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Schwenk, B. K., Fürst, A. E., & Bischhofberger, A. S. (2016). Traffic accident-related injuries in horses. Equine Med., 32(3), 192–199.
Abstract: Horses involved in road traffic accidents (RTAs) are commonly presented to veterinarians with varying types of injuries. The aim
of this study was describe the pattern and severity of traffic accident-related injuries in horses in a single hospital population. Medical
records of horses either hit by a motorized vehicle or involved in RTAs whilst being transported from 1993 to 2015 were retrospectively
reviewed and the following data was extracted: Signalement, hospitalisation time, month in which the accident happened, cause of the
accident, place of the accident and type of vehicle hitting the horse. Further the different body sites injured (head, neck, breast, fore limb,
abdomen, back and spine, pelvis and ileosacral region, hind limb, tail and genital region), the type of injury (wounds, musculoskeletal
lesions and internal lesions) and the presence of neurological signs were retrieved from the medical records. 34 horses hit by motorized
vehicles and 13 horses involved in RTAs whilst being transported were included in the study. Most of the accidents where horses were hit
by motorized vehicles occurred during December (14.7%) and October (14.7%), horses were most commonly hit by cars (85.3%) and the
majority of accidents occurred on main roads (26.5%). In 29.4% of the cases, horses had escaped from their paddock and then collided
with a motorized vehicle. Most of the accidents with horses involved in RTAs whilst being transported occurred during April (30.8%) and
June (23.1%). In 76.9% of the cases the accident happened on a freeway. In the horses hit by motorized vehicles the proximal hind limbs
were the body site most commonly affected (44.1%), followed by the proximal front limbs (38.2%) and the head (32.4%). When horses
were involved in RTAs whilst being transported the proximal fore limbs (61.5%), the proximal hind limbs (53.8%) and the distal hind limbs,
back and head (38.5% each) were the most common injured body sites. Wounds were the most common type of injury in both groups
(85.3% hit by motorized vehicle, 76.9% transported ones). In horses hit by a motorized vehicle 35.3% suffered from fractures, in 20.6%
a synovial structure was involved and in 5.9% a tendon lesion was present. 14.7% suffered from internal lesions and 14.7% showed neurologic
symptoms (40% peripheral, 60% central neurologic deficits). On the other hand, in horses involved in a RTA whilst being transported
30.8% suffered from fractures. There were no synovial structures injured and no tendon injuries were present. Furthermore there were
no internal lesions present and only one horse involved in a RTA showed central neurologic symptoms. Injuries of horses being hit by a
motorized vehicle were more severe than when horses were protected by a trailer and involved in a RTA whilst being transported. The study
has been able to identify the different injury types of traffic accident-related injuries in horses. Awareness of the nature of these injuries is
important, to avoid underestimation of their severity.
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Imbert, C., Caniglia, R., Fabbri, E., Milanesi, P., Randi, E., Serafini, M., et al. (2016). Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy. Biological Conservation, 195, 156–168.
Abstract: Thanks to protection by law and increasing habitat restoration, wolves (Canis lupus) are currently re-colonizing Europe from the surviving populations of Russia, the Balkan countries, Spain and Italy, raising the need to update conservation strategies. A major conservation issue is to restore connections and gene flow among fragmented populations, thus contrasting the deleterious consequences of isolation. Wolves in Italy are expanding from the Apennines towards the Alps, crossing the Ligurian Mountains (northern Italy) and establishing connections with the Dinaric populations. Wolf expansion is threatened by poaching and incidental killings, mainly due to livestock depredations and conflicts with shepherds, which could limit the establishment of stable populations. Aiming to find out the factors affecting the use of livestock by wolves, in this study we determined the composition of wolf diet in Liguria. We examined 1457 scats collected from 2008 to 2013. Individual scats were genotyped using a non-invasive genetic procedure, and their content was determined using microscopical analyses. Wolves in Liguria consumed mainly wild ungulates (64.4%; in particular wild boar Sus scrofa and roe deer Capreolus capreolus) and, to a lesser extent, livestock (26.3%; in particular goats Capra hircus). We modeled the consumption of livestock using environmental features, wild ungulate community diversity, husbandry characteristics and wolf social organization (stable packs or dispersing individuals). Wolf diet varied according to years and seasons with an overall decrease of livestock and an increase of wild ungulate consumption, but also between packs and dispersing individuals with greater livestock consumption for the latter. The presence of stable packs, instead of dispersing wolves, the adoption of prevention measures on pastures, roe deer abundance, and the percentage of deciduous woods, reduced predation on livestock. Thus, we suggest promoting wild ungulate expansion, the use of prevention tools in pastures, and supporting wolf pack establishment, avoiding lethal control and poaching, to mitigate conflicts between wolf conservation and husbandry.
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Hoelker, S. (2016). Typologie der deutschen Pferdehaltung – Eine empirische Studie mittels Two-Step-Clusteranalyse. Berichte über Landwirtschaft Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft, 94(3).
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Marinsek, N. L., Gazzaniga, M. S., & Miller, M. B. (2016). Chapter 17 – Split-Brain, Split-Mind. In S. Laureys, O. Gosseries, & G. Tononi (Eds.), The Neurology of Conciousness (Second Edition) (pp. 271–279). San Diego: Academic Press.
Abstract: The corpus callosum anatomically and functionally connects the two cerebral hemispheres. Despite its important role in interhemispheric communication however, severing the corpus callosum produces few--if any--noticeable cognitive or behavioral abnormalities. Incredibly, split-brain patients do not report any drastic changes in their conscious experience even though nearly all interhemispheric communication ceases after surgery. Extensive research has shown that both hemispheres remain conscious following disconnection and the conscious experience of each hemisphere is private and independent of the other. Additionally, the conscious experiences of the hemispheres appear to be qualitatively different, such that the consciousness of the left hemisphere is more enriched than the right. In this chapter, we offer explanations as to why split-brain patients feel unified despite possessing dual conscious experiences and discuss how the divided consciousness of split-brain patients can inform current theories of consciousness.
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Mejdell, C. M., Buvik, T., Jørgensen, G. H. M., & Bøe, K. E. (2016). Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 184, 66–73.
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.
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Capitani, C., Chynoweth, M., Kusak, J., Çoban, E., & Sekercioglu, Ç. H. (2016). Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey. Mammalia, 80(3), 329–334.
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Mori, E., Benatti, L., Lovari, S., & Ferretti, F. (2016). What does the wild boar mean to the wolf? European Journal of Wildlife Research, 63(1), 9.
Abstract: Generalist predators are expected to shape their diets according to the local availability of prey species. In turn, the extent of consumption of a prey would be influenced by the number of alternative prey species. We have tested this prediction by considering the wild boar and the grey wolf: two widespread species whose distribution ranges overlap largely in Southern Europe, e.g. in Italy. We have reviewed 16 studies from a total of 21 study areas, to assess whether the absolute frequency of occurrence of wild boar in the wolf diet was influenced by (i) occurrence of the other ungulate species in diet and (ii) the number of available ungulate species. Wild boar turned out to be the main prey of the wolf (49% occurrence, on average), followed by roe deer (24%) and livestock (18%). Occurrence of wild boar in the wolf diet decreased with increasing usage of roe deer, livestock, and to a lower extent, chamois and red deer. The number of prey species did not influence the occurrence of wild boar in the wolf diet. The wild boar is a gregarious, noisy and often locally abundant ungulate, thus easily detectable, to a predator. In turn, the extent of predation on this ungulate may not be influenced so much by the availability of other potential prey. Heavy artificial reductions of wild boar numbers, e.g. through numerical control, may concentrate predation by wolves on alternative prey (e.g. roe deer) and/or livestock, thus increasing conflicts with human activities.
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Gleerup, K. B., & Lindegaard, C. (2016). Recognition and quantification of pain in horses: A tutorial review. Equine Vet Educ, 28(1), 47–57.
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.
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Stachurska, A., Janczarek, I., Wilk, I., & Kedzierski, W. (2015). Does Music Influence Emotional State in Race Horses? Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 35(8), 650–656.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of music featured in the barn, on the emotional state of race horses. Seventy 3-year-old Purebred Arabian horses in their first race season were divided into experimental group (EXP) of 40 horses and control group (CNT) of 30 horses and placed in separate barns. The EXP was subject to specifically composed music featured in the barn for 5 hours in the afternoon during the whole study. The emotional state in the horses was assessed at rest, saddling, and warm-up walk under rider. Measurements were taken six times, every 30 to 35 days, starting from the beginning of featuring the music. The horse's emotional state was assessed by cardiac activity variables. The music effect on the emotional state was also considered with regard to the horse's performance estimated by race records. The cardiac activity variables were compared with repeated measures design, whereas race records were analyzed with analysis of variance generalized linear model. The music positively affected the emotional state in race horses. The influence was noticeable already after the first month of featuring the music and increased in the second and third months. Despite the fact that later the variables began to return to initial levels, a positive effect of the music on prizes won by the horses in the EXP compared to the CNT was found (P < .05). The results suggest that the music may be featured in the barn, preferably for 2 to 3 months as a means of improving the welfare of race horses.
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Ahrendt, L. P., Labouriau, R., Malmkvist, J., Nicol, C. J., & Christensen, J. W. (2015). Development of a standard test to assess negative reinforcement learning in horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 169, 38–42.
Abstract: Most horses are trained by negative reinforcement. Currently, however, no standardised test for evaluating horses' negative reinforcement learning ability is available. The aim of this study was to develop an objective test to investigate negative reinforcement learning in horses. Twenty-four Icelandic horses (3 years old) were included in this study. The horses were tested in a pressure-release task on three separate days with 10, 7 and 5 trials on each side, respectively. Each trial consisted of pressure being applied on the hindquarter with an algometer. The force of the pressure was increased until the horse moved laterally away from the point of pressure. There was a significant decrease in required force over trials on the first test day (P<0.001), but not the second and third day. The intercepts on days 2 and 3 differed significantly from day 1 (P<0.001), but not each other. Significantly stronger force was required on the right side compared to the left (P<0.001), but there was no difference between first and second side tested (P=0.56). Individual performance was evaluated by median-force and the change in force over trials on the first test day. These two measures may explain different characteristics of negative reinforcement learning. In conclusion, this study presents a novel, standardised test for evaluating negative reinforcement learning ability in horses.
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