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Author Mejdell, C.M.; Buvik, T.; Jørgensen, G.H.M.; Bøe, K.E. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences Type Journal Article
  Year 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.  
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  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6651  
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Author Trösch, M.; Pellon, S.; Cuzol, F.; Parias, C.; Nowak, R.; Calandreau, L.; Lansade, L. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Horses feel emotions when they watch positive and negative horse-human interactions in a video and transpose what they saw to real life Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 23 Issue 4 Pages 643-653  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Animals can indirectly gather meaningful information about other individuals by eavesdropping on their third-party interactions. In particular, eavesdropping can be used to indirectly attribute a negative or positive valence to an individual and to adjust one's future behavior towards that individual. Few studies have focused on this ability in nonhuman animals, especially in nonprimate species. Here, we investigated this ability for the first time in domestic horses (Equus caballus) by projecting videos of positive and negative interactions between an unknown human experimenter (a “positive” experimenter or a “negative” experimenter) and an actor horse. The horses reacted emotionally while watching the videos, expressing behavioral (facial expressions and contact-seeking behavior) and physiological (heart rate) cues of positive emotions while watching the positive video and of negative emotions while watching the negative video. This result shows that the horses perceived the content of the videos and suggests an emotional contagion between the actor horse and the subjects. After the videos were projected, the horses took a choice test, facing the positive and negative experimenters in real life. The horses successfully used the interactions seen in the videos to discriminate between the experimenters. They touched the negative experimenter significantly more, which seems counterintuitive but can be interpreted as an appeasement attempt, based on the existing literature. This result suggests that horses can indirectly attribute a valence to a human experimenter by eavesdropping on a previous third-party interaction with a conspecific.  
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  ISSN 1435-9456 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Trösch2020 Serial 6649  
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Author Bernauer, K.; Kollross, H.; Schuetz, A.; Farmer, K.; Krueger, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) How do horses (Equus caballus) learn from observing human action? Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 23 Issue Pages 1-9  
  Keywords  
  Abstract A previous study demonstrated that horses can learn socially from observing humans, but could not draw any conclusions about the social learning mechanisms. Here we develop this by showing horses four different human action sequences as demonstrations of how to press a button to open a feed box. We tested 68 horses aged between 3 and 12 years. 63 horses passed the habituation phase and were assigned either to the group Hand Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used a hand to press the button, Head Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used the head, Mixed Demo (N = 12) for which a squatting person used both head and hand, Foot Demo (N = 12) in which a standing person used a foot, or No Demo (N = 13) in which horses did not receive a demonstration. 44 horses reached the learning criterion of opening the feeder twenty times consecutively, 40 of these were 75% of the Demo group horses and four horses were 31% of the No Demo group horses. Horses not reaching the learning criterion approached the human experimenters more often than those who did. Significantly more horses used their head to press the button no matter which demonstration they received. However, in the Foot Demo group four horses consistently preferred to use a hoof and two switched between hoof and head use. After the Mixed Demo the horses' actions were more diverse. The results indicate that only a few horses copy behaviours when learning socially from humans. A few may learn through observational conditioning, as some appeared to adapt to demonstrated actions in the course of reaching the learning criterion. Most horses learn socially through enhancement, using humans to learn where, and which aspect of a mechanism has to be manipulated, and by applying individual trial and error learning to reach their goal.  
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  ISSN 1435-9456 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Bernauer2019 Serial 6590  
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Author Jarausch, A.; Harms, V.; Kluth, G.; Reinhardt, I.; Nowak, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) How the west was won: genetic reconstruction of rapid wolf recolonization into Germany's anthropogenic landscapes Type Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Heredity Abbreviated Journal Heredity  
  Volume Issue Pages  
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  Abstract Following massive persecution and eradication, strict legal protection facilitated a successful reestablishment of wolf packs in Germany, which has been ongoing since 2000. Here, we describe this recolonization process by mitochondrial DNA control-region sequencing, microsatellite genotyping and sex identification based on 1341 mostly non-invasively collected samples. We reconstructed the genealogy of German wolf packs between 2005 and 2015 to provide information on trends in genetic diversity, dispersal patterns and pack dynamics during the early expansion process. Our results indicate signs of a founder effect at the start of the recolonization. Genetic diversity in German wolves is moderate compared to other European wolf populations. Although dispersal among packs is male-biased in the sense that females are more philopatric, dispersal distances are similar between males and females once only dispersers are accounted for. Breeding with close relatives is regular and none of the six male wolves originating from the Italian/Alpine population reproduced. However, moderate genetic diversity and inbreeding levels of the recolonizing population are preserved by high sociality, dispersal among packs and several immigration events. Our results demonstrate an ongoing, rapid and natural wolf population expansion in an intensively used cultural landscape in Central Europe.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1365-2540 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Jarausch2021 Serial 6638  
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Author Lagos, L.; Bárcena, F. openurl 
  Title (up) How to reduce wolf predation on wild ponies in Galicia? Type Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Carnivore Damage Prevention News Abbreviated Journal CDPNews  
  Volume 24 Issue Pages 24-31  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6680  
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Author Baragli, P.; Scopa, C.; Maglieri, V.; Palagi, E. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) If horses had toes: demonstrating mirror self recognition at group level in Equus caballus Type Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume Issue Pages  
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  Abstract Mirror self-recognition (MSR), investigated in primates and recently in non-primate species, is considered a measure of self-awareness. Nowadays, the only reliable test for investigating MSR potential skills consists in the untrained response to a visual body mark detected using a reflective surface. Here, we report the first evidence of MSR at group level in horses, by facing the weaknesses of methodology present in a previous pilot study. Fourteen horses were used in a 4-phases mirror test (covered mirror, open mirror, invisible mark, visible colored mark). After engaging in a series of contingency behaviors (looking behind the mirror, peek-a-boo, head and tongue movements), our horses used the mirror surface to guide their movements towards their colored cheeks, thus showing that they can recognize themselves in a mirror. The analysis at the group level, which 'marks' a turning point in the analytical technique of MSR exploration in non-primate species, showed that horses spent a longer time in scratching their faces when marked with the visible mark compared to the non-visible mark. This finding indicates that horses did not see the non-visible mark and that they did not touch their own face guided by the tactile sensation, suggesting the presence of MSR in horses. Although a heated debate on the binary versus gradualist model in the MSR interpretation exists, recent empirical pieces of evidence, including ours, indicate that MSR is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon that appeared once in phylogeny and that a convergent evolution mechanism can be at the basis of its presence in phylogenetically distant taxa.  
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  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 @ Baragli2021 Serial 6631  
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Author López-Bao, J.V.; Sazatornil, V.; Llaneza, L.; Rodríguez, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Indirect Effects on Heathland Conservation and Wolf Persistence of Contradictory Policies that Threaten Traditional Free-Ranging Horse Husbandry Type Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Conservation Letters Abbreviated Journal Conservation Letters  
  Volume 6 Issue 6 Pages 448-455  
  Keywords Farmland biodiversity; heathlands; integration of environmental policies; management of livestock carcasses; traditional land uses; wolf conservation  
  Abstract Abstract Conservation agencies within the European Union promote the restoration of traditional land uses as a cost-effective way to preserve biodiversity outside reserves. Although the European Union pursues the integration of the environment into strategic decision-making, it also dictates sectoral policies that may damage farmland biodiversity. We illustrate this point by outlining the socioeconomic factors that allow the persistence of traditional free-ranging horse husbandry in Galicia, northwestern Spain. Free-ranging Galician mountain ponies provide ecological and socioeconomic services including the prevention of forest fires, the maintenance of heathlands and wolves, and the attenuation of wolf-human conflicts. This traditional livestock system may have persisted because it entails negligible costs for farmers. Wolf predation upon Galician mountain ponies does not threaten farmer's economies and seems to be tolerated better than attacks to more valuable stock. Recently, European Union's regulations on animal welfare, carcass management, or meat production put new economic and administrative burdens on farmers, make free-ranging horse rearing economically unsustainable, and incentivize its abandonment. The aim of the European Union to integrate environmental policies may be successful to preserve farmland biodiversity only through careful anticipation of the side effects of apparently unrelated regulations on the fragile equilibrium that sustain traditional land uses.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1755-263x ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes doi: 10.1111/conl.12014 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6622  
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Author López-Bao, J.V.; Sazatornil, V.; Llaneza, L.; Rodríguez, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Indirect Effects on Heathland Conservation and Wolf Persistence of Contradictory Policies that Threaten Traditional Free-Ranging Horse Husbandry Type Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Conservation Letters Abbreviated Journal Conservation Letters  
  Volume 6 Issue 6 Pages 448-455  
  Keywords Farmland biodiversity; heathlands; integration of environmental policies; management of livestock carcasses; traditional land uses; wolf conservation  
  Abstract Abstract Conservation agencies within the European Union promote the restoration of traditional land uses as a cost-effective way to preserve biodiversity outside reserves. Although the European Union pursues the integration of the environment into strategic decision-making, it also dictates sectoral policies that may damage farmland biodiversity. We illustrate this point by outlining the socioeconomic factors that allow the persistence of traditional free-ranging horse husbandry in Galicia, northwestern Spain. Free-ranging Galician mountain ponies provide ecological and socioeconomic services including the prevention of forest fires, the maintenance of heathlands and wolves, and the attenuation of wolf-human conflicts. This traditional livestock system may have persisted because it entails negligible costs for farmers. Wolf predation upon Galician mountain ponies does not threaten farmer's economies and seems to be tolerated better than attacks to more valuable stock. Recently, European Union's regulations on animal welfare, carcass management, or meat production put new economic and administrative burdens on farmers, make free-ranging horse rearing economically unsustainable, and incentivize its abandonment. The aim of the European Union to integrate environmental policies may be successful to preserve farmland biodiversity only through careful anticipation of the side effects of apparently unrelated regulations on the fragile equilibrium that sustain traditional land uses.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1755-263x ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12014 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6685  
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Author Golynski, M.; Szczepanik, M.P.; Wilkolek, P.M.; Adamek, L.R.; Sitkowski, W.; Taszkun, I. pdf  url
openurl 
  Title (up) Influence of hair clipping on transepidermal water loss values in horses: a pilot study Type Journal Article
  Year 2018 Publication Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume vol. 21 Issue No 1 Pages  
  Keywords horses; transepidermal water loss; clipping  
  Abstract  
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  Publisher University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Place of Publication Editor  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6612  
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Author Scopa, C.; Greco, A.; Contalbrigo, L.; Fratini, E.; Lanatà, A.; Scilingo, E.P.; Baragli, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Inside the Interaction: Contact With Familiar Humans Modulates Heart Rate Variability in Horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Frontiers in Veterinary Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 7 Issue Pages 998  
  Keywords  
  Abstract A human-animal relationship can be developed through subsequent interactions, affected by the positive or negative emotional valence of the proceeding one. Horses implement a process of categorization to classify humans with whom they interact as positive, negative, or neutral stimuli by evaluating the kind of approach and the nature of the contact. In these terms, human-animal interactions are emotionally charged events, eliciting specific emotional states in both subjects involved. Although the human-horse relationship has been mainly investigated through behavioral analysis, physiological indicators are needed for a more objective assessment of the emotional responses. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a commonly used autonomic nervous system (ANS) correlate estimating the sympathovagal balance as a psychophysiological marker of emotion regulation in horses. We have assumed that long-term positive relationships with humans may have a positive and immediate impact on the emotional arousal of the horse, detectable, via ANS activity, during the interaction. We analyzed horses' heartbeat dynamics during their interaction with either familiar or unfamiliar handlers, applying a standardized experimental protocol consisting of three different conditions shifting from the absence of interaction to physical contact. The ANS signals were monitored through an innovative non-invasive wearable system, not interfering with the unconscious emotional response of the animal. We demonstrated that horses appeared to feel more relaxed while physically interacting (e.g., grooming on the right side) with some familiar handlers compared to the same task performed by someone unfamiliar. The shift of the sympathovagal balance toward a vagal predominance suggests that the horses experienced a decrease in stress response as a function not only of the handler's familiarity but also of the type of interaction they are experiencing. These results constitute the objective evidence of horses' capacity to individually recognize a familiar person, adding the crucial role of familiarity with the handler as a paramount component of human-animal interaction. Our rigorous methodological approach may provide a significant contribution to various fields such as animal welfare while further investigating the emotional side of the human-animal relationships.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2297-1769 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6625  
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