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Author VanDierendonck, M.C.; de Vries, H.; Schilder, M.B.H.; Colenbrander, B.; Þorhallsdóttir, A.G. and Sigurjónsdóttir, H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Interventions in social behaviour in a herd of mares and geldings Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2009 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 116 Issue 1 Pages 67-73  
  Keywords Horses; Social relationships; Interventions; Mares; Geldings; Play; Allogrooming; Social network  
  Abstract Social dynamics and maintenance of social cohesion were studied by analysing social interventions in two groups of horses consisting of adult mares, their offspring, adult geldings and sub-adults. The animals were observed for a total of 1316 h. All relevant dyadic and triadic social interactions, including initial behaviour, possible intervention and outcome, were recorded. The main question was: do horses use interventions in affiliative interactions to safeguard their social network? Horses were significantly more likely to intervene in allogrooming or play interactions that involved a preferred partner. The stronger the preferred association in allogrooming, the higher the likelihood the intervener took over allogrooming with an initial dyad member. Interveners originating from two newly introduced groups (n = 3 and 5), intervened significantly more often when a member of their own group allogroomed with an unfamiliar horse. In play, no correlation with unfamiliarity was found. Overall, the intervening horses stopped more than half of the initial allogrooming interactions, and a third of all interactions. Therefore, social facilitation cannot sufficiently explain interference behaviour. This study shows that maintaining relationships with preferred partners is important to horses and has implications for equine husbandry and management.  
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  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4766  
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Author Uller, C.; Lewis, J. doi  openurl
  Title Horses (Equus caballus) select the greater of two quantities in small numerical contrasts Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2009 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 12 Issue 5 Pages 733-738  
  Keywords Quantity representation – Horses – Number discrimination  
  Abstract Abstract  The ability to select the greater numerosity over another in small sets seems to stem from the calculation of which set contains more, and has been taken as evidence of a primordial representation at the roots of the primate numerical system. We tested 56 horses (Equus caballus) in a paradigm previously used with human infants and nonhuman primates. Horses saw two quantities paired in contrasts—2 versus 1, 3 versus 2, 6 versus 4 and a control for volume, 2 versus 1 big—and had to make a choice by snout touching the container holding the numerosity selected. The horses spontaneously selected the greater of the two quantities when the numerosities were small. These results add to evidence showing spontaneous quantity assessment in a variety of species.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5028  
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Author Proops, L.; McComb, K.; Reby, D. pdf  openurl
  Title Cross-modal individual vocal recognition in the domestic horse Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords social cognition, animal-human interaction, horses, attention  
  Abstract Horses fulfill many of the criteria for a species in which it would be adaptive to be capable of individual recognition: they are highly social, form strong and long lasting bonds, their affiliations are rarely kin based, they have a fission-fusion social structure and they possess inter and intra-group dominance hierarchies.

We used a novel cross-modal, expectancy violation paradigm to provide the first systematic evidence that a non-human animal – the domestic horse- is capable of cross modal recognition. We believe this paradigm could provide an ideal way to study individual recognition across a wide range of species.

For full published details see: Proops L, McComb K, Reby D (2009) Cross-modal individual recognition in domestic horses (Equus caballus). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106: 947-951.
 
  Address Centre for Mammal Vocal Communication Research, Psychology department,  
  Corporate Author Proops, L Thesis  
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  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4469  
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Author Fazio, E.; Medica, P.; Cravana, C.; Giacoppo, E.; Ferlazzo, A. pdf  openurl
  Title Effect of Short-Distance Road Transport on Thyroid Function, Rectal Temperature, Body Weight and Heart Rate of Stallions Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords horses, iodothyronines, rectal temperature, body weight, heart rate, transport  
  Abstract Aim of study was to investigate the effects of transport stress on thyroid response, body weight, rectal temperature and heart rate changes in one hundred twenty-six healthy stallions in basal conditions, before and after short road transport. One hundred twenty-six Thoroughbreds and crossbreds stallions with previous travelling experience, aged 4 to 15 yr, were transported by road in a commercial trailer for a period of 3 h (distance <300 km). Blood samples and physiological parameters were collected at 0800 (basal I) and at 1100 (basal II), in each horse“s box, one week before the loading and transport in basal conditions, and one week later, at 0800 immediately before loading (pre-transport), and after 3 h period of transport and unloading, on their arrival at the breeding stations (post-transport), in each new horse”s box, within 30 min. Increases in circulating T3, T4 and fT4 levels (P < 0.01), but not for fT3 levels, were observed after transport, as compared to before loading values, irrespective of different breed. Lower T4 and fT4 levels were observed in basal II (P < 0.01) than basal I and before loading values (pre-transport). After transport Thoroughbreds showed higher fT3 (P < 0.05) and fT4 (P < 0.01) levels than crossbred stallions. No significant differences for T3 and T4 changes were observed. A significant increase in rectal temperature (P < 0.01) and heart rate (P < 0.05) was observed after transport, as compared to before loading values (pre-transport). No differences between basal I, basal II and before loading values (pre-transport) for physiological parameters were observed.

The highest T3, T4 and fT4 levels recorded after short transport seem to suggest a preferential release from the thyroid gland. The results indicate that short road transport stress contributes significantly to thyroid hormone changes, according to different breed, and to the increase in rectal temperature and heart rate. No differences related to different age were observed.
 
  Address Department of Morphology, Biochemistry, Physiology and Animal Production – Unit of Veterinary Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy  
  Corporate Author Cravana, C. Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4494  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Takimoto, A.; Fujita, K. pdf  openurl
  Title Are horses (Equus caballus) sensitive to human attentional states? Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Horses; Attentional state; Begging behavior  
  Abstract The ability to reliably detect what others are attending to seems important for social species to interact with their partners. Domestic horses (Equus caballus) have lived with humans for over five thousand years, hence they might have developed sensitivity to human attention. In the present study, we investigated whether horses would discriminate the situation in which a human experimenter could see them from the situation in which she could not. Specifically, we tested whether horses understand the role of eyes in human attentional states, produce more visual gestures when the experimenter can see their begging behaviors and produce more auditory or tactile gestures when she can not. We used with a slight modification the paradigm that previously yielded support for chimpanzee understanding of human attention (Hostetter et al. 2007). Twelve horses were offered food by the experimenter who showed various attentional states in front of them. We scored frequency of begging behaviors by the horses. In experiment 1, we set three kinds of condition: hand over the eyes, hand over the mouth and away. In the last condition there was only a food in front of horses, which was a control condition. The results showed that horses produced more auditory or tactile begging behaviors when the experimenter“s eyes were not visible than when her eyes were visible, but there was no difference in visual begging behaviors. In experiment 2, we set two kinds of condition: eyes closed and eyes open. The horses also produced more auditory or tactile begging behaviors when the experimenter”s eyes were closed than when they were open. However, there was no difference in visual begging behaviors. These results show that horses discriminate the situation in which humans can see from that in which humans can not. Of special interest, horses increased only auditory or tactile behaviors, not all types of communicative behaviors, when the experimenter could not see their begging behaviors. This result suggests that horses are sensitive to human attentional states. Moreover, horses may do recognize the eyes as an important indicator of whether or not humans will respond to their behavior and they may be able to behave flexibly depending upon human attentional states  
  Address Kyoto University  
  Corporate Author Takimoto, A. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4481  
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Author Granquist,S.M.; Sigurjónsdóttir, H; Thórhallsdóttir, A.G. pdf  openurl
  Title Social structure and interactions within groups of horses containing a stallion Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Social interactions,, Stallions, Hierarchy, Icelandic horses  
  Abstract Earlier research indicates that stallions might either prevent social interactions between mares in their

herds directly or indirectly by their presence (Feist and McCullough, 1976; Sigurjonsdottir et al.,

2003) The impact of stallions on the social interactions between harem members was studied in 6

groups of Icelandic horses in 2004, 2006 and 2007 for altogether 525 hours. Four of the groups were

permanently living together under semi-feral conditions, while two were temporary breeding groups. In

addition, temporary and permanent groups were compared and the effect of the stability of the group

on the social behaviour of horses was investigated .

The results show that stallions seldom intervene directly in social interactions between harem

members. However, the hierarchies were less rigid and fewer friendship bonds were found in the

groups compared to what has been found in groups without stallions in Iceland. These results give

some support to our prediction that the stallion does indirectly suppress social interactions of herd

members.

The stability of the group was found to affect the aggression rate, since a higher aggression rate was

found in the temporary groups compared to the permanent groups. The number of preferred

allogrooming partners of the horses was also affected to some extent, as a significantly lower number

of allogrooming partners was found in the most unstable group compared to all the other groups. The

results have significance for further research in the field of social structure of mammals, and may also

be applied in the management of horses and other domestic animals.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Sigurjónsdóttir, H Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Fullpaper Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4487  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Malara, L.; De Pasquale, A.; Ingala, A.; Innella, G. pdf  openurl
  Title The influence of management on horse behavioural reactivity in therapeutic riding programs. Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Management; Horses; Therapeutic Riding; Behaviour; Reactivity  
  Abstract We investigated 8 horses in five therapeutic riding centres situated in San Cataldo (Caltanissetta – I), Nicosia (Catania – II), Pellaro (Reggio Calabria – III), San Gregorio (Catania – IV), Niguarda Hospitals (Milan – V). The managements of the animals were of different typologies: Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3. In type 1 the horses were used for therapeutic riding only. Furthermore intra and interspecific social interactions were not allowed. In type 2 the horses played kinetic activities and made social interactions. In type 3 the horses were free in paddock, as intra and interspecific social interactions were allowed. The centre I, with a management of type 1, housed 1 horse (A1); the centre II, with a management of type 2, housed 1 horse (B2); the centre III, with a management of type 1, housed 1 horse (C1); the centre IV, with a management of type 2, housed 2 horses (D2 and E2); the centre V, with a management of type 3, housed 3 horses (F3, G3 and H3). Breeds of horses were: Anglo-Arab (n°1), Avelignese (n°3), Italian Selle (n°3), draught-horse crossbreed (n°1). They were 2 geldings and 6 females. Their ages ranged from 12 to 23 years. We observed a total of 64 patients affected by different pathologies: autism, motory handicap, blindness and deafness, children“s cerebral paralysis, relational problems, mental deficiency, Down”s syndrome.

The horses“ behaviour was observed at rest and during therapeutic activities with these patients. The Heart Rate (HR) was used as physiological parameter for an ethological evaluation, measured by a telemetric heart rate monitor (Polar Horse Trainer). Horses were analysed with a reactivity test for emotional homeostasis evaluation, too. Heart rate values were studied with non parametrical statistical analysis methods.

Distinct management typologies provided statistically different basal mean values of heart rate (intergroup and intragroup): Type 1 vs Type 2 (P~0.05) and Type 1 vs Type 3 (P<0.05). The comparison of heart rate during therapeutic activities of diverse management showed the following results: A1 vs B2 (P<0.05), B2 vs C1 (P<0.05), Type 1 vs Type 2 (P<0.01). Different managements, both in the same or different typologies, gave significantly diverse results (A1 vs E2: P~0.05; C1 vs E2: P~0.05; B2 vs E2: P~0.05).

This study shows that the statistic differences obtained by therapies with autistic patients derive from management conditions of Type 1. In reactivity test there aren”t any significant differences among the three management typologies. However, we recorded strong variation between medium and maximum values of heart rate, especially in Type 1 and Type 2 of management.

These high variations of heart rate indicated fear reaction of the horse to new stimuli.

This reaction could lead to dangerous accidents for patients during therapeutic activities.

Horses used in therapeutic riding programs must be evaluated before this employment. Horse's behaviour can be assessed by an ethological observation and a reactivity test. Furthermore, the horses must be guaranteed welfare conditions and must live in an environment enriched with sensorial stimuli and respectful of their physiological and ethological needs.
 
  Address Dept. of Experimental Sciences and Applied Biotechnologies, Unit of Applied Physiology and Comparative Ethology , Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Messina, Italy.  
  Corporate Author Innella, G. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4491  
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Author Proops, L.; McComb, K.; Reby, D. pdf  openurl
  Title Horse-human interactions: Attention attribution and the use of human cues by domestic horses (Equus caballus). Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords social cognition; animal-human interaction; horses; attention  
  Abstract Recent research has shown that domestic dogs are particularly good at reading human attentional cues, often outperforming chimpanzees and hand reared wolves [1, 2]. It has been suggested that the close evolutionary relationship between humans and dogs has led to the development of this ability, however very few other species have been studied [3]. We tested the ability of 24 domestic horses to discriminate between an attentive and inattentive person when choosing whom to approach for food. While the attentive person faced forwards, the inattentive person either stood with their body turned 180° away from the subject (body orientation condition), stood with their body facing forwards but their head facing away (head orientation condition) or stood facing forwards but with their eyes closed (eyes closed condition). A fourth, mixed condition was included where the attentive person stood with their body facing away from the subjects but their head turned towards the subject while the inattentive person stood with their body facing the subject but their head turned away. Horses chose the attentive person significantly more often using the body cue (n = 24, k = 19, p = 0.003), the head cue (n = 24, k = 18, p = 0.011), and the eye cue (n = 24, k = 19, p = 0.003) but not the mixed cue (n = 24, k = 13, p = 0.42). In an additional pilot study, horses were tested in an object choice task. A human experimenter cued one of two buckets by either tapping the bucket (tap condition), orienting their body towards the bucket and pointing (body and point condition), pointing while facing forwards (point condition) or orienting their body towards the bucket (body condition). If the subjects chose the correct bucket they were rewarded. Subjects were able to use the tap cue (n = 31, k = 21, p = 0.035), body + point cue (n= 31, k = 21, p = 0.035) and the point cue (n = 30, k = 21, p = 0.021) but not the body cue (n = 31, k = 11, p = 0.076). These results taken together suggest that domestic horses are also very sensitive to human attentional cues, including gaze.

Keywords:

social cognition, animal-human interaction, horses, attention attribution, domestication

1. Hare, B., Brown, M., Williamson, C., and Tomasello, M. (2002). The domestication of social cognition in dogs. Science 298, 1634-1636.

2. Gacsi, M., Miklosi, A., Varga, O., Topal, J., and Csanyi, V. (2004). Are readers of our face readers of our minds` Dogs (Canis familiaris) show situation-dependent recognition of human’s attention. Animal Cognition 7, 144-153.

3. Hare, B., and Tomasello, M. (2005). Human-like social skills in dogs? Trends Cogn. Sci. 9, 439-444.
 
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  Corporate Author Proops, L. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Poster IESM 2008 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4502  
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Author De Boyer Des Roches, A.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Henry, S.; Ezzaouia, M.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Laterality and emotions: visual laterality in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) differs with objects' emotional value Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2008 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal Physiol. Behav.  
  Volume 94 Issue 3 Pages 487-490  
  Keywords Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Dominance, Ocular/*physiology; *Emotions; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Female; Horses/*physiology; Olfactory Pathways/physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Pregnancy; Statistics, Nonparametric; Visual Fields/physiology  
  Abstract Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects according to their emotional value and a clear asymmetry in visual exploration. When exploring the novel object, mares used preferentially their right eyes, while they showed a slight tendency to use their left eyes for the negative object. No asymmetry was evidenced for the object with the positive valence. A trend for an asymmetry in olfactory investigation was also observed. Our data confirm the role of the left hemisphere in assessing novelty in horses like in many vertebrate species and the possible role of the right hemisphere in processing negative emotional responses. Our findings also suggest the importance of both hemispheres in the processing positive emotions. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate clearly that the emotional valence of a stimulus induces a specific visual lateralization pattern.  
  Address UMR CNRS 6552 Ethologie-Evolution-Ecologie, Universite de Rennes 1, Avenue du General Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France. a.de-boyer@wanadoo.fr  
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  ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:18455205 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4762  
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Author Spadavecchia, C.; Arendt-Nielsen, L.; Spadavecchia, L.; Mosing, M.; Auer, U.; van den Hoven, R. doi  openurl
  Title Effects of butorphanol on the withdrawal reflex using threshold, suprathreshold and repeated subthreshold electrical stimuli in conscious horses Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2007 Publication Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia Abbreviated Journal Vet Anaesth Analg  
  Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 48-58  
  Keywords Analgesics, Opioid/pharmacology; Animals; Butorphanol/*pharmacology; Consciousness; Electric Stimulation; Electromyography; Female; Forelimb/physiology; Horses/*physiology; Male; Pain/veterinary; Pain Threshold/*drug effects; Reflex/*drug effects  
  Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a single intravenous dose of butorphanol (0.1 mg kg(-1)) on the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) using threshold, suprathreshold and repeated subthreshold electrical stimuli in conscious horses. STUDY DESIGN: 'Unblinded', prospective experimental study. ANIMALS: Ten adult horses, five geldings and five mares, mean body mass 517 kg (range 487-569 kg). METHODS: The NWR was elicited using single transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the palmar digital nerve. Repeated stimulations were applied to evoke temporal summation. Surface electromyography was performed to record and quantify the responses of the common digital extensor muscle to stimulation and behavioural reactions were scored. Before butorphanol administration and at fixed time points up to 2 hours after injection, baseline threshold intensities for NWR and temporal summation were defined and single suprathreshold stimulations applied. Friedman repeated-measures analysis of variance on ranks and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used with the Student-Newman-Keul's method applied post-hoc. The level of significance (alpha) was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Butorphanol did not modify either the thresholds for NWR and temporal summation or the reaction scores, but the difference between suprathreshold and threshold reflex amplitudes was reduced when single stimulation was applied. Upon repeated stimulation after butorphanol administration, a significant decrease in the relative amplitude was calculated for both the 30-80 and the 80-200 millisecond intervals after each stimulus, and for the whole post-stimulation interval in the right thoracic limb. In the left thoracic limb a decrease in the relative amplitude was found only in the 30-80 millisecond epoch. CONCLUSION: Butorphanol at 0.1 mg kg(-1) has no direct action on spinal Adelta nociceptive activity but may have some supraspinal effects that reduce the gain of the nociceptive system. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Butorphanol has minimal effect on sharp immediate Adelta-mediated pain but may alter spinal processing and decrease the delayed sensations of pain.  
  Address Anesthesiology Section, Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. claudia.spadavecchia@veths.no  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  ISSN 1467-2987 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17238962 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 92  
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