation. HYPOTHESES: 1) Horses are able to generalise about the test stimulus such that, once familiar with the test stimulus in one situation, it appears less frightening and elicits a reduced response even when the stimulus intensity is increased or the stimulus is presented differently; and 2) alternative methods such as desensitisation and counter-conditioning would be more efficient than a classic habituation approach. METHODS: Twenty-seven naive 2-year-old Danish Warmblood stallions were trained according to 3 different methods, based on classical learning theory: 1) horses (n = 9) were exposed to the full stimulus (a moving, white nylon bag, 1.2 x 0.75 m) in 5 daily training sessions until they met a predefined habituation criterion (habituation); 2) horses (n = 9) were introduced gradually to the stimulus and habituated to each step before the full stimulus was applied (desensitisation); 3) horses (n = 9) were trained to associate the stimulus with a positive reward before being exposed to the full stimulus (counter-conditioning). Each horse received 5 training sessions of 3 min per day. Heart rate and behavioural responses were recorded. RESULTS: Horses trained with the desensitisation method showed fewer flight responses in total and needed fewer training sessions to learn to react calmly to test stimuli. Variations in heart rate persisted even when behavioural responses had ceased. In addition, all horses on the desensitisation method eventually habituated to the test stimulus whereas some horses on the other methods did not. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Desensitisation appeared to be the most effective training method for horses in frightening situations. Further research is needed in order to investigate the role of positive reinforcement, such as offering food, in the training of horses.
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Pritchard, J. C., Barr, A. R. S., & Whay, H. R. (2006). Validity of a behavioural measure of heat stress and a skin tent test for dehydration in working horses and donkeys (Vol. 38).
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Dehydration and heat stress are serious welfare issues for equids working in developing countries. There is a lack of any standardised method or validated interpretation of the skin tent test in horses and donkeys. Owners of dehydrated and heat-stressed animals often depend on veterinary examination for identification of these conditions, leading to delays in treatment and unnecessary reliance on external sources to effect welfare improvement. OBJECTIVES: To validate a standardised skin tent test for dehydration and a behavioural measure of heat stress in working equids; and to examine the effect of heat stress and dehydration on tripping and staggering behaviour. METHODS: The study was carried out on 130 working horses and donkeys in Pakistan. Associations between skin tent and blood parameters (packed cell volume [PCV], serum total protein [TP], serum osmolality), clinical parameters, resting and drinking behaviour were examined. Heat stress behaviour (increased respiratory rate and depth, head nodding, flared nostrils, apathy) was observed in conjunction with rectal temperature. Tripping and staggering were assessed using a simple obstacle course. RESULTS: In both species, heat stress behaviour was significantly associated with increased rectal temperature (P<0.001). A positive skin tent test was not significantly associated with PCV or TP, although in donkeys it was significantly associated with lower serum osmolality (P<0.001). More animals age >15 years had a positive skin tent than those in younger age groups (P = 0.037). Very thin horses were more likely to have a positive skin tent than those in thin or moderate condition (P = 0.028). There was no significant correlation between skin tent and tripping or staggering in either species. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Heat stress behaviour is related to increased body temperature in working horses and donkeys. Owners may use this to make judgements regarding rest and cooling, precluding the need to seek veterinary attention. The skin tent test for dehydration used in this study did not show a significant relationship with PCV or TP. However, the use of blood parameters to validate the skin tent test may be confounded by anaemia, hypoproteinaemia or electrolyte depletion. Alternative methods are needed to confirm or refute the validity of the skin tent test in working equids.
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Momozawa, Y., Takeuchi, Y., Tozaki, T., Kikusui, T., Hasegawa, T., Raudsepp, T., et al. (2007). SNP detection and radiation hybrid mapping in horses of nine candidate genes for temperament. Anim Genet, 38(1), 81–83.
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Hubbell, J. A. E., & Muir, W. W. (2006). Antagonism of detomidine sedation in the horse using intravenous tolazoline or atipamezole. Equine Vet J, 38(3), 238–241.
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: The ability to shorten the duration of sedation would potentially improve safety and utility of detomidine. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of tolazoline and atipamezole after detomidine sedation. HYPOTHESIS: Administration of tolazoline or atipamezole would not affect detomidine sedation. METHODS: In a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, descriptive study, detomidine (0.02 mg/kg bwt i.v.) was administered to 6 mature horses on 4 separate occasions. Twenty-five mins later, each horse received one of 4 treatments: Group 1 saline (0.9% i.v.) as a placebo control; Group 2 atipamezole (0.05 mg/kg bwt i.v.); Group 3 atipamezole (0.1 mg/kg bwt i.v.); and Group 4 tolazoline (4.0 mg/kg bwt i.v.). Sedation, muscle relaxation and ataxia were scored by 3 independent observers at 9 time points. Horses were led through an obstacle course at 7 time points. Course completion time was recorded and the ability of the horse to traverse the course was scored by 3 independent observers. Horses were videotaped before, during and after each trip through the obstacle course. RESULTS: Atipamezole and tolazoline administration incompletely antagonised the effects of detomidine, but the time course to recovery was shortened. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Single bolus administration of atipamezole or tolazoline produced partial reversal of detomidine sedation and may be useful for minimising detomidine sedation.
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Robertson, S. (2006). The importance of assessing pain in horses and donkeys. Equine Vet J, 38(1), 5–6.
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Mills, D. S. (2007). Comments about the importance of behaviour to equine clinicians. Equine Vet J, 39(1), 95.
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Hedberg, Y., Dalin, A. - M., Ohagen, P., Holm, K. R., & Kindahl, H. (2005). Effect of oestrous-cycle stage on the response of mares in a novel object test and isolation test. Reprod Domest Anim, 40(5), 480–488.
Abstract: In various species, sex, hormonal treatments and oestrous-cycle stage have been shown to affect the animal's response in behavioural tests. Few such studies have been performed in the horse. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether oestrous-cycle stage affects mares' response to a novel object test and isolation test and, in part, to study whether mares, assumed to suffer from oestrous-related behavioural problems, respond differently in these tests when compared with controls. Twelve mares were tested twice, in oestrus and dioestrus, in a crossover design. Seven behavioural and two heart rate variables were measured for the novel object test and two heart rate variables for the isolation test. Oestrous-cycle stage and whether a mare was classified as a 'problem' mare did not affect the mare's response. However, test order, i.e. the cycle stage a mare was tested in first, affected its reaction. This effect could partly be explained by significant differences between test occasions 1 and 2 in three behavioural variables and one heart rate variable (p < 0.05) in the novel object test. The mares explored the novel object more and had a higher mean heart rate in the first test. Exploring the novel object more could largely be attributed to those mares tested in dioestrus first, perhaps indicating that the mares in oestrus were less receptive to the novel object. The reason for the differences between test occasions could be an effect of learning or habituation.
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