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Leleu, C.; Cotrel, C. |
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Body composition in young standardbreds in training: relationships to body condition score, physiological and locomotor variables during exercise |
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2006 |
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Equine Veterinary Journal. Supplement |
Abbreviated Journal |
Equine Vet J Suppl |
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36 |
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98-101 |
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Adipose Tissue/metabolism; Animals; Body Composition/*physiology; Body Constitution/*physiology; Body Weight/physiology; Exercise Test/veterinary; Female; Gait/physiology; Heart Rate/*physiology; Horses/*physiology; Lactates/blood; Male; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*physiology |
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REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Body composition is an essential factor in athletic performance of human sprinters and long distance runners. However, in horses, many questions remain concerning relationships between body composition and performance in the different equine activities. OBJECTIVES: To determine relationships between body composition, body score, physiological and locomotor variables in a population of young Standardbreds in training. METHODS: Twenty-four 2-year-old Standardbreds were studied, body condition on a scale 0-5 and bodyweight recorded, and height at withers measured. Percentage of fat (%F), fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) were estimated echographically. During a standardised exercise test on the track, velocity, heart rate, respiratory frequency and blood lactate concentrations were measured. V4 and V200 (velocity for a blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol/l and velocity of 200 beats/min) calculated. Basic gait variables were measured at 3 different speeds with an accelerometric device. RESULTS: Body composition variables: %F and FM were significantly related to body condition score and physiological variables. Body score was highly correlated to %F (r = 0.64) and FM (r = 0.71). V4 was negatively correlated to %F (r = -0.59) and FM (r = -0.60), P<0.05. V200 was also negatively related to %F and FM, (r = -0.39 and r = -0.37, respectively, P<0.1). No relationships were found between body composition and gait characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Body composition was closely related to indirect measurements of aerobic capacity, which is a major factor of athletic performance in middle distance running horses. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: As in human athletes, trainers should take special note to evaluate optimal bodyweight and body composition of race horses to optimise performance. |
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Pegase Mayenne, Departement de Medecine du Sport, Centre Hospitalier, 53 015 Laval, France |
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PMID:17402400 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4015 |
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Gorecka, A.; Golonka, M.; Chruszczewski, M.; Jezierski, T. |
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Title |
A note on behaviour and heart rate in horses differing in facial hair whorl |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2007 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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105 |
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1-3 |
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244-248 |
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Horse; Hair whorls; Behavioural tests; Reactivity; Heart rate |
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The relationship between facial hair whorl position and reactivity, as assessed by behavioural measures (handling score = HS; startle reaction to a suddenly appearing novel object = SR; latency to touch a novel object = LNO) and heart rate measures (mean HR; increase in heart rate = IHR) were studied using 55 Konik horses reared either under conventional stable conditions or in the forest reserve. Horses were classified into four groups according to the whorl position and/or shape: (1) high, single whorl above the top eye line, n = 9; (2) medium, single whorl between the top and the bottom eye line, n = 30; (3) low, single whorl below the bottom eye line, n = 10; and (4) elongated or double whorl, n = 6. Horses with a high whorl position demonstrated a lesser degree of manageability as expressed by a lower HS compared to individuals with medium (P = 0.002) or low whorl positions (P = 0.016). Horses with different whorl positions did not differ significantly in their startle response to a suddenly appearing novel object (P = 0.685). The horses with an elongated or double whorl, which appeared only in the forest group, took significantly longer to approach the novel object than horses with medium (P = 0.006) or low (P = 0.005) whorl positions. No significant differences in mean HR and IHR between groups (HR: P = 0.629 and IHR: P = 0.214) were found. In conclusion, this study supports the relationship between the position of the hair whorl on the horses' head and their manageability during handling, as well as the latency to approach an unknown object. |
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460 |
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Minero, M.; Zucca, D.; Canali, E. |
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A note on reaction to novel stimulus and restraint by therapeutic riding horses |
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Journal Article |
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2006 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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97 |
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2-4 |
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335-342 |
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Horse; Therapeutic riding; Behavioural indicators; Heart rate; Lymphocyte proliferation |
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Little research has been done to measure reactivity objectively in therapeutic riding horses (TRH). As individual reactivity and chronic stress could be assessed by exposing animals to acute, novel stressors, the authors of this work aimed at comparing reactions of TRHs and jumping horses (JH) to two challenges. Four TRHs and four JHs were exposed to a restraint covering their head with a hood for 1 h and to a startling stimulus (a 40 cm long, red and white synthetic holiday garland shaken with a rustling noise inside the box). Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded continuously and telemetrically, the reaction was video-recorded and analysed with a software for behavioural analysis. Blood samples were collected before and after each challenge to determine lymphocyte proliferation and other biochemical parameters. Horses spent most of the time immobile, during the challenges (p < 0.05). TRHs had a significantly higher average basal HR than JH (p < 0.05), probably due to their better condition. HR varied among different behaviours during the restraint (p < 0.05): the average HR during “pawing” was higher than during other behaviours (p < 0.005). A significant decrease in the proliferation of lymphocytes in samples taken after the removal of the hood (p < 0.05) was found, while the other stress related parameters did not vary significantly after the challenges. The authors conclude that TRHs did not react less than JHs to the new stimuli and this should be taken into consideration while planning their daily work and management. |
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279 |
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Rietmann, T.R.; Stuart, A.E.A.; Bernasconi, P.; Stauffacher, M.; Auer, J.A.; Weishaupt, M.A. |
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Assessment of mental stress in warmblood horses: heart rate variability in comparison to heart rate and selected behavioural parameters |
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Journal Article |
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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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88 |
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1-2 |
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121-136 |
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Horse; Hrv; Heart rate; Mental stress; Behaviour; Autonomic nervous system |
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The aim of the study was to investigate whether heart rate variability (HRV) could assess alterations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) at different levels of excitement. The behavioural and physiological responses of 20 warmblood horses to a challenging ground exercise task were studied. Prior to the experiment, the horses were evaluated at rest and during forward walking (FW). The horses were then forced to move backwards continuously during 3 min according to a standardised protocol (BW1). Subsequently, the horses were exposed to two training sessions, after which the backward walking (BW2) was re-evaluated. Heart rate (HR) and HRV-parameters such as the standard deviation of the beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR), the low (LF; sympathetic tone) and high frequency (HF) component of HRV (HF; parasympathetic tone) and their ratio (LF/HF; index representing the sympatho-vagal balance) were sampled at rest, and during FW, BW1 and BW2. Stress-related behaviour during BW1 and BW2 was determined from video recordings. The results of the different evaluations were compared to each other. Compared to rest and FW, the first backward experiment induced a significant rise in HR, LF and LF/HF and a significant decrease of HF. SDRR decreased from both FW and rest with only the latter reaching significance. In BW2 after the training sessions, HR and the parameters of the sympathetic branch of the ANS (LF, LF/HF) were decreased and the vagal tone (HF) increased compared to BW1; all changes were significant. The duration of stress indicating behavioural patterns revealed also a significant decrease of excitement after the training, when backward walking did not differ from forward walking in any parameter. Correlations between HRV-parameters and stress indicating behaviour as well as HR were found. We conclude that the HRV-parameters LF and HF are valuable measures to quantify sympatho-vagal balance, which allows a more precise assessment of the responses of HR and SDRR to mental stress during low intensity exercise. |
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314 |
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Visser, E.K.; van Reenen, C.G.; van der Werf, J.T.N.; Schilder, M.B.H.; Knaap, J.H.; Barneveld, A.; Blokhuis, H.J. |
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Heart rate and heart rate variability during a novel object test and a handling test in young horses |
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Journal Article |
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2002 |
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Physiology & Behavior |
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Physiol. Behav. |
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76 |
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2 |
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289-296 |
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Heart rate; Heart rate variability; Consistency; Behavioral tests; Temperament; Emotionality; Horses |
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Forty-one Dutch Warmblood immature horses were used in a study to quantify temperamental traits on the basis of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measures. Half of the horses received additional training from the age of 5 months onwards; the other half did not. Horses were tested at 9, 10, 21 and 22 months of age in a novel object and a handling test. During the tests, mean HR and two heart variability indices, e.g. standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR) and root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD), were calculated and expressed as response values to baseline measures. In both tests, horses showed at all ages a significant increase in mean HR and decrease in HRV measures, which suggests a marked shift of the balance of the autonomic nervous system towards a sympathetic dominance. In the novel object test, this shift was more pronounced in horses that had not been trained. Furthermore, statistical analysis showed that the increase in mean HR could not be entirely explained by the physical activity. The additional increase in HR, the nonmotor HR, was more pronounced in the untrained horses compared to the trained. Hence, it is suggested that this nonmotor HR might be due to the level of emotionality. HR variables showed consistency between years, as well as within the second year. These tests bring about a HR response in horses, part of which may indicate a higher level of emotionality; and horses show individual consistency of these HR variables over ages. Therefore, it is concluded that mean HR and HRV measures used with these tests quantify certain aspects of a horse's temperament. |
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320 |
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Momozawa, Y.; Ono, T.; Sato, F.; Kikusui, T.; Takeuchi, Y.; Mori, Y.; Kusunose, R. |
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Assessment of equine temperament by a questionnaire survey to caretakers and evaluation of its reliability by simultaneous behavior test |
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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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84 |
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2 |
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127-138 |
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Anxiety; Heart rate; Horse; Questionnaire; Temperament |
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We carried out a questionnaire survey of the caretakers, using 86 riding horses kept in the Equestrian Park, Tokyo (Japan Racing Association). The questionnaire survey used a 5-point scale and a 3-point scale to assess several caretakers' impressions of each horse's temperament, on the basis of the norm and the horse's tendencies in ordinary care and daily training. Factor analysis of the temperament scores obtained with the 5-point scale questionnaire revealed three mutually independent factors that we named “anxiety”, “novelty seeking” and “understanding”. In order to verify the reliability of this questionnaire survey, a balloon reactivity test was conducted using the same horses. Each horse was introduced into an unfamiliar indoor arena (7 mx12.5 mx3 m) in the center of which two balloons slowly revolved. The horses' responses were assessed by recording changes in their behavior and heart rate (HR) during the 5 min experimental period. By comparing the questionnaire survey and the balloon reactivity test, it was found that the horses evaluated as highly anxious by the caretakers tended to show greater HR increases and defecate more often during exposure to the balloon stimuli than did the other horses. Additionally, the horses assessed by caretakers to have problems with ordinary care and/or training showed greater increases of HR and frequency of defecation in the balloon reactivity test, and the horses assessed as having `a long adaptation time to unfamiliar objects' were found to be unwilling to touch the balloons. Thus, the horses' behavior during the balloon reactivity test was highly consistent with their temperament as determined by the questionnaire. These results suggest that the questionnaire survey would be an effective means to assess equine temperamental traits, especially those related to anxiety. |
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1984 |
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Christensen, J.W.; Keeling, L.J.; Nielsen, B.L. |
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Responses of horses to novel visual, olfactory and auditory stimuli |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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93 |
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1-2 |
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53-65 |
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Horses; Novelty responses; Fear; Behaviour; Heart rate |
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Responses of horses towards fear-eliciting stimuli can have important consequences for both human and horse safety. This experiment was designed to investigate behavioural and heart rate (HR) responses of horses to novel visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli. Twenty-four 2-year-old, previously unhandled, stallions were habituated to receive a food reward from a container in a test arena. Each horse was exposed to three 2 min tests in a balanced design where in addition to the feed container, either a traffic cone (visual test), white noise (auditory test) or eucalyptus oil applied to the inside of the container (olfactory test) were used as the novel stimuli. Compared to the control, less time was spent eating during all tests. There was no difference in locomotion activity in the different test situations, but presentation of the novel visual and auditory stimuli elicited significantly increased HR responses in the horses, compared to their response to the arena without novel stimuli (control), whereas there was no increase in HR response to the olfactory stimulus. However, during the olfactory test, the horses had an increased number of eating bouts and became more vigilant towards their surroundings, whereas during the visual and auditory tests, more time was spent alert towards the stimulus. The horses also took significantly more steps backwards in response to the auditory test. The heart rate responses correlated between tests and reflect a non-differentiated activation of the sympathetic nervous system, while the behavioural responses were linked to the type of stimulus. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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McCall, C.A.; Hall, S.; McElhenney, W.H.; Cummins, K.A. |
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Evaluation and comparison of four methods of ranking horses based on reactivity |
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2006 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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96 |
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1-2 |
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115-127 |
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Horse; Reactivity tests; Heart rate; Emotionality; Temperament |
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Four methods of ranking horses on reactivity were evaluated and compared: isolation from conspecifics, presentation of a static novel stimulus, traversing a novel stimulus in a runway (isolation, novel stimulus and runway tests, respectively) and assigning subjective emotionality scores. In all tests, horses' heart rates were recorded and behaviour was videotaped. To be considered a valid test of reactivity, at least one heart rate and one behavioural measurement in the test had to change significantly between treatments (tranquilizer administation versus sham tranquilizer administration), and behavioural measures had to be displayed in at least 75% of the trials. Forty horses performed each of the three tests daily on three different days in a switchback design. Horses were assigned randomly to a daily test sequence, which was maintained throughout the study. In the runway test, no significant difference in heart rate values in tranquilized and non-tranquilized horses was found, and no behavioural attribute was displayed in more than 52% of the trials; therefore it was rejected as a valid test of reactivity. Both isolation and novel stimulus tests produced valid measurements. Mean heart rate was the most precise physiological measure for these tests, and walking and defecation frequency were the most precise behavioural measures for novel stimulus and isolation tests, respectively. Mean heart rates on the novel stimulus and isolation tests were correlated (rs = 0.79, P < 0.01) indicating that these tests produced similar rankings based on physiological responses. However, behavioural measures ranked horses differently (rs = 0.27, P < 0.10) on the tests. Rank correlations between mean heart rates and behavioural measures were higher in the novel stimulus (rs = 0.66, P < 0.01) than the isolation test (rs = 0.55, P < 0.01), indicating that the novel stimulus test ranked horses based on either physiological or behavioural responses more similarly than did the isolation test. Therefore, the novel stimulus test was considered the more accurate evaluation of reactivity. Subjective emotionality scores were correlated moderately with mean heart rates (rs > 0.33, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus and isolation tests and with walking scores (rs = 0.47, P < 0.01) from the novel stimulus test. Assignment of subjective emotionality scores was not as accurate as the novel stimulus or isolation tests in ranking horses for reactivity. Using physiological data alone, combining physiological and behavioural measurements or using more than one behavioural measurement in reactivity tests may reflect the reactivity of the horse better than a single behavioural measurement. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3578 |
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Simpson, B.S. |
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Neonatal foal handling |
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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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Author |
Warren-Smith, A.K.; Greetham, L.; McGreevy, P.D. |
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Title |
Behavioral and physiological responses of horses (Equus caballus) to head lowering |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2007 |
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Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research |
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2 |
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3 |
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59-67 |
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behavior; head lowering; heart rate; horse; training |
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Abstract |
Horse trainers often report that lowering the height of a horse's head so the poll is below the height of the withers can induce a calming effect during training. Four groups of horses were used in a 2-part study to investigate the behavioral and physiological effects of head lowering in horses. In Part 1, Group A had no experimental stimuli applied and horses in Group B were trained to lower their heads when presented with a specific stimulus by the handler. The stimulus for head lowering was the application of downward pressure on the headcollar via the lead rope until the horse lowered its head such that its lips were approximately at mid-cannon (third metacarpal) height, whereupon the pressure was released. The stimulus was applied again if the horse raised its head during the 300-second test period. In Part 2, Groups C and D were aroused until their heart rates exceeded 100 beats per minute (bpm). Group C had no further experimental stimuli applied whereas Group D lowered their heads as a response to the above stimulus for a period of 300 seconds. Repeated measures analysis showed that there was no difference between the heart rate of Groups A and B or Groups C and D but that the heart rate of Groups A and B were lower than Groups C and D during the 300-second post-arousal (P < 0.001). The horses in Groups A and B were more likely to contact the handler (P < 0.001), exhibit licking and chewing (P < 0.001), rest a hindleg (P < 0.001), and sniff the ground (P < 0.001) than those in Groups C and D. The number of stimuli required to maintain the head in a lowered position was greatest during the first 30 seconds (P = 0.012 and P < 0.001, Parts 1 and 2, respectively). The current study has shown that head lowering in horses does not influence cardiac responses, even after the horses had been aroused to have their heart rates above 100 bpm. Therefore, it is not a method that will aid in calming an aroused horse in training. Contrary to popular belief, there was no association with licking-and-chewing and head lowering, nor with these behaviors and response acquisition. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4201 |
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