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Author Henry, S.; Hemery, D.; Richard, M.-A.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Human-mare relationships and behaviour of foals toward humans Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 93 Issue 3-4 Pages 341-362  
  Keywords Horse; Human-animal relationship; Maternal influence; Early experience; Social facilitation  
  Abstract We studied experimentally whether horse dams influenced foals' relationships with humans. We investigated the influence of the establishment of positive human-mare relationships on foals' behaviour toward humans. Forty-one foals and their dams were involved in this experiment. Half of the mares were softly brushed and fed by hand during a short period (total of 1.25 h) during the first 5 days of their foals' lives (experimental group, n = 21). The other mares were not handled experimentally and their foals received no contact with the experimenter (control group, n = 20). The reactions of both experimental and control foals were recorded under various conditions, first, for 5 min in the presence of a motionless experimenter, when foals were 15 and 30-35 days old, then in an approach test when they were 15 days old and in a saddle-pad tolerance test when they were 30-35 days old. Finally, approach-stroking tests were performed successively by the familiar experimenter when foals were 11-13 months old and by an unfamiliar person when they were 13-15 months old. Several observations strongly suggest that mares can influence their foals' behaviour toward humans: (1) during the handling procedure, experimental foals of protective mares were further from the handler than foals of calm mares (p < 0.001); (2) experimental foals remained, at all ages, closer to the experimenter (p < 0.05) and initiated more physical contacts (sniffing, licking, etc.) with the experimenter (p < 0.05) than control foals; (3) avoidance and flight responses of experimental foals were considerably reduced during approaches by the experimenter (p < 0.01) and they accepted saddle-pads on their backs more easily (p < 0.01) and more quickly (p < 0.01) than control foals. Lastly, the consequences of handling mares had effects that lasted at least until foals were one year old (p < 0.05) and became generalized from experimenter to unfamiliar humans, who could approach and stroke experimental foals rapidly during a test (p < 0.05). This is the first report of an attempt to use observation of mother by foals to facilitate human-foal relationships. The procedure is simple, takes little time and can easily be applied to any dam-foal pair, as it is not intrusive and presents no risks of disrupting mare-foal bonds.  
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  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 331  
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Author Christensen, J.W.; Keeling, L.J.; Nielsen, B.L. doi  openurl
  Title Responses of horses to novel visual, olfactory and auditory stimuli Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 93 Issue 1-2 Pages 53-65  
  Keywords Horses; Novelty responses; Fear; Behaviour; Heart rate  
  Abstract Responses of horses towards fear-eliciting stimuli can have important consequences for both human and horse safety. This experiment was designed to investigate behavioural and heart rate (HR) responses of horses to novel visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli. Twenty-four 2-year-old, previously unhandled, stallions were habituated to receive a food reward from a container in a test arena. Each horse was exposed to three 2 min tests in a balanced design where in addition to the feed container, either a traffic cone (visual test), white noise (auditory test) or eucalyptus oil applied to the inside of the container (olfactory test) were used as the novel stimuli. Compared to the control, less time was spent eating during all tests. There was no difference in locomotion activity in the different test situations, but presentation of the novel visual and auditory stimuli elicited significantly increased HR responses in the horses, compared to their response to the arena without novel stimuli (control), whereas there was no increase in HR response to the olfactory stimulus. However, during the olfactory test, the horses had an increased number of eating bouts and became more vigilant towards their surroundings, whereas during the visual and auditory tests, more time was spent alert towards the stimulus. The horses also took significantly more steps backwards in response to the auditory test. The heart rate responses correlated between tests and reflect a non-differentiated activation of the sympathetic nervous system, while the behavioural responses were linked to the type of stimulus.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2256  
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Author Thorne, J.B.; Goodwin, D.; Kennedy, M.J.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P. doi  openurl
  Title Foraging enrichment for individually housed horses: Practicality and effects on behaviour Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 94 Issue 1-2 Pages 149-164  
  Keywords Horse; Foraging behaviour; Eating; Feeding; Enrichment; Welfare  
  Abstract The stabled (UK) or stalled (USA) horse is commonly fed a restricted-forage diet in contrast to the varied ad libitum high-fibre diet it evolved to consume. A low-forage diet has been linked to the performance of stereotypical behaviour and health problems including gastric ulceration and impaction colic (in cases where horses are bedded on straw). Provision of a diet closer to that which the horse is adapted to and which enables more natural feeding behaviour warrants investigation. This trial aimed to establish whether the behavioural effects observed in short-term trials when stabled horses were provided with a multiple forage diet persist over longer periods. It also aimed to develop a practical methodology for maintaining stabled horses under forage-enriched conditions. Nine horses (aged 5-20 years, various breeds), acting as their own controls, participated in an 18-day, cross-over, Latin Square designed trial, in which they received comparable weights of two dietary treatments: a Single Forage (SF, hay) diet and a Multiple Forage (MF) diet (three long-chop and three short-chop commercially available forages). Following a 2-day acclimatisation, horses were maintained on the forage treatments for 7 days. Horses were observed on alternate days, morning and afternoon, during the 25 min following forage presentation. Horses then crossed over onto their second treatment and, following a further 2 days' acclimatisation, the same protocol was followed for a further 7 days. Observations from video were made using The Observer 3.0(R) and SPPS (version 11). Horses on the MF treatment performed foraging behaviour significantly more frequently and for significantly longer periods than horses on the SF treatment. On the MF treatment horses sampled all forages during observations. However, there were significant differences in the frequency and duration of foraging on individual forages, indicating that horses demonstrated individual preferences for particular forages. Stereotypic weaving behaviour only occurred on the SF treatment. The results indicate that the potentially beneficial behavioural effects of short-term multiple forage provision do persist when horses are managed on a MF diet for a 7-day period. They suggest that a MF diet provides a means of enriching the stabled horse's environment, by offering variety and enabling patch foraging behaviour. The methodology proved practical for maintaining horses under forage-enriched conditions and could easily be adopted by horse owners to facilitate foraging behaviour.  
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  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 333  
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Author Dumont, B.; Boissy, A.; Achard, C.; Sibbald, A.M.; Erhard, H.W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Consistency of animal order in spontaneous group movements allows the measurement of leadership in a group of grazing heifers Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 95 Issue 1-2 Pages 55-66  
  Keywords Cattle; Grazing; Leadership; Movement order; Walking  
  Abstract The term `leadership' has been used in several different senses, resulting in very different ways of identifying leaders and apparently inconsistent conclusions on how leadership is determined in herbivores. We therefore propose the following definitions: (i) a leader is the individual that is consistently the one who initiates long-distance, spontaneous group movements toward a new feeding site and (ii) long-distance spontaneous group movements are movements which happen when an animal changes activity and location and is immediately followed by a similar change in activity and location by other members of the group. Using these definitions, we tested for consistency of movement order across time and situation within a group of fifteen 2-year-old heifers. We found that the same individual was recorded as the very first animal in 48% of movements toward a new feeding site and could therefore be identified as the `leader'. We also showed that movement order when the animals entered an experimental plot, or progressed slowly through the field during a grazing bout, did not produce the same result. This method, which enables us to identify leaders in groups of animals at pasture, should improve our knowledge of how leadership is determined in grazing herbivores.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.029 Serial 2027  
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Author Nicol, C.J.; Badnell-Waters, A.J.; Bice, R.; Kelland, A.; Wilson, A.D.; Harris, P.A. doi  openurl
  Title The effects of diet and weaning method on the behaviour of young horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 95 Issue 3-4 Pages 205-221  
  Keywords Horse; Diet; Weaning; Temperament test  
  Abstract The effects of diet on horse behaviour have not previously been quantified in detail. In this study, we examined the behaviour of 17 foals from the age of 2 to 40 weeks. Each foal received either a starch and sugar (SS) diet or a fat and fibre (FF) diet. The two diets contained similar digestible energy, crude protein and micronutrients, but differed in the fat and non-structural carbohydrate balance. The baseline behaviour of the foals was observed every 2 weeks by focal animal sampling. Additional behavioural observations were conducted when the foals were weaned by one of two methods. Approximately 2 months after weaning, the temperament and tractability of the young horses was assessed using standardised tests. Responses to a novel object, to a novel person, and during a handling test were observed and quantified. Horses grew well on both diets with no apparent effects of diet on growth rate or baseline behaviour. Immediately after weaning, horses receiving the FF diet cantered less frequently (F = 5.10; p < 0.05), for a shorter duration (F = 7.23; p < 0.05) and appeared to be more settled. Foals that were barn-weaned appeared more stressed than foals that were paddock-weaned. In the temperament tests, horses receiving the FF diet spent significantly more time investigating (F = 6.78; p < 0.05), and less time looking at (F = 7.93; p < 0.05), the novel object than horses receiving the SS diet. They also spent less time walking away from the novel person (F = 5.16; p < 0.05) and their time taken to complete the handling test was significantly lower (F = 8.72; p = 0.01). Overall, the horses that received the FF diet appeared less distressed immediately after weaning and seemed calmer and more inquisitive during a range of temperament tests.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3642  
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Author Goodwin, D.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P. doi  openurl
  Title Selection and acceptance of flavours in concentrate diets for stabled horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 95 Issue 3-4 Pages 223-232  
  Keywords Horse; Flavour; Diet; Selection; Acceptance  
  Abstract Like most large grazing herbivores, horses select their food based on visual cues, odour, taste, texture, availability and variety. There is relatively little published information about the role of flavour in diet selection by domestic horses in comparison with other domestic and companion animals. However, previous trials investigating effects of diet flavour in stabled horses indicated significant effects on foraging behaviour and selection. In this series of three trials we aimed to determine relative acceptance by presenting flavour preference tests to eight horses. Horses were stabled and fed hay ad lib on trial data collection days plus a standard unflavoured concentrate ration at 7:30 a.m. In Trial 1, 15 flavours were separately presented in standard 100 g cereal by-product meals and the trial was replicated. Quantity consumed, time of completion, partial rejection or refusal were recorded. Order of presentation was determined by a Latin Square design. Trial data were collected on five sampling days, separated by a minimum of 1 day. Horses were presented with six flavoured meals daily; minimum 1 h between the meals. Twelve flavours were universally accepted and of these the eight flavours with fastest mean consumption times (banana, carrot, cherry, cumin, fenugreek, oregano, peppermint and rosemary) were presented in paired preference tests in Trial 2. In Trial 2, all paired combinations of the eight flavours were presented, in two tests per day at noon and 4 p.m. Presentations of the same flavour were separated by at least 1 day. Paired presentations were in 300 g cereal by-product. Presentations were terminated when approximately half of the total amount presented had been consumed. Flavour preferences were expressed as a ratio from 0 (rejection) to 1 (exclusive consumption). Paired flavour preferences produced the following rank order: fenugreek, banana, cherry, rosemary, cumin, carrot, peppermint, oregano. In Trial 3, relative consumption times of mineral pellets flavoured with fenugreek and banana were significantly reduced in comparison with unflavoured pellets. In these short-term trials, flavour had significant effects on diet acceptance, selection and consumption times.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3643  
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Author Lehmann, K.; Kallweit, E.; Ellendorff, F. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Social hierarchy in exercised and untrained group-housed horses--A brief report Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 96 Issue 3-4 Pages 343-347  
  Keywords Horses; Social hierarchy; Exercise; Group-housing  
  Abstract Changes in social hierarchy were evaluated in a herd of 3-year-old Hanoverian geldings. One group (n = 5) was exposed to a training programme, the other (n = 5) remained untrained. After 6 months, the groups were reversed. Hierarchical positions were evaluated by field observations and/or paired-feeding tests at the beginning, the middle, the end of the first and at the end of the second training period. Both methods yielded identical results. Almost all horses changed position in only one direction: either up or down. Neither increase in aggression nor mutual injuries were recorded during the whole experiment. No statistically verified differences in dominance ranking occurred between trained and untrained groups, but apparent differences were consistent. Thus, if horses are kept in the same group for a longer period of time, exercise induced changes in hierarchy are probably of minor importance and are unlikely to increase the incidence of injuries. This may have implications for the promotion of group-housing for sport horses.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 800  
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Author McCall, C.A.; Hall, S.; McElhenney, W.H.; Cummins, K.A. doi  openurl
  Title Evaluation and comparison of four methods of ranking horses based on reactivity Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume (up) 96 Issue 1-2 Pages 115-127  
  Keywords Horse; Reactivity tests; Heart rate; Emotionality; Temperament  
  Abstract Four methods of ranking horses on reactivity were evaluated and compared: isolation from conspecifics, presentation of a static novel stimulus, traversing a novel stimulus in a runway (isolation, novel stimulus and runway tests, respectively) and assigning subjective emotionality scores. In all tests, horses' heart rates were recorded and behaviour was videotaped. To be considered a valid test of reactivity, at least one heart rate and one behavioural measurement in the test had to change significantly between treatments (tranquilizer administation versus sham tranquilizer administration), and behavioural measures had to be displayed in at least 75% of the trials. Forty horses performed each of the three tests daily on three different days in a switchback design. Horses were assigned randomly to a daily test sequence, which was maintained throughout the study. In the runway test, no significant difference in heart rate values in tranquilized and non-tranquilized horses was found, and no behavioural attribute was displayed in more than 52% of the trials; therefore it was rejected as a valid test of reactivity. Both isolation and novel stimulus tests produced valid measurements. Mean heart rate was the most precise physiological measure for these tests, and walking and defecation frequency were the most precise behavioural measures for novel stimulus and isolation tests, respectively. Mean heart rates on the novel stimulus and isolation tests were correlated (rs = 0.79, P < 0.01) indicating that these tests produced similar rankings based on physiological responses. However, behavioural measures ranked horses differently (rs = 0.27, P < 0.10) on the tests. Rank correlations between mean heart rates and behavioural measures were higher in the novel stimulus (rs = 0.66, P < 0.01) than the isolation test (rs = 0.55, P < 0.01), indicating that the novel stimulus test ranked horses based on either physiological or behavioural responses more similarly than did the isolation test. Therefore, the novel stimulus test was considered the more accurate evaluation of reactivity. Subjective emotionality scores were correlated moderately with mean heart rates (rs > 0.33, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus and isolation tests and with walking scores (rs = 0.47, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus test. Assignment of subjective emotionality scores was not as accurate as the novel stimulus or isolation tests in ranking horses for reactivity. Using physiological data alone, combining physiological and behavioural measurements or using more than one behavioural measurement in reactivity tests may reflect the reactivity of the horse better than a single behavioural measurement.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3578  
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Author Minero, M.; Zucca, D.; Canali, E. url  doi
openurl 
  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 (up) 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. url  doi
openurl 
  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 (up) 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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  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4815  
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