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Lansade, L.; Bertrand, M.; Bouissou, M.-F. |
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Title |
Effects of neonatal handling on subsequent manageability, reactivity and learning ability of foals |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
92 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
143-158 |
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Keywords  |
Horse; Neonatal handling; Manageability; Emotional reactivity; Learning-ability; Human-animal relationship |
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Abstract |
Behaviour is an important factor to be taken into account in the various uses of horses. Today horses are mainly used for sport and leisure activities. They should therefore be easy to manage, calm and not fearful. Early handling is known to improve manageability and learning ability and to reduce fearfulness in various species. It has become fashionable in the horse industry to use an early training procedure, referred to as “imprint training”, which is said to produce durable if not permanent effects. However, no studies concerning the long-term effects of such neonatal handling have been carried out in horses. The present study examines the short- and long-term effects of neonatal handling on manageability, general reactivity and learning ability of foals. Twenty-six Welsh foals were studied: 13 were handled daily for 14 days from birth and 13 were non-handled controls. The handling procedure consisted of fitting a halter, gently patting all parts of each foal's body, picking up feet and leading over 40 m. Two days, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the end of the handling period, foals underwent behavioural tests to measure their manageability and various aspects of their reactivity. The results showed that neonatal handling has only short-term effects on manageability: 2 days after the handling period, handled animals were significantly easier to handle than controls for the four parameters measured during this test (time to fit a halter, time to pick up feet, walk ratio that is time during which foal walks under constraint/total time measured during leading and number of defensive reactions). Two parameters (time to fit a halter and walk ratio) were still lower in handled foals than in non-handled foals 3 months later and only one 6 months later (walk ratio). One year later there was no difference between groups. In addition, there was no effect of handling on reactivity at any time of testing or in any of the tests (reaction to isolation from conspecifics, presence of a human, presence of a novel object and to a surprise effect). Finally, neonatal handling did not improve the spatial or discriminative learning abilities measured at 14 months of age. To conclude, the effects of neonatal handling are only temporary. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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841 |
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Author |
Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F.; Erhard, H.W. |
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Title |
Fearfulness in horses: A temperament trait stable across time and situations |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
115 |
Issue |
3-4 |
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182-200 |
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Keywords |
Horse; Temperament; Fearfulness; Novelty; Suddenness; Behavioural tests |
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The purpose of this study was to test the existence of a “fearfulness” trait in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different fear-eliciting situations. It was also to identify which behavioural parameters are the best indicators of this trait. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Of these, 33 Welsh ponies and 21 Anglo-Arabs were also tested at 2.5 years of age. At each age, they were subjected to four test situations. The first test involved the introduction of a novel object in the test pen (novel object test). In the second test, a novel area was placed in the pen between the horse and a bucket of food, to determine the time the horse took to cross the area (novel area test). Finally, the third test consisted in suddenly opening an umbrella in front of the horse while it was eating (surprise test). During these tests, many behavioural parameters were recorded. A fourth test consisted of a surprise test during which the horse was held by a handler while its heart rate was measured. Spearman correlations were used to identify links between behavioural parameters measured during different tests and between different ages. Reactions to the first three tests showed consistency between them and over time. Among all the behavioural parameters measured during these tests, some presented high stability over time and were well correlated with behaviours expressed during other tests, indicating they are the best indicators of a fearfulness trait: the frequency of licking/nibbling the novel object, the time to put one foot on the novel area and to eat from a bucket placed just behind it, and the flight distance and the time to eat under the opened umbrella. The stability across responses expressed in various fear-eliciting events and over time from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggests the existence of a [`]fearfulness' trait in horses. The different indexes of heart rate measured or calculated during the surprise effect present limited stability over time and almost no correlation with the behavioural parameters measured during the other three tests. We conclude that, in contrast to the previously mentioned behaviours, these are not reliable measures of a temperament trait. From a practical point of view, this study shows that it is possible to identify a horse's level of fearfulness as early as 8 months of age using the first three tests. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5167 |
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Valenchon, M.; Lévy, F.; Górecka-Bruzda, A.; Calandreau, L.; Lansade, L. |
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Title |
Characterization of long-term memory, resistance to extinction, and influence of temperament during two instrumental tasks in horses |
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Journal Article |
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2013 |
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Animal Cognition |
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16 |
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6 |
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1001-1006 |
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Personality; Learning; Individuality; Fearfulness; Equid; Cognitive flexibility |
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The present study investigated the influence of temperament on long-term recall and extinction of 2 instrumental tasks in 26 horses. In the first task (backward task), horses learned to walk backward, using commands given by an experimenter, in order to obtain a food reward. In the second task (active avoidance task), horses had to cross an obstacle after a bell rang in order to avoid emission of an air puff. Twenty-two months after acquisition, horses exhibited perfect recall performance in both tasks. Accordingly, no influence of temperament on recall performance could be observed for either task. In contrast, in the absence of positive or negative outcomes, the horses’ ability to extinguish their response to either task was highly variable. Resistance to extinction was related to some indicators of temperament: The most fearful horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the backward task, while the least sensitive horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the active avoidance task. These findings reveal extensive long-term memory abilities in horses and suggest an influence of temperament on learning processes other than acquisition. |
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5735 |
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Vidament, M.; Yvon. J.-M.; Roche, H.; Le Bon, H.; Menard, C.; Delfosse, A.; Dubois, C.; Sabot, J.; Lansade, L. |
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Title |
Temperament of stallions: relation with age, breed and level of riders |
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Conference Article |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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in press |
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temperament, age, breed, fear, gregarity |
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Temperament is an important factor when working with horses. Behavioral tests have been developed to measure certain dimensions in horses. Relations between temperament and ability to riding activity have been highlighted (Lansade 2008a). The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the effect of age on temperament, 2) to verify that temperament are related to breeds 3) to check if the ease to be ridden is in relation with temperament, on a first set of data. Five dimensions of temperament have been measured in 98 field stallions (Table 1). They were tested as described by Lansade (2008 a,b): fearfulness/curiosity (tests: crossing a novel aera, suddenly opening an umbrella, novel object), gregariousness (test: isolation), locomotor activity (during the other tests), reactivity/curiosity to a non familiar human (tests: passive and active human), tactile (Von Frey filament) and auditory sensitivities. Table 1: Number of stallions according to breed (or group of breeds) and age. Breeds or groups of breeds Young (<13 years) Old (>=13 <20 years) Merens 1 15 10 Leasure horse breeds 2 13 10 Jumping pony breeds 3 / 20 Jumping horse breeds4 9 10 Arabians / 11 Total 37 61 (1) Merens : french mountain horse breed (2) Appaloosa, Barbe, Lusitanian, Polish, Paint (3) French Saddle Pony, Connemara, New Forest, Welsh (4) French Saddle Horse, Anglo-Arab, KWPN, Foreign breeds Effect of age. Due to imbalanced data, only stallions from 3 breed groups were compared (29 young ones selected at random and 30 old ones). Young stallions presented a higher emotivity (more elevated distance/intensity of the flight after umbrella opening (P=0.001)) and curiosity (more sniffings/nibblings the passive human (P=0.04) and the novel object (P<0.0001)) compared to old ones. Relation with breed groups. In young stallions, differences were noted : in the number of trots during social isolation (P=0.001) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.005). Merens had smaller values than Jumping horses for these 2 variables. In older stallions, differences were also noted: in the number of sniffings/nibblings the novel object (P=0.04), in the manner to cross the novel aera (P=0.03), in the distance and intensity of the flight after umbrella opening (P=0.04), in the number of trots during isolation (P=0.02) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.03). Merens had lower reactivity compared: 1) to Arabians (for novel aera) and 2) compared to Jumping ponies and Jumping horses (for isolation and tactile sensitivity). Minimal level of rider. Stallions of all ages and breeds were divided into 3 groups according to the level of riders able to ride them safely, according to a questionnaire: beginners, intermediate level and pre-national competition level. Stallions adapted to beginners showed lower values in the number of trots during isolation (P=0.02) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.03) than stallions rode by pre-competition level riders. Conclusion : The intensity of fear reactions to suddenness decreased with age. Differences between breeds and eases of use have been related to temperament measurements. |
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Corporate Author |
Vidament, M. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
Place of Publication |
Wald |
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Krueger, K. |
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978-3-9808134-26 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5525 |
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