Abstract: The first month of training of a young horse is suspected to be stressful, but the endocrine responses to initial training are unknown. Therefore in our study a total of 40 Quarter Horses (QH), all at the age of almost 2 years, were followed during the first 30 days of their training. During this time faecal samples were collected twice daily and faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) were measured. Baseline values of FCM ranged between 1.3 and 20.1 (median: 6.7) ng/g faeces. No differences in FCM values between days of training were found. Mares showed the highest values. Significant diurnal variations were observed in mares (p=0.035) and stallions (p=0.003), but not in geldings (p=0.282). As in this study adrenocortical activity was not increased during initial training, horses seem to cope very well with this new situation. The results of our large-scale study provide basic physiological data about initial training. This gives additional input in an emotional debate about animal welfare aspects of first time handling and training of horses.
Abbreviations: 11,17-DOA = 11,17-dioxoandrostanes; EIA = Enyzme Immunoassay; FCM = faecal cortisol metabolites; GC = glucocorticoids; HPA-axis = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical-axis; QH = Quarter Horses
[Das Einreiten eines jungen Pferdes steht unter Verdacht belastend zu sein. Bisher gibt es aber keine Veröffentlichungen über endokrine Vorgänge während dieser Phase. Mit der vorliegenden Studie wurde überprüft, ob Pferde aufgrund physischer und psychischer Belastungen während des Trainings höhere Konzentrationen an Kortisolmetaboliten im Kot (FCM) aufweisen. Es wurden dazu 40 Quarter Horses im Alter von 2 Jahren während der ersten 30 Tage der Grundausbildung des Westernreitens beobachtet und ihre FCM Werte gemessen. Während dieser Zeitspanne wurden täglich morgens und abends Kotproben der Pferde genommen. Die Basalwerte der FCM Konzentration variierten zwischen 1,3 und 20,1 (Median: 6,7) ng/g Kot, wobei Stuten die höchsten Werte hatten. Signifikante Unterschiede während der einzelnen Trainingstage konnten nicht festgestellt werden. In der Tagesrhythmik wurden signifikante Unterschiede bei Stuten (p=0,035) und bei Hengsten (p=0,003), jedoch nicht bei Wallachen (p=0,282) ermittelt. In dieser Studie konnte keine erhöhte Aktivität der Nebennierenrinde im Verlauf der Grundausbildung eines Pferdes im Westernreitstil festgestellt werden. Das legt nahe, dass Pferde mit dieser neuen, zeitlich kurz andauernden Situationen gut zurechtkommen. Unsere Studie wurde an einer großen Anzahl von Tieren unter Feldbedingungen durchgeführt. Sie bietet daher eine gute Datenbasis über Belastungen während des Einreitens. Damit liefert sie einen zusätzlichen Beitrag zu einer mitunter emotional geführten Debatte über tierschutzrelevante Aspekte bei der Grundausbildung von Pferden.]

Abstract: Cognitive mechanisms are an important part of the organization of the behavior systems of animals. In the wild, animals regularly face problems that they must overcome in order to survive and thrive. Solving such problems often requires animals to process, store, retrieve, and act upon information from the environment--in other words, to use their cognitive skills. For example, animals may have to use navigational, tool-making or cooperative social skills in order to procure their food. However, many enrichment programs for captive animals do not include the integration of these types of cognitive challenges. Thus, foraging enrichments typically are designed to facilitate the physical expression of feeding behaviors such as food-searching and food consumption, but not to facilitate complex problem solving behaviors related to food acquisition. Challenging animals by presenting them with problems is almost certainly a source of frustration and stress. However, we suggest here that this is an important, and even necessary, feature of an enrichment program, as long as animals also possess the skills and resources to effectively solve the problems with which they are presented. We discuss this with reference to theories about the emotional consequences of coping with challenge, the association between lack of challenge and the development of abnormal behavior, and the benefits of stress (arousal) in facilitating learning and memory of relevant skills. Much remains to be done to provide empirical support for these theories. However, they do point the way to a practical approach to improving animal welfare--to design enrichments to facilitate the cognitive mechanisms which underlie the performance of complex behaviors that cannot be performed due to the restrictions inherent to the captive environment.

Abstract: Animal group sizes may exert important effects on various cognitive mechanisms. Group
size is believed to exert pressures on fundamental brain structures that correlate with the
increased social demands placed on animals living in relatively large, complex and dynamic
social organizations. There is strong experimental evidence connecting social complexity,
social learning and development of other cognitive abilities in a broad range of wild and
domesticated animal species. In particular, group size seems to have significant effects on
animals? abilities to derive concrete and abstract relationships. Here, we review the literature
pertaining to cognitive processes and behaviours of various animal species relative to group
size, with emphasis on social learning. It is suggested that understanding the relationship
between group size and cognition in animals may yield practical animal management
benefits, such as housing and conservation strategies, and may also have implications for
improved animal welfare.

Abstract: The use of secondary reinforcement is widely accepted to support operant learning in animals. In farm animals, however, the efficacy of secondary reinforcement has up to now been studied systematically only in horses (“clicker training”), and the results are controversial. We investigated the impact of acoustical secondary reinforcement on voluntary, self-controlled visual discrimination learning of two-dimensional shapes in group-housed dwarf goats (Capra hircus). Learning tests were conducted applying a computer-controlled learning device that was integrated in the animals' home pen. Shapes were presented on a TFT-screen using a four-choice design. Drinking water was used as primary reinforcement. In the control group (Gcontrol, n = 5) animals received only primary reinforcement, whereas in the sound group (Gsound, n = 6) animals got additional acoustical secondary reinforcement. Testing recall of shapes which had been successfully learned by the goats 6 weeks earlier (T1), we found a weak impact of secondary reinforcement on daily learning success (P = 0.07), but not on the number of trials the animals needed to reach the learning criterion (trials to criterion, n.s.). Results in T1 indicated that dwarf goats did not instantly recall previously learned shapes, but, re-learned within 250-450 trials. When learning a set of new shapes (T2), there was a strong influence of secondary reinforcement on daily learning success and on trials to criterion. Animals in Gsound reached the learning criterion earlier (P < 0.05) and needed fewer trials (1320 versus 3700; P < 0.01), compared to animals in Gcontrol. Results suggest that acoustical secondary reinforcement supports visual discrimination learning of dwarf goats, especially when the task is new and the salience of S+ is low.

Abstract: The relationship between facial hair whorl position and reactivity, as assessed by behavioural measures (handling score = HS; startle reaction to a suddenly appearing novel object = SR; latency to touch a novel object = LNO) and heart rate measures (mean HR; increase in heart rate = IHR) were studied using 55 Konik horses reared either under conventional stable conditions or in the forest reserve. Horses were classified into four groups according to the whorl position and/or shape: (1) high, single whorl above the top eye line, n = 9; (2) medium, single whorl between the top and the bottom eye line, n = 30; (3) low, single whorl below the bottom eye line, n = 10; and (4) elongated or double whorl, n = 6. Horses with a high whorl position demonstrated a lesser degree of manageability as expressed by a lower HS compared to individuals with medium (P = 0.002) or low whorl positions (P = 0.016). Horses with different whorl positions did not differ significantly in their startle response to a suddenly appearing novel object (P = 0.685). The horses with an elongated or double whorl, which appeared only in the forest group, took significantly longer to approach the novel object than horses with medium (P = 0.006) or low (P = 0.005) whorl positions. No significant differences in mean HR and IHR between groups (HR: P = 0.629 and IHR: P = 0.214) were found. In conclusion, this study supports the relationship between the position of the hair whorl on the horses' head and their manageability during handling, as well as the latency to approach an unknown object.