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| Author |
Zharkikh, T.L.; Andersen, L. |
| Title |
Behaviour of Bachelor Males of the Przewalski Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) at the Reserve Askania Nova |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Der Zoologische Garten |
Abbreviated Journal |
Zoologische Garten |
| Volume |
78 |
Issue |
5-6 |
Pages |
282-299 |
| Keywords |
Equid; Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii); Bachelor group; Social behaviour |
| Abstract |
The aim of this study was to investigate social relationships between Przewalski horses at a high density in a bachelor group housed in a 3.5-ha enclosure. The group consisted of 16 males aged 5 to 16. Behavioural data were collected during 18 days, total 216 h. Fifteen minute focal animal sampling was used; each horse was observed three times a day for a total of 45 min. The occurrence of 25 behaviours was recorded, and group spacing behaviour was studied using nearest neighbour recordings. The group divided into four subgroups; this supports earlier findings of bachelor groups (n>=10) dividing into two or more subgroups if they included several males aged >5 years. The total frequency of social interactions was 14.6±1.1 h-1. Although the density of the group in this study was higher than in other zoos, the males interacted agonistically only 3.6 h-1. The most frequently observed social behaviour categories were friendly interactions. This study shows possibilities to use some investigative behaviours (marking, flehmen, olfactory investigation, etc.) as indicators of social status of animals in a group. |
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0044-5169 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5098 |
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| Author |
Heitor, F.; Vicente, L. |
| Title |
Dominance relationships and patterns of aggression in a bachelor group of Sorraia horses (Equus caballus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Journal of Ethology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Ethol. |
| Volume |
28 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
35-44 |
| Keywords |
Horse – Equus – Dominance relationship – Rank – Agonistic interaction |
| Abstract |
Abstract The influence of individual factors on dominance rank and the relationship between rank distance and patterns of aggression predicted by models of evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) of animal conflict were investigated in a managed bachelor group of Sorraia horses, Equus caballus. The group was composed of four to six stallions 3- to 12-years-old during the study period. The dominance hierarchy was significantly linear and rank was not related to age, weight, height or aggressiveness. Frequency and intensity of agonistic interactions were low, but higher-ranking stallions did not receive lower aggressiveness than lower-ranking stallions. There was some evidence that dominance relationships were more contested among close-ranking stallions, as predicted. Agonistic-related interactions among close-ranking stallions served similar functions to those among distant-ranking stallions, but the latter interacted more frequently than expected for access to resting sites and/or resting partners. Therefore, we found some evidence that agonistic-related interactions among distant-ranking stallions play a larger role in providing access to valuable and defendable resources than those among close-ranking stallions. Nevertheless, the fact that space to escape from aggression was limited and breeding access was independent from dominance rank may have reduced the benefits relative to costs of aggression and therefore limited the occurrence of contests over dominance and resources. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5099 |
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| Author |
Heitor, F.; Vicente, L. |
| Title |
Affiliative relationships among Sorraia mares: influence of age, dominance, kinship and reproductive state |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Journal of Ethology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Ethol. |
| Volume |
28 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
133-140 |
| Keywords |
Sorraia horse – Affiliative relationship – Dominance – Kinship – Reproductive state |
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Abstract Affiliative relationships among mares were examined in a managed group of Sorraia horses, Equus caballus, over a 3-year period. We assessed the influence of age, dominance, kinship and reproductive state on the strength of affiliative relationships and diversity of partners. The herd comprised 9–11 mares that had known each other since birth, their foals and a stallion that remained in the group exclusively during the breeding season. In contrast to a previous study, kinship did not significantly affect bonds. Mares tended to spend more time in proximity to those in the same reproductive state. Affiliative relationships among mares were relatively stable but their strength decreased after foaling, possibly as a function of foal protection and bonding between dam and foal. There was no consistent evidence that mares disengaged from affiliative relationships with increasing age. As expected, dominant mares and barren mares contributed the most to affiliative relationships. Dominance rank increased with age, but dominance relationships were stable and did not change after foaling. Overall, reproductive state was the factor that had the most consistent influence on affiliative relationships among Sorraia mares. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5100 |
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Waldern, N.M.; Wiestner, T.; Ramseier, L.C.; Amport, C.; Weishaupt, M.A. |
| Title |
Effects of shoeing on limb movement and ground reaction forces in Icelandic horses at walk, tölt and trot |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
The Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Vet. J. |
| Volume |
198, Supplement 1 |
Issue |
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Pages |
e103-e108 |
| Keywords |
Icelandic horse; Gait analysis; Ground reaction force; Kinematics; Shoeing; Tölt |
| Abstract |
Abstract Tölt is a symmetric four-beat gait with a speed range extending into that of trot and canter. Specific shoeing methods, such as unnaturally high and long hooves, are used to enforce individual gait predisposition. The aim of this study was to assess the consequences of this shoeing style on loading and movement of the limbs at walk, tölt and trot, and at different velocities. Simultaneous kinetic and kinematic gait analysis was carried out at walk (1.4 m/s) and at two tölting and trotting speeds (3.3 m/s and 3.9 m/s) on an instrumented treadmill. Thirteen sound Icelandic horses were first measured with high, long front hooves (SH) and, 1 week later, after trimming the hooves according to standard shoeing principles (SN). Comparing SH with SN, front hooves had 21 ± 5 mm longer dorsal hoof walls, and the shoeing material per hoof was 273 ± 50 g heavier. In all three gaits, gait quality, as it is currently judged, was improved with SH due to a lower stride rate, a longer stride length and a higher, but not wider, forelimb protraction arc, which were also positively associated with speed. Forelimb–hind limb balance remained unchanged, but limb impulses were higher. Apart from an increase of ⩽2.2% in the forelimbs at the faster speed of both tölt and trot, SH had little influence on vertical peak forces. |
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1090-0233 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5912 |
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Hothersall, B.; Harris, P.; Sörtoft, L.; Nicol, C.J. |
| Title |
Discrimination between conspecific odour samples in the horse (Equus caballus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
126 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
37-44 |
| Keywords |
Horse; Olfaction; Social discrimination; Urine; Faeces |
| Abstract |
Behavioural observations suggest that smell is important in social discriminations between horses but balanced studies of this capacity are lacking. We used a habituation-discrimination procedure to investigate the ability of horses to distinguish between pairs of odour samples from different individuals. In Study 1, separate tests were conducted for urine, faeces or fleece fabric previously rubbed on the coat (to pick up body odour samples (BOS)) and donor pairs differed in sex, and age. 10 pregnant mares each underwent three tests, one per sample type. A test consisted of three successive 2-min presentations of a sample from Individual A with a simultaneous presentation of a sample from Individual B during the final presentation. Doubly repeated measures ANOVA indicated a main effect of sample type on investigative response (df = 2, f = 7.98, P = 0.004): durations were longer for BOS than for urine or faeces but habituation across trials was most consistent for urine. In the final presentation, mares demonstrated discrimination by investigating the novel urine sample (B) more than the repeated sample (novel: median 8.0 s, IQR = 10; repeated: median 2.5 s, IQR = 6; z = -2.558, P = 0.008). In Study 2, urine samples from castrated male donors were used and neither mares nor their 4-month-old foals discriminated between samples from different individuals in the final presentation. The findings suggest that urine odour may contain some information that horses can use to discriminate between conspecifics. This may be limited to the level of broad categories such as sex or reproductive status; further investigation is needed to reveal what functional information can be transmitted and what compounds are involved. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5134 |
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| Author |
Gabor, V.; Gerken, M. |
| Title |
Horses use procedural learning rather than conceptual learning to solve matching to sample |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
126 |
Issue |
3-4 |
Pages |
119-124 |
| Keywords |
Horses; Concept learning; Visual discrimination; Cognition; Experimental design; Procedural learning |
| Abstract |
Research into higher cognitive abilities of the horse may be limited by developing the adequate experimental design. In this study four pony mares between 8 and 19 years old were included. Three of them reached the criterion to be tested in a new design of matching to sample using a black circle and a cross as visual cues attached to an apparatus. The attention was directed to the question of whether the animals are able to concept formation in a given time period or if their decisions depend on other cues or strategies. After familiarization to the testing area and the test procedure, the animals were given 27 sessions of 20 trials each during 14 weeks. While there was no preference for one of the stimuli used, horses showed a significant left sidedness. None of the mares reached the learning criterion of 80% correct answers in one session. However, the ponies showed procedural learning based on correction runs that were given between incorrect decisions, by then selecting the correct stimulus on the other side of the apparatus. This learning type arose in three individuals in session four, six and eleven, respectively. It is concluded that discrimination tasks may be biased by the involvement of unexpected learning strategies, which complicates the interpretation of such tests and may even mask possible conceptualization capabilities. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5157 |
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Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F.; Erhard, H.W. |
| Title |
Fearfulness in horses: A temperament trait stable across time and situations |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
115 |
Issue |
3-4 |
Pages |
182-200 |
| Keywords |
Horse; Temperament; Fearfulness; Novelty; Suddenness; Behavioural tests |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to test the existence of a “fearfulness” trait in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different fear-eliciting situations. It was also to identify which behavioural parameters are the best indicators of this trait. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Of these, 33 Welsh ponies and 21 Anglo-Arabs were also tested at 2.5 years of age. At each age, they were subjected to four test situations. The first test involved the introduction of a novel object in the test pen (novel object test). In the second test, a novel area was placed in the pen between the horse and a bucket of food, to determine the time the horse took to cross the area (novel area test). Finally, the third test consisted in suddenly opening an umbrella in front of the horse while it was eating (surprise test). During these tests, many behavioural parameters were recorded. A fourth test consisted of a surprise test during which the horse was held by a handler while its heart rate was measured. Spearman correlations were used to identify links between behavioural parameters measured during different tests and between different ages. Reactions to the first three tests showed consistency between them and over time. Among all the behavioural parameters measured during these tests, some presented high stability over time and were well correlated with behaviours expressed during other tests, indicating they are the best indicators of a fearfulness trait: the frequency of licking/nibbling the novel object, the time to put one foot on the novel area and to eat from a bucket placed just behind it, and the flight distance and the time to eat under the opened umbrella. The stability across responses expressed in various fear-eliciting events and over time from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggests the existence of a [`]fearfulness' trait in horses. The different indexes of heart rate measured or calculated during the surprise effect present limited stability over time and almost no correlation with the behavioural parameters measured during the other three tests. We conclude that, in contrast to the previously mentioned behaviours, these are not reliable measures of a temperament trait. From a practical point of view, this study shows that it is possible to identify a horse's level of fearfulness as early as 8 months of age using the first three tests. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5167 |
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Cozzi, A.; Sighieri, C.; Gazzano, A.; Nicol, C.J.; Baragli, P. |
| Title |
Post-conflict friendly reunion in a permanent group of horses (Equus caballus) |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
| Volume |
85 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
185-190 |
| Keywords |
aggression; affiliative interactions; conflict resolution; horse; post conflict; behaviour; reconciliation |
| Abstract |
Gregarious animals living in permanent social groups experience intra-group competition. Conflicts over resources can escalate into costly aggression and, in some conditions, non-dispersive forms of conflict resolution may be favoured. Post-conflict friendly reunions, hence reconciliation, have been described in a variety of species. The aim of this study was to explore, for the first time, the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of domestic horses (Equus caballus) and learn more about strategies used to maintain group cohesion. The behaviour of seven horses living as permanent group in an enclosure for at least 2 years was observed by video for 108 h from June to August 2007. We used a Post-Conflict/Matched Control method to assess the existence of reconciliation and third-party affiliation. Behaviours recorded Post-Conflict, or during Matched Control periods, were classified as affiliative based on previous descriptions of visual communication patterns in horses. The proportion of attracted pairs over total post-conflict situations was significantly greater than the proportion of dispersed pairs, both during dyadic interactions (p < 0.001) and during triadic interactions (p = 0.002). The results of the present study show that both dyadic reconciliation and third-party post-conflict affiliative interactions form important social mechanisms for managing post-conflict situations in horses. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5168 |
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Krueger, K.; Flauger, B.; Farmer, K.; Maros, K. |
| Title |
Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
14 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
187-201 |
| Keywords |
Human–horse interaction – Horse – Attention-reading – Position – Familiarity |
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This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object-choice task when confronted with (a) an unfamiliar or (b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: (1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket, it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses’ performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations, the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5178 |
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Hockenhull, J.; Creighton, E. |
| Title |
Unwanted oral investigative behaviour in horses: A note on the relationship between mugging behaviour, hand-feeding titbits and clicker training |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
127 |
Issue |
3-4 |
Pages |
104-107 |
| Keywords |
Equine; Horse; Titbits; Food rewards; Clicker training; Mugging behaviour |
| Abstract |
Unwanted oral investigative in horses has been anecdotally attributed to the practice of hand-feeding. Fears over such behaviour developing as a consequence of using food rewards, for example in clicker training, have been implicated as a common reason for not employing food-based positive reinforcement training techniques. This study used data generated as part of a larger research project, and explored associations between five common oral investigative behaviours and the practices of hand-feeding and clicker training. Data were from a convenience sample of UK leisure horse owners using two self-administered Internet surveys. Ninety-one percent of respondents reported giving their horse food by hand and this practice was significantly associated with three of the five oral investigative behaviours, licking hands (P = 0.006), gently searching clothing (P < 0.001) and roughly searching clothing (P = 0.003). Nipping hands and biting clothes were not associated with hand-feeding, suggesting that risk factors for these behaviours originate outside of this practice. Clicker training techniques were employed by 14% of respondents and their use was not associated with the incidence of any of the five oral investigative behaviours. These findings suggest that horse owners should not be deterred from using food-based positive reinforcement techniques with their horses, as fears that this practice will result in unwanted oral investigative behaviours from their horses appear unfounded. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5183 |
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