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Author R. A. Hopkins url  openurl
  Title CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS SYSTEM Type Manuscript
  Year Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume M174 Issue Pages  
  Keywords Feral Horse Equus caballus  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 476  
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Author Christensen, J.W.; Zharkikh, T.; Ladewig, J.; Yasinetskaya, N. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Social behaviour in stallion groups (Equus przewalskii and Equus caballus) kept under natural and domestic conditions Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 76 Issue 1 Pages 11-20  
  Keywords Domestic horse; Przewalski horse; Stallion group; Social behaviour; Equus caballus; Equus przewalskii  
  Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate social behaviour in differently reared stallions in their respective environments; one group of stallions was reared under typical domestic conditions whereas the other group was reared and lives under natural conditions. The domestic group consisted of 19, 2-year-old stallions (Equus caballus), which were all weaned at 4 months of age and experienced either individual or group housing facilities before being pastured with the other similarly aged stallions. The natural living and mixed age group of Przewalski stallions (E. przewalskii) consisted of 13 stallions, most of which were juveniles (n=11, <=4 years; n=2, >9 years). The domestic group was studied in a 4-ha enclosure at the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences and the Przewalski group under free-ranging conditions in a 75-ha enclosure in the Askania Nova Biosphere Reserve, Ukraine. Behavioural data was collected during 168 h of direct observation. The occurrence of 14 types of social interactions was recorded and group spacing behaviour was studied using nearest neighbour recordings. In spite of very different environments, reflecting domestic and natural rearing conditions, many similarities in behaviour was found. Play and play fight behaviour was very similar in the two stallion groups. Quantitative differences were found in social grooming since Przewalski stallions groomed more frequently (P=0.004), and in investigative behaviours, since domestic stallions showed more nasal (P=0.005) and body sniffing (P<0.001), whereas Przewalski stallions directed more sniffing towards the genital region (P<0.001). These differences may, however, be attributed to environmental factors and in the period of time the stallions were together prior to the study period. Quantitative differences appeared in some agonistic behaviours (kick threat, P<0.001; and kick, P<0.001), but data do not support earlier findings of Przewalski horses being significantly more aggressive than domestic horses. In general, Przewalski stallions engaged in more social interactions, and they showed less group spacing, i.e. maintained a significantly shorter distance between neighbours (P<0.001). The study indicates that also domestic horses, which have been reared under typical domestic conditions and allowed a period on pasture, show social behaviour, which is very similar to that shown by their non-domestic relatives.  
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  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 776  
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Author Krueger, K. pdf  isbn
openurl 
  Title Social learning and innovative behaviour in horses Type Conference Article
  Year 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords social learning, innovative behaviour, Equus caballus, cognitive capacities  
  Abstract The evaluation of important parameters for measuring the horses’ cognitive capacities is one of the central topics of the equine behaviour team at Nürtingen-Geislingen University. Social complexity has been said to be one of the settings in which needs for cognitive capacities arise in animals. A variety of studies throughout the last two decades proved the horses’ social complexity to be far more elaborate than previously assumed. Horses form social bonds for the protection of offspring, intervene in encounters of others, identify group mates individually and easily orientate in a fission fusion society.

In such socially complex societies, animals will benefit from learning socially. In many bird and primate species the degree of social complexity correlates nicely with the species abilities for social learning. Social learning was, therefore, argued to be an indicator for elaborate mental capacities in animals. We were delighted to prove that horses actually copy social behaviour and techniques for operating a feeding apparatus from older and higher ranking group members. In a recent study we found young horses, at the age of 3 to 12, to copy the operation of a feeding apparatus from a human demonstrator. Social learning seems to work nicely in horses when the social background of the animals is considered.

The degree to which individual animals adapt to changes in their social or physical environment by finding innovative solution appears to be the other side of the coin, of whether animals adjust to challenges by social learning. It is not very astonishing, that along with the animals’ social complexity and their ability to learn socially also the degree to which they show innovative behaviour was claimed to be one of the most important demonstrations of advanced cognitive capacities. In a recent approach, we started to ask horse owners and horse keepers in many countries to tell us about unusual behaviour of their horses via a web site (http://innovative-behaviour.org). To date, we received 204 cases of innovative behaviour descriptions from which six cases were clear examples of tool use or borderline tool use. We categorized the innovative behaviours into the classes, a) innovations to gain food, b) innovations to gain freedom, c) social innovations, d) innovations to increase maintenance, and e) innovations that could not be clearly assigned to a category. About 20% of the innovative horses showed more than one innovation. These animals could be termed “true innovators”. Again, young horses were more innovative than older ones with the age group 5 – 9 showing the highest number of innovative behaviour descriptions.

In a nutshell, the horses’ cognitive capacities appear to be underestimated throughout the last decades. The horses’ social complexity is far more elaborate than previously assumed, horses learn socially from conspecific and humans, some of them demonstrate innovative behaviour adaptations to their environment and even simple forms of tool use.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Krueger, K. Thesis  
  Publisher Xenophon Publishing Place of Publication Wald Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume in prep Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (up) ISBN 978-3-95625-000-2 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5848  
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Author Cameron, E.Z.; Linklater, W.L.; Stafford, K.J.; Minot, E.O. doi  openurl
  Title Aging and improving reproductive success in horses: declining residual reproductive value or just older and wiser? Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.  
  Volume 47 Issue 4 Pages 243-249  
  Keywords Maternal investment – Equidae – Equus caballus  
  Abstract In many mammalian species, female success in raising offspring improves as they age. The residual reproductive value hypothesis predicts that each individual offspring will be more valuable to the mother as she ages because there is less conflict between the current and potential future offspring. Therefore, as mothers age, their investment into individual offspring should increase. Empirical evidence for an influence of declining residual reproductive value on maternal investment is unconvincing. Older mothers may not invest more, but may be more successful due to greater experience, allowing them to target their investment more appropriately (targeted reproductive effort hypothesis). Most studies do not preclude either hypothesis. Mare age significantly influenced maternal investment in feral horses living on the North Island of New Zealand. Older mares, that were more successful at raising foals, were more protective for the first 20 days of life, but less diligent thereafter. Total maternal input by older mothers did not seem to be any greater, but was better targeted at the most critical period for foal survival and a similar pattern was observed in mares that had lost a foal in the previous year. In addition, older mothers were more likely to foal in consecutive years, supporting the hypothesis that they are investing less than younger mares in individual offspring. Therefore, older mothers seem to become more successful by targeting their investment better due to experience, not by investing more in their offspring.  
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  Call Number Serial 2019  
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Author Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F.; Erhard, H.W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Reactivity to isolation and association with conspecifics: A temperament trait stable across time and situations Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 106 Issue 2-4 Pages 355-373  
  Keywords Horse; Equus caballus; Temperament; Trait; Isolation; Conspecific association; Stability  
  Abstract A temperament trait is generally defined as individual differences in behaviour that are present early in life and relatively stable across situations and over time. The aim of this study was to test the existence of a trait <<gregariousness>> in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different social events. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Among them, 33 ponies and 21 horses were also tested at 2.5 years of age. They were submitted to four test situations: isolation and separation from, attraction towards and passing conspecifics. We carried out the analysis using each of four test groups as a unit (e.g. 33 Welsh ponies born in 2001, tested in isolation). Isolation and separation stood out as tests that showed a high consistency within test, across tests and across time. The most interesting behavioural parameter was the frequency of neighing, which was well correlated with other parameters measured in the same tests, such as defecation, locomotion and vigilance, as well as across the 3 years (e.g. for separation test: 0.41 < R < 0.61). Therefore, the behaviour of neighing observed in separation or isolation tests as early as 8 months of age appears to be a good indicator of similar behaviour in similar situations later in life, but also of other behaviours which can render the horse difficult to use. No parameter recorded during the attraction test presented stability across situations and time: the reactions to this test were not the expression of a stable characteristic of the individual and did not reflect the same characteristic as the three other tests. Of the different parameters recorded during the passing conspecifics test, the time to cross the arrival line near conspecifics showed good stability across years (0.35 < R < 0.68). This parameter was also correlated with many others recorded during the same test, and also, to a certain extent, to the frequency of neighing in the isolation and separation tests. This stability across responses expressed in various social contexts, and this stability over time, from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggest the existence of a trait of gregariousness in the horse. From a practical point of view, that means it is possible to estimate the level of gregariousness of a horse as early as 8 months of age. Furthermore, additional analysis shows that gregariousness decreases with age.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4350  
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Author Ransom, J. I.; Cade, B. S. pdf  openurl
  Title Influences of immunocontraception on intraband social behavior in free-ranging feral horses, Equus caballus Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords contraception, immunocontraception, behavior, PZP, Equus caballus  
  Abstract Contraception is often considered for population control of wildlife that is otherwise protected from more traditional management strategies, though little is known about the behavioral consequences of contraception in wild populations of socially complex animals. Feral horses, Equus caballus, in the western United States are ideal candidates for contraceptive management due to broad scale federal protection, reported herd growth rates of 15-25% per year, and finite public land allocated for them. We investigated influences of the immunocontraceptive porcine zona pellucida (PZP) on social behavior within bands of feral horses in three discrete populations for 4 years. Each band consisted of a single stallion and a harem of adult females (>1 years old) and their foals, as well as associated yearling males and females. Four mutually exclusive behaviors (herding, reproductive, harem tending, and agonism) were analyzed to investigate the difference between behaviors initiated by band stallions toward control mares and contracepted mares within the bands. Additionally, spatial relationships between each stallion and each harem female were analyzed to assess possible passive interactions. A candidate set of 22 hierarchical mixed effects models, using the discrete populations as a random effect on various fixed effects, was analyzed by restricted maximum likelihood estimation. The most supported models were selected by corrected Akaike"s Information Criteria (AICc). Analyses were done on 3 female age cohorts based on distinct fecundity rates: 2 to 5 year olds, 6 to 14 year olds, and > 14 year olds. Stallions herded control mares in the 6 to 14 year cohort more than contracepted mares (n=128, P=0.037) with treatment being the most supported effect, but foal presence (dependent foal) also contributed significantly to the model. Contracepted mares received more reproductive behaviors than control mares in the 6 to 14 year cohort (n = 151, P=0.020). No differences were detected in herding or reproductive behaviors in

the least fecund groups, the 2 to 5 year olds and &#8805; 15 year olds. The only independent variable in the most supported model for reproductive behavior was treatment, and the covariates of foal presence, band residence (resident or transient female), band size, and body condition did not contribute. There were no differences in any age cohort for harem tending or agonism. Spatially, stallions maintained closer relationships with 2 to 5 year old contracepted females than with the same age control females (n=136, P < 0.001) while the group was feeding (at its most dispersed structure), but there were no differences while the band was resting or in locomotion. There were no spatial differences detected in the other age cohorts. Given the polyestrous nature and high fecundity of feral horses, the observed difference in reproductive behaviors between treatment groups was not surprising; however, the difference detected in herding rates was an unexpected behavioral modification. This change in herding behavior suggests that further investigation is needed to determine if PZP immunocontraception has an underlying influence on mare social rank, band structure, and band stability, as well as the scope and long-term importance of these behavioral dynamics.
 
  Address U.S. Geological Survey-Biological Resources Discipline, Fort Collins Science Center  
  Corporate Author Ransom, J. I. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4471  
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Author Hollenhorst, H.; Weil, S.; Krueger, K. pdf  isbn
openurl 
  Title Innovative behavour in horses (Equus caballus) Type Conference Article
  Year 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords innovative behavior, age, housing system, horse (Equus caballus)  
  Abstract Contrary to the widely-spread assumption that horses just have restricted cognitive capacities and are not very flexible in their behaviors, we showed that horses display innovative behavior and even make use of tools (Krueger 2015, Krueger et al. 2015). These findings derive from a database (http://innovative-behaviour.org/) the Equine behavior team managed in the past two years. Some horses did not only show single innovations, but several different innovations. The number of innovations per individual varied from 1 to 10. 20 % of all innovative horses in the database showed more than one innovation. These individuals can be called the ‘true innovators’. Moreover innovations were dependent on age. Young horses were more innovative than older ones, whereby horses at the age of five to nine years were the most innovative. When considering the housing system innovative horses in a single housing (inside box, outside box, paddock box) had a slight majority towards horses in group housing (open stable, active stable, pasture day and night). But given the fact that ratings on housing system frequencies state 95% of the horses to be kept in individual housing, innovations in individual housing are rare. Nevertheless, horses kept in inside boxes without a window, opened doors more often than all other horses. Aside from this effect, housing systems did not trigger the frequency of innovative behavior. Innovations for gaining freedom and innovations in general were widespread among horses with daily access to pasture and daily contact with conspecifics. Innovations for gaining food were not more likely to occur in horses that were fed little amounts of roughage. In conclusion, the housing of horses does not seem to be the primary catalyst for developing innovative behavior in horses. What makes a “true innovator” in horses, in addition to age, remains to be seen.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Hollenhorst, H. Thesis  
  Publisher Xenophon Publishing Place of Publication Wald Editor ; Krueger, K.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (up) ISBN 978-3-95625-000-2 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Id - Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5896  
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Author Cameron, E.Z.; Linklater, W.L.; Stafford, K.J.; Minot, E.O. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Maternal investment results in better foal condition through increased play behaviour in horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 76 Issue 5 Pages 1511-1518  
  Keywords Equus caballus; feral horse; maternal investment; play  
  Abstract Play behaviour is widespread in mammals, but benefits to play have been difficult to demonstrate. Physical training is one of the many proposed hypotheses, suggesting that males and females should play differently, that increased maternal investment should lead to increases in play, and that increases in play should result in physical advantages. In a population of feral horses, Equus caballus, males and females did not differ in their play behaviour except that males initiated more of their play bouts than females. Maternal condition influenced play behaviour only in males, with sons of mothers in good condition playing more. However, when we controlled for maternal effects by comparing a son and a daughter of the same mother, daughters played more when their mother was in poor condition and sons played more when their mother was in good condition. Mothers of foals that played more lost more condition. Therefore, the difference in play behaviour could not be explained by offspring sex or maternal condition alone, but play behaviour mirrored variation in maternal investment. In addition, those individuals that played more survived better and had better body condition as yearlings despite weaning earlier. Since increased activity has been linked to enhanced musculoskeletal development in domestic horses, we suggest that play provides a link between increased maternal investment, increased body condition and future reproductive success in feral horses, and probably in other species.  
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  ISSN (up) 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4709  
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Author Proops, L.; Walton, M.; McComb, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The use of human-given cues by domestic horses, Equus caballus, during an object choice task Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue 6 Pages 1205-1209  
  Keywords domestication; Equus caballus; horse; interspecific communication; marker cue; pointing; social cognition  
  Abstract Selection pressures during domestication are thought to lead to an enhanced ability to use human-given cues. Horses fulfil a wide variety of roles for humans and have been domesticated for at least 5000 years but their ability to read human cues has not been widely studied. We tested the ability of 28 horses to attend to human-given cues in an object choice task. We included five different cues: distal sustained pointing, momentary tapping, marker placement, body orientation and gaze (head) alternation. Horses were able to use the pointing and marker placement cues spontaneously but not the tapping, body orientation and gaze alternation cues. The overall pattern of responding suggests that horses may use cues that provide stimulus enhancement at the time of choice and do not have an understanding of the communicative nature of the cues given. As such, their proficiency at this task appears to be inferior to that of domestic dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, but similar to that of domestic goats, Caprus hircus.  
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  ISSN (up) 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5083  
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Author Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Leroy, H.; Henry, S.; Hausberger, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue 4 Pages 869-875  
  Keywords Equus caballus; horse; human–animal relationship; learning; memory; positive interaction; social cognition  
  Abstract Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (up) 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5418  
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