toggle visibility Search & Display Options

Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print
  Records Links
Author Mejdell, C.M.; Buvik, T.; Jørgensen, G.H.M.; Bøe, K.E. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2016 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 184 Issue Pages 66-73  
  Keywords Operant conditioning; Blanket; Rug; Thermoregulation; Cognition; Clicker training  
  Abstract This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P<0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2=36.67, P<0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6651  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Capitani, C.; Chynoweth, M.; Kusak, J.; Çoban, E.; Sekercioglu, Ç.H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2016 Publication Mammalia Abbreviated Journal Mammalia  
  Volume 80 Issue 3 Pages 329-334  
  Keywords  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Mammalia Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume 80 Series Issue 3 Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6687  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gleerup, K.B.; Lindegaard, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Recognition and quantification of pain in horses: A tutorial review Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2016 Publication Equine Veterinary Education Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet Educ  
  Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 47-57  
  Keywords horse; pain evaluation; pain scale; pain behaviour; pain face  
  Abstract Summary Pain management is dependent on the quality of the pain evaluation. Ideally, pain evaluation is objective, pain-specific and easily incorporated into a busy equine clinic. This paper reviews the existing knowledge base regarding the identification and quantification of pain in horses. Behavioural indicators of pain in horses in the context of normal equine behaviour, as well as various physiological parameters potentially useful for pain evaluation, are discussed. Areas where knowledge is sparse are identified and a new equine pain scale based on results from all reviewed papers is proposed. Finally, the most important considerations in relation to the implementation of a pain scale in a hospital setting are discussed.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher American Medical Association (AMA) Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0957-7734 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.12383 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6705  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Huebner, F.; Fichtel, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Innovation and behavioral flexibility in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim.Cogn.  
  Volume 18 Issue 3 Pages 777-787  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Innovations and problem-solving abilities can provide animals with important ecological advantages as they allow individuals to deal with novel social and ecological challenges. Innovation is a solution to a novel problem or a novel solution to an old problem, with the latter being especially difficult. Finding a new solution to an old problem requires individuals to inhibit previously applied solutions to invent new strategies and to behave flexibly. We examined the role of experience on cognitive flexibility to innovate and to find new problem-solving solutions with an artificial feeding task in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons). Four groups of lemurs were tested with feeding boxes, each offering three different techniques to extract food, with only one technique being available at a time. After the subjects learned a technique, this solution was no longer successful and subjects had to invent a new technique. For the first transition between task 1 and 2, subjects had to rely on their experience of the previous technique to solve task 2. For the second transition, subjects had to inhibit the previously learned technique to learn the new task 3. Tasks 1 and 2 were solved by most subjects, whereas task 3 was solved by only a few subjects. In this task, besides behavioral flexibility, especially persistence, i.e., constant trying, was important for individual success during innovation. Thus, wild strepsirrhine primates are able to innovate flexibly, suggesting a general ecological relevance of behavioral flexibility and persistence during innovation and problem solving across all primates.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9456 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Huebner2015 Serial 5938  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Aurich, J.; Wulf, M.; Ille, N.; Erber, R.; von Lewinski, M.; Palme, R.; Aurich, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Effects of season, age, sex and housing on salivary cortisol concentrations in horses Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Domestic Animal Endocrinology Abbreviated Journal Domest. Anim. Endocrinol.  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords horse; cortisol; diurnal rhythm; reproduction; housing  
  Abstract Abstract Analysis of salivary cortisol is increasingly used to assess stress responses in horses. Since spontaneous or experimentally induced increases in cortisol concentrations are often relatively small for stress studies proper controls are needed. This requires an understanding of factors affecting salivary cortisol over longer times. In this study, we have analysed salivary cortisol concentration over 6 mo in horses (n = 94) differing in age, sex, reproductive state and housing. Salivary cortisol followed a diurnal rhythm with highest concentrations in the morning and a decrease throughout the day (P < 0.001). This rhythm was disrupted in individual groups on individual days; however, alterations remained within the range of diurnal changes. Comparison between months showed highest cortisol concentrations in December (P < 0.001). Cortisol concentrations increased in breeding stallions during the breeding season (P < 0.001). No differences in salivary cortisol concentrations between non-pregnant mares with and without a corpus luteum existed. In stallions, mean daily salivary cortisol and plasma testosterone concentration were weakly correlated (r = 0.251, P < 0.01). No differences in salivary cortisol between female and male young horses and no consistent differences between horses of different age existed. Group housing and individual stabling did not affect salivary cortisol. In conclusion, salivary cortisol concentrations in horses follow a diurnal rhythm and are increased in active breeding sires. Time of the day and reproductive state of the horses are thus important for experiments that include analysis of cortisol in saliva.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0739-7240 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5847  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lovrovich, P.; Sighieri, C.; Baragli, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Following human-given cues or not? Horses (Equus caballus) get smarter and change strategy in a delayed three choice task Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 166 Issue Pages 80-88  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Highlights

&#65533;Horses remember the location of food hidden by the experimenter after a delay.

&#65533;They understand the communicative meaning of a human positioned close to the target.

&#65533;The same horses are capable of changing their decision-making strategy.

&#65533;They are able to shift from accuracy inferred from human given cues to speed.

&#65533;Horses can use human cues or not depending on time, cost, experience and reward.

Abstract

To date, horses have seemed capable of using human local enhancement cues only when the experimenter remains close to the reward, since they fail to understand the communicative meaning of the human as momentary local enhancement cue (when the human is not present at the moment of the animal's choice). This study was designed to analyse the ability of horses to understand, remember and use human-given cues in a delayed (10&#8197;s) three-choice task. Twelve horses (experimental group) had to find a piece of carrot hidden under one of three overturned buckets after seeing the experimenter hide it. The results were then compared with those of a control group (twelve horses) that had to find the carrot using only the sense of smell or random attempts. At the beginning, the experimental horses made more correct choices at the first attempt, although they took more time to find the carrot. Later the same horses were less accurate but found the carrot in less time. This suggests that the value of the proximal momentary local enhancement cues became less critical. It seemed, in fact, that the experimental and control group had aligned their behaviour as the trials proceeded. Despite this similarity, in the second half of the trials, the experimental group tended to first approach the bucket where they had found the carrot in the immediately preceding trial. Our findings indicate that horses are capable of remembering the location of food hidden by the experimenter after a delay, by using the human positioned close to the target as valuable information. The same horses are also capable of changing their decision-making strategy by shifting from the accuracy inferred from human given cues to speed. Therefore, horses are able to decide whether or not to use human given-cues, depending on a speed-accuracy trade-off.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Elsevier Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2015.02.017 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5849  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Giles, S.L.; Nicol, C.J.; Harris, P.A.; Rands, S.A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Dominance rank is associated with body condition in outdoor-living domestic horses (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Equine; fatness; obesity; social behaviour; displacement  
  Abstract Abstract The aim of our study was to explore the association between dominance rank and body condition in outdoor group-living domestic horses, Equus caballus. Social interactions were recorded using a video camera during a feeding test, applied to 203 horses in 42 herds. Dominance rank was assigned to 194 individuals. The outcome variable body condition score (BCS) was recorded using a 9-point scale. The variables age and height were recorded and considered as potential confounders or effect modifiers. Results were analysed using multivariable linear and logistic regression techniques, controlling for herd group as a random effect. More dominant (p = 0.001) individuals generally had a higher body condition score (p = 0.001) and this association was entirely independent of age and height. In addition, a greater proportion of dominant individuals fell into the obese category (BCS >= 7/9, p = 0.005). There were more displacement encounters and a greater level of interactivity in herds that had less variation in age and height, lending strength to the hypothesis that phenotypic variation may aid cohesion in group-living species. In addition there was a strong quadratic relationship between age and dominance rank (p < 0.001), where middle-aged individuals were most likely to be dominant. These results are the first to link behavioural predictors to body condition and obesity status in horses and should prompt the future consideration of behavioural and social factors when evaluating clinical disease risk in group-living animals.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Giles2015 Serial 5864  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wyss, C. pdf  openurl
  Title Does housing in a „social box“ change faecal cortisol metabolites concentration in stallions? Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords housing system, stallions, social interaction, stress, faecal cortisol metabolites  
  Abstract In order to improve the housing conditions of stallions in individual boxes by offering a possibility to have more social contact, the Swiss national stud farm tested a new box system for horses, allowing increased physical contact with the neighbouring stallion. The aim of this part of the study was to investigate whether this type of housing system (named “social box”) potentially induces a change in stress reactions in stallions compared to conventional boxes. Therefore faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentration was measured as a non-invasive parameter to assess endocrine responses related to this new environment.

Four groups each consisting of eight adult Freiberger breeding stallions were included in the test design. Every stallion spent three weeks in a conventional box and in a social box respectively (cross-over design). The conventional box consisted of a separation wall with a lower opaque part and an upper part with vertical barriers (5 cm between barriers), allowing visual and olfactory contact but strongly limiting tactile contact. The separating wall of the social box consisted of two lateral sections, one part being opaque to the ceiling and the second part consisting of vertical barriers (30 cm between barriers), allowing the horse to have physical contact with its neighbour or to avoid it.

In horses, FCM concentration reflects an average level of circulating cortisol over a period of approximatively 24h. Faecal samples were collected the day following integration in social / conventional boxes, reflecting the potential stress induced by increased social interactions during the integration. In order to asses potential chronical stress, faeces samples were also collected in week one, two and three after the integration into the social / conventional box (in total: 4 samples per horse and housing system). The samples were immediately stored at -20°C until they were analysed. The samples were not analysed in the laboratory until the end of the experiment, therefore the duration of conservation in the freezer varied from 40 to 429 days.

A considerable percentage of data from groups 1 and 2 was below the detection limit (<0.8 ng/g) (Tab. 1). Thus the statistical analysis was conducted with the FCM concentration from groups 3 and 4 (n horses = 16) which contained no values below the detection limit.

Tab. 1: Details about FCM values and storage time for the 4 groups of stallions

Group Storage duration [d] Proportion of data below the detection limit (<0.8 ng/g) Mean [ng/g] Median [ng/g]

Group 1 384-429 55.6 % 2.2 0

Group 2 315-360 25.5 % 5.8 6.3

Group 3 41-79 0.0 % 8.7 8.0

Group 4 40-85 0.0 % 5.8 5.4

Despite the impressive social interactions observed between the stallions directly after being introduced into the social boxes, we did not find any differences in FCM concentration between the stallions being introduced into the conventional box and the social box on the day of integration (social box: n samples = 16, mean±SD: 6.9±4.7 ng/g; conventional box: n samples = 16, mean±SD: 9.0±11.2 ng/g; Wilcoxon signed rank test V = 70, p = 0.94).

Overall the samples taken during integration and in week one, two and three did not show evidence of changes in FCM concentration in either housing system over a longer period of time (social box: n samples = 64, mean±SD: 7.9±6.2 ng/g; conventional box: n samples = 64, mean±SD: 6.6±3.4 ng/g; Linear mixed model (LMM), p = 0.56).

Our results suggest that the possibility of having physical contact with a conspecific does not induce changes in FCM concentration in breeding stallions. The considerable percentage of values below the detection limit in groups 1 and 2 seemed to correlate with the increasing duration of storage before analysis. During the IESM Network Meeting 2015, we would like to discuss possible methodological issues and the possibilities to correctly integrate these low values in the statistical analysis.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Wyss, C. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5869  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Fuchs, C.; Kiefner, C.; Erhard, M.; Wöhr, A.C. pdf  openurl
  Title Narcolepsy – or REM-deficient? Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords narcolepsy, cataplexy, polysomnography, REM-sleep deficiency  
  Abstract Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (loss of muscle tone), sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations, also called the „tetrad of narcolepsy“. Although the pathogenesis is not completely understood, the disorder is well described in humans and it has been shown that a lack of the hormone hypocretin (orexin) synthesized in the hypothalamus is crucial. Narcolepsy with cataplectic attacks has also been reported in dogs, horses, cattle (STRAIN et al., 1984) and a lamb (WHITE und DE LAHUNTA, 2001).

In dogs up to 17 breeds have been shown to be affected sporadically, while familial forms occur in dobermans, labrador retrievers and dachshounds (TONOKURA et al., 2007). In horses there appear to be two syndroms (HINES, 2005), the first in which animals are affected within a few days after birth (possibly a familial form, reported in Suffolk, Shetland ponies, Fell ponies, Warmbloods, Miniature Horse foals (MAYHEW, 2011), Lipizzaner (LUDVIKOVA et al., 2012) and Icelandic horses (BATHEN&#8208;NÖTHEN et al., 2009)) and the second in which animals are affected as adults (adult-onset narcolepsy).

It has been shown that both forms of canine narcolepsy are associated with a deficit in hypocretin/orexin neurotransmission (LIN et al., 1999). In the horse a similar etiology is suspected, but so far there are no studies to support this hypothesis.

The cataplectic attacks in humans and dogs occur during excitement or emotional stimulation such as laughing in humans or eating and playing in dogs. In contrast, the cataplectic or sleep attacks in adult horses happen almost exclusively while resting. The collapses observed in equines vary from drowsiness with hanging of the head, swaying, buckling at the knees or total collapse (see fig.1). Affected horses often show injuries and scars at the dorsal fetlocks, dorsal knees or at the face and the lips. ALEMAN et al. (2008) describe some of the suspected adult-onset narcolepsy cases as possible examples of sporadic idiopathic hypersomnia instead of true narcolepsy.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Fuchs, C. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5871  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author König von Borstel, U.; Kienapfel, K.; McLean, A.; Wilkins, C.; Evans, D.; McGreevy, P. pdf  openurl
  Title Hyperflexing the horse‘s neck: a cost-benefit and meta-analysis Type Conference Article
  Year (down) 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords horse, head-and-neck posture, hyperflexion, welfare, gymnastics  
  Abstract In ethical discussions, a cost-benefit analysis requires that welfare costs associated with an activity can be reliably estimated and balanced against the potential benefits of the activity to both humans and animals. The current study applies a meta-analysis to the peer-reviewed evidence for costs and benefits of hyperflexion of the neck in horses; a practice that has attracted enormous public and scientific scrutiny over the past 15 years. A literature review identified 55 studies dealing with horses’ head and neck postures. Fourty-two of these studies examined the impact of various postures on equine welfare, for example, by assessing behavior, physiological stress parameters, health or rider-horse interaction. Thirty-five studies examined the impact of various postures on gymnastics (e.g. kinematics, shifts in weight distribution, muscle activity, airway functioning or overall workload). For the meta-analysis a dataset containing information from each of the individual studies was created. Data included information such as type, degree, duration and circumstances of hyperflexion applied in that particular study as well as information on the horses (e.g., sport discipline, level of training, breed) and on the study design (e.g., size of study and experimental or epidemiological research design). The results of the study regarding the impact of hyperflexion on a) welfare and b) gymnastics were coded as positive (1), insignificant or contradictory (0) or negative (-1). The significant majority of studies (88%) concluded that a hyperflexed head and neck posture negatively impacts welfare. Just one study suggested welfare advantages of training in a hyperflexed head and neck posture. An analysis using a generalized linear mixed model to assess the influence of the above factors collated in the dataset revealed that none of these factors significantly influenced the probability of a study to detect negative welfare implications. Thus hyperflexing the neck appears to impair horses’ welfare regardless of, for example, the duration or the way of achieving hyperflexion. A concurrent assessment of the evidence for gymnastic benefits showed that approximately one quarter of studies conclude that there may be benefits, while another quarter of the studies conclude that hyperflexion has detrimental effects on gymnastics. Thus, on the costs-side there is a clear reduction in equine welfare and some undesirable gymnastic effects, as well as likely a compromised profile of the equestrian sports in public. Benefits, on the other hand, include some desirable gymnastic effects, and potentially increased control of the horse for the rider. On balance, it appears that the costs associated with hyperflexion exceed the potential benefits of the activity to both humans and horses.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author König von Borstel, U. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5872  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print