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Spier, S.J.; Berger Pusterla, J.; Villarroel, A.; Pusterla, N. |
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Title |
Outcome of tactile conditioning of neonates, or “imprint training” on selected handling measures in foals |
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Journal Article |
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2004 |
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The Veterinary Journal |
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168 |
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3 |
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252-258 |
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Early handling; Imprint train; Neonatal foals; Horse |
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Behavioural reactions to selected handling procedures were compared between conditioned, or imprint-trained, and untrained foals raised on the same farm. Nineteen randomly chosen healthy foals were imprint trained at birth and 24 h later (Group A). Twenty-one similar foals that were not imprint-trained served as age-matched controls (Group B). Training began within 10 min of birth and consisted of touch desensitization by gentle rubbing. Each tactile stimulus was repeated 30-50 times over 45-60 min, until the foal no longer resisted the procedure and appeared relaxed. The procedure was then repeated at 24 h of age. At that time a physical examination and blood analysis were performed to assess the foals' health status. Group B animals were not handled except for a brief physical examination and blood analysis at 24 h of age. Thereafter all foals were kept on pastures with their dams with no further handling until they were three months of age. Any foals handled for other reasons before that time were excluded from the study. At three months, each of the 28 foals that completed the study experienced the following handling procedures: acceptance of restraint, haltering, complete physical examination, acceptance of a plastic rebreathing bag, touching the whole body, intramuscular vaccination in the neck, intranasal vaccination, and deworming with oral paste. Response to each procedure was scored (1=not resistant, 2=low resistance, 3=strong resistance, 4=not possible without major physical restraint). Conditioned foals (Group A) were significantly less resistant to touching the front and hind legs and picking up the hind feet (P<0.05). The administration of vaccines and paste dewormer and the collection of blood were tolerated by the majority of the foals of both groups with no or low resistance. It appeared that neonatal imprint training resulted in a learned behaviour that resulted in decreased self-defence responses towards handling the limbs at three months of age. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3684 |
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De Pasquale, A.; Ingala, A.; Innella, G.; Luigiano, G.; Malara, L.; Panzera, M. |
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Title |
The influence of the enriched environment on the reactivity of the precociously handled foals (Equus caballus L.). |
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2008 |
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IESM 2008 |
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Foal, Handling, Enriched environment, Reactivity. |
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In a preliminary study, we evaluated the effect of precocious handling (at birth, 10, 30 and 60 days) and enriched environment on foal. Two experimental groups were created:
- 3 foals not handled and stabled in semi-enriched environment (Group A).
- 6 foals handled and stabled in an enriched environment (Group B).
All nine foals were tested with a novel object test (umbrella) at three months of age, to assess the Heart Rate (HR) values measured by a telemetric heart rate monitor (Polar Horse Trainer), during opening, touching and closing of the umbrella.
The statistical analysis carried out by means of the Mann-Whitney test showed lower HR values of the foals of group B (P<0.05).
Furthermore we have investigated 10 foals born between 2006 and 2008 to study the influence of enriched environment and precocious handling on behavioural responsiveness. The foals were housed on a farm which ensured an enriched environment and made social intra and interspecific interactions easier, alias autoshaping. They were submitted to:
- Handling within 24 hours from birth.
- Handling and reactivity test (arena test) executed at 10, 30 and 60 days.
The temporal correlation was studied among ages and baseline HR values, using the
Spearman"s test, to assess the beginning of neurovegetative HR control.
In fact statistically significant differences were obtained (r = -0.431; P<0,02). Temporal values of obtained HR baseline, using the Wilcoxon test, showed lower values at 60 days. The comparison was significant among mean and max baseline HR values of 30 vs 60 and 10 vs 60 (P<0.05), while no differences were observed during the reactivity test. This shows that adequate conditions of management associated to a precocious and continuous handling allow the foals to maintain their natural investigative behaviour disappearing fear and flight reactions. |
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Dept. of Experimental Sciences and Applied Biotechnologies, Unit of Applied Physiology and Comparative Ethology , Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Messina, Italy. |
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De Pasquale, A |
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IESM 2008 |
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Talk 15 min IESM 2008 |
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yes |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4486 |
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Verrill, S.; McDonnell, S. |
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Title |
Equal Outcomes with and without Human-to-Horse Eye Contact When Catching Horses and Ponies in an Open Pasture |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
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Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |
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28 |
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5 |
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309-312 |
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Horse handling; Horse management; Eye contact; Interspecies interactions; Equine behavior |
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Each of 104 horses and ponies was approached for catching at pasture by the same human handler in a standard manner, either maintaining human-to-animal eye contact (EC+; n = 51) or avoiding eye contact (EC-; n = 53). A subset of 74 of these subjects were reevaluated 3 weeks later under similar standard conditions except with the eye contact condition opposite to that used in the first round. Nonparametric statistical methods were used to evaluate between subjects (round 1, n = 104) and within subjects (rounds 1 and 2, n = 74) comparisons of successful or unsuccessful catching outcome with EC+ and EC-. Catching outcomes were similar with eye contact condition. Although this study represents a single handler at one study site, results suggest that human-to-horse eye contact may not be an important influence on catching pastured horses. Certainly, further work is needed to better understand the role of eye contact in horse handling. |
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0737-0806 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4711 |
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Palme, R. |
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Title |
Measuring fecal steroids: guidelines for practical application |
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2005 |
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Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
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Ann N Y Acad Sci |
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1046 |
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75-80 |
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Animals; Feces/*chemistry; Immunoassay/methods; Reproducibility of Results; Specimen Handling/methods; Steroids/*analysis |
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During the past 20 years, measuring steroid hormone metabolites in fecal samples has become a widely appreciated technique, because it has proved to be a powerful, noninvasive tool that provides important information about an animal's endocrine status (adrenocortical activity and reproductive status). However, although sampling is relatively easy to perform and free of feedback, a careful consideration of various factors is necessary to achieve proper results that lead to sound conclusions. This article aims to provide guidelines for an adequate application of these techniques. It is meant as a checklist that addresses the main topics of concern, such as sample collection and storage, time delay extraction procedures, assay selection and validation, biological relevance, and some confounding factors. These issues are discussed briefly here and in more detail in other recent articles. |
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Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. Rupert.Palme@vu-wien.ac.at |
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English |
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0077-8923 |
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PMID:16055844 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4081 |
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Sondergaard, E.; Halekoh, U. |
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Young horses' reactions to humans in relation to handling and social environment |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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84 |
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4 |
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265-280 |
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Horses; Human-animal relationship; Social environment; Handling |
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Forty Danish warmblood colts in two replicates were used to investigate the effect of housing and handling in the rearing period on the reactions to humans. The horses entered the experiment after weaning and were housed either individually (n=16) or in groups of three (n=24). Half of the horses from each housing group were handled three times per week for a period of 10 min. Approach tests were performed in the home environment when the horses were 6, 9, 12, 18, 21, and 24 months old, and an Arena and Human Encounter test was performed in a novel environment when the horses were 12 and 24 months old, respectively. In the home environment, single-housed horses approached sooner and were more easily approached by a human than group-housed horses where no effect of handling was observed. Horses approached sooner and were more easily approached with increasing age. In the Arena and Human Encounter test, single-housed horses expressed less restless behaviour, more explorative behaviour, and less vocalisation than group-housed horses. Handled horses showed lower increase in heart rate during the test than non-handled horses. There was no difference between the number of times single or group-housed horses touched an unfamiliar person in the Arena and Human Encounter test but handled horses approached sooner than non-handled horses. It is concluded that the social environment affected the way horses reacted to humans when tested in the home environment but not in a novel environment. In contrast, handling affected the reactions to humans when tested in the novel environment but not in the home environment. However, handled horses also reacted less to the novel environment in general, thus indicating that handling is a mean of avoiding potential dangerous situations. |
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308 |
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Koba, Y.; Tanida, H. |
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How do miniature pigs discriminate between people? The effect of exchanging cues between a non-handler and their familiar handler on discrimination |
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1999 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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61 |
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3 |
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239-252 |
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Pigs; Handling; Learning; Human-animal relationships |
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Behavioural tests using operant conditioning were conducted to examine how miniature pigs discriminate between people. During a 3-week handling period, six 8-week-old pigs were touched and fed raisins as a reward whenever they approached their handler. In subsequent training, the handler and a non-handler wearing dark blue and white coveralls, respectively, and wearing different eau de toilette fragrances sat at each end of a Y-maze. Pigs were rewarded with raisins when they chose the handler. Successful discrimination occurred when the pig chose the handler at least 15 times in 20 trials (P<0.05: by χ2 test). When all pigs exhibited successful discrimination under these standard conditions, they were exposed to Experiments 1 through 4. In Experiment 1, (1) handler and non-handler exchanged colours of coveralls; (2) handler and non-handler exchanged eau de toilette; (3) handler and non-handler exchanged both cues. The non-handler was chosen significantly more often following the exchange of coverall colours and the exchange of both coverall colours and eau de toilette. However, the handler was chosen significantly more frequently following exchange of eau de toilette only. In Experiment 2, when both handler and non-handler wore coveralls of the handler's original colour, the pigs had difficulty discriminating between them. In Experiment 3, both handler and non-handler wore coveralls of new colours. The pigs easily chose the handler wearing red or blue vs. white coveralls. In Experiment 4, (1) two novel people wore coveralls of the original colours of handler and non-handler; (2) the test with the original experimenters was conducted under the original conditions but in a novel place. Between novel people, the one wearing the handler's original colour of coveralls was preferentially chosen by the pigs. The pigs had difficulty discriminating the handler from the non-handler in a novel place. Pigs appear to discriminate between a familiar handler and a non-familiar person based primarily on visual cues, prominent of which is colour of clothing. |
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840 |
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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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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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92 |
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1-2 |
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143-158 |
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Horse; Neonatal handling; Manageability; Emotional reactivity; Learning-ability; Human-animal relationship |
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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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841 |
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Lansade, L.; Bertrand, M.; Boivin, X.; Bouissou, M.-F. |
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Effects of handling at weaning on manageability and reactivity of foals |
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2004 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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87 |
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1-2 |
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131-149 |
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Horse; Handling; Weaning; Manageability; Emotional reactivity; Fearfulness; Human-animal relationship |
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The horse's temperament, including its manageability and reactivity and/or fearfulness, is of importance as it can result in problems and can render horses unsuitable for inexperienced riders. Early experience, including handling during infancy, may influence the horse's adult behaviour and reduce its fear of humans and other potentially frigthening situations. In the various species studied, handling has generally been undertaken during the neonatal period. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of handling young horses around the time of weaning, a period which has been demonstrated to be effective in increasing ease of handling in cattle and goats. Sixteen Anglo-Arab foals were handled for 12 days either immediately following weaning (early handled: EH) or 21 days later (late handled: LH); eight additional non-handled foals served as controls (C). Handling consisted of haltering, gently petting all parts of the body, picking up feet and leading the foal over 120 m. During handling sessions, EH were easier to handle than LH: time taken to fit them with a halter, to pick up feet, and “walk-ratio” (time walking under constraint/total time walking) were significantly lower for EH. During subsequent tests conducted over 2 days, 4, and 7 months, as well as 10 months and to some extent 18 months after the end of handling period, EH and LH were easier to handle and less reactive than controls, although differences diminished with time. The period following weaning can therefore be qualified as an “optimal period” for handling. Some of the effects persist for at least 18 months. |
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842 |
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Rybarczyk, P.; Rushen, J.; de Passille, A.M. |
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Recognition of people by dairy calves using colour of clothing |
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2003 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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81 |
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4 |
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307-319 |
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Cattle handling; Discrimination; Human-animal relationships; Colour cues; Y-maze |
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We examined whether very young dairy calves are able to discriminate between two people, and whether they use the colour of clothing or other indices to do so. During the familiarisation phase, one person (the familiar rewarder), who always wore the same colour clothes, gave milk, spoke gently and patted the calves in their individual pen for 6 days each week. During the test phase, the calf had to make a choice in an Y-maze placed in front of the gate of its stall. When the calves chose the familiar rewarder, they received 200 ml of milk as reinforcement. When they made the incorrect choice, they received nothing and were returned to their stall. On each test day, the calves made eight choices. The criterion of success was that the calf made at least six correct choices in eight trials on each of two consecutive test days (P<0.021 by the binomial law). The first experiment was carried out with fourteen 1-week-old male and female Holstein calves to see if calves could approach a person, who changed position in the maze, in order to obtain a feed reward. The familiar rewarder wore the same clothes as during the period of familiarisation and was in one arm of the Y-maze. The other arm was empty and the position of the familiar rewarder in the maze was randomised. Eleven of the 14 calves reached the criterion for success, after only three tests. The second experiment, carried out with five 2-week-old calves, examined whether the calves can differentiate the familiar rewarder (wearing the same clothing as during the period of familiarisation) from another person (the non-rewarder) wearing clothes of a different colour. The criterion of success was reached by all five calves. The third experiment was carried out with seven 2-week-old calves. It examined whether the calves can differentiate the familiar rewarder and the non-rewarder, when the two people are wearing clothes of the same colour (i.e. the same colour worn by the familiar rewarder during the phase of familiarisation). None of the calves were able to reach the criterion of success within a limited number of four test days. Often, calves would always choose the same arm of the maze. The fourth experiment was carried out on six 1-month-old calves. It was similar to experiment 3 with the difference that the familiar rewarder and the non-rewarder both wore the same colour clothes, but which were not the same colour as worn during the phase of familiarisation. Only one calf achieved the criterion of success within two test days. Results demonstrated that colour cues help very young calves to discriminate between two people, when these people wear different colour clothing. Some calves may be able to use other indicators than the colour of clothing. The Y-maze method is an promising way of examining calves' abilities to recognise people. |
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Author |
Simpson, B.S. |
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Title |
Neonatal foal handling |
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Journal Article |
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2002 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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78 |
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2-4 |
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303-317 |
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Neonatal foal handling; Imprint training; Learning in foals; Heart rate; Serum cortisol concentrations |
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Recent interest has focused on the advantage of intensively handling young foals as a means of producing more tractable horses, accustomed to humans and receptive to training. To date, the effect of this intensive handling, dubbed “imprint training” in the popular literature, has not been tested. The present study compares seven foals handled intensively as neonates with eight untreated controls. The handling protocol started from 2-8 h after birth and continued daily for a total of 5 days. The protocol consisted of a series of stimuli and experiences that were each repeated until the foal no longer resisted or reacted negatively. Subsequently, foals were tested before weaning, at 4 months of age. Results indicated that handled foals (HF) ranked higher than control foals (CF) in subjective ratings of calmness (*P<0.0117) and friendliness (*P<0.0001) and in several specific handling tasks (venipuncture *P<0.0220; placing in stock *P<0.0128). Although, in approach tests all foals but one allowed approach of a person to 4 m, significantly more HF approached the person than CF (P<0.0080). In stimulus tests, foals were presented specific stimuli to which they had been tested as neonates. Two of eight CF were too unruly and dangerous to test. Of foals that could be tested, CF required significantly more time to hook-up a heart rate monitor (**P<0.0055). Split-plot analysis indicated that HF had lower heart rates to initial left-sided stimuli, presented first, than CF (*P<0.0421). In response to right-sided stimuli, heart rate scores of CF were not significantly different from HF (P<0.2259), suggesting reduced reactivity over time due to a learning effect. Behavioral responses to specific stimuli did not differ between CF and HF, suggesting that neonatal handling has a general rather than specific effect on subsequent behavior. Cortisol concentrations were measured before and after testing and the difference calculated. All foals had higher post-testing levels than pre-testing levels. There was a significant difference between HF and CF, indicating greater reactivity among the CF (*P<0.050). In general, the results indicated that foals handled as neonates were more tractable and less reactive. Specific neonatal handling tasks, such as sticking a finger up the foal's nose or patting the bottom of the foot, seemed to have no beneficial effect on related tasks such as passing a nasogastric tube or tapping with a farrier's hammer at 4 months of age. Mechanisms for the observed effect of neonatal handling require further investigation. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3623 |
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