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Lehmann, K.; Kallweit, E.; Ellendorff, F. |
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Title |
Social hierarchy in exercised and untrained group-housed horses--A brief report |
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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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96 |
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3-4 |
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343-347 |
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Horses; Social hierarchy; Exercise; Group-housing |
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Changes in social hierarchy were evaluated in a herd of 3-year-old Hanoverian geldings. One group (n = 5) was exposed to a training programme, the other (n = 5) remained untrained. After 6 months, the groups were reversed. Hierarchical positions were evaluated by field observations and/or paired-feeding tests at the beginning, the middle, the end of the first and at the end of the second training period. Both methods yielded identical results. Almost all horses changed position in only one direction: either up or down. Neither increase in aggression nor mutual injuries were recorded during the whole experiment. No statistically verified differences in dominance ranking occurred between trained and untrained groups, but apparent differences were consistent. Thus, if horses are kept in the same group for a longer period of time, exercise induced changes in hierarchy are probably of minor importance and are unlikely to increase the incidence of injuries. This may have implications for the promotion of group-housing for sport horses. |
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800 |
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Henry, S.; Hemery, D.; Richard, M.-A.; Hausberger, M. |
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Title |
Human-mare relationships and behaviour of foals toward humans |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
93 |
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3-4 |
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341-362 |
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Horse; Human-animal relationship; Maternal influence; Early experience; Social facilitation |
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We studied experimentally whether horse dams influenced foals' relationships with humans. We investigated the influence of the establishment of positive human-mare relationships on foals' behaviour toward humans. Forty-one foals and their dams were involved in this experiment. Half of the mares were softly brushed and fed by hand during a short period (total of 1.25 h) during the first 5 days of their foals' lives (experimental group, n = 21). The other mares were not handled experimentally and their foals received no contact with the experimenter (control group, n = 20). The reactions of both experimental and control foals were recorded under various conditions, first, for 5 min in the presence of a motionless experimenter, when foals were 15 and 30-35 days old, then in an approach test when they were 15 days old and in a saddle-pad tolerance test when they were 30-35 days old. Finally, approach-stroking tests were performed successively by the familiar experimenter when foals were 11-13 months old and by an unfamiliar person when they were 13-15 months old. Several observations strongly suggest that mares can influence their foals' behaviour toward humans: (1) during the handling procedure, experimental foals of protective mares were further from the handler than foals of calm mares (p < 0.001); (2) experimental foals remained, at all ages, closer to the experimenter (p < 0.05) and initiated more physical contacts (sniffing, licking, etc.) with the experimenter (p < 0.05) than control foals; (3) avoidance and flight responses of experimental foals were considerably reduced during approaches by the experimenter (p < 0.01) and they accepted saddle-pads on their backs more easily (p < 0.01) and more quickly (p < 0.01) than control foals. Lastly, the consequences of handling mares had effects that lasted at least until foals were one year old (p < 0.05) and became generalized from experimenter to unfamiliar humans, who could approach and stroke experimental foals rapidly during a test (p < 0.05). This is the first report of an attempt to use observation of mother by foals to facilitate human-foal relationships. The procedure is simple, takes little time and can easily be applied to any dam-foal pair, as it is not intrusive and presents no risks of disrupting mare-foal bonds. |
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Momozawa, Y.; Kusunose, R.; Kikusui, T.; Takeuchi, Y.; Mori, Y. |
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Assessment of equine temperament questionnaire by comparing factor structure between two separate surveys |
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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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92 |
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1-2 |
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77-84 |
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Anxiety; Factor analysis; Horses; Questionnaires; Temperament |
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To establish a method for assessing equine temperament by use of a questionnaire, we carried out two surveys. The subject animals were all thoroughbreds maintained at the same farm. Respondents were the primary caretaker and two colleagues working with each horse. Factor analysis was performed on the responses to each survey. In both surveys, five factors were extracted and four of them were common between the two surveys. The common factors were [`]Anxiety', [`]Trainability', [`]Affability', and [`]Gate entrance'. There were sufficient internal consistencies in responses about [`]Anxiety', [`]Trainability', and [`]Affability' in the two surveys to indicate the validity of this questionnaire in evaluating these factors in equine temperament. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5063 |
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Williams, J.L.; Friend, T.H.; Nevill, C.H.; Archer, G. |
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The efficacy of a secondary reinforcer (clicker) during acquisition and extinction of an operant task in horses |
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Journal Article |
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2004 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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88 |
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3-4 |
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331-341 |
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Equine; Horse; Clicker training; Operant conditioning; Secondary reinforcers |
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“Clicker training” is a popularly promoted training method based on operant conditioning with the use of a secondary reinforcer (the clicker). While this method draws from theories of learning and is used widely, there has been little scientific investigation of its efficacy. We used 60 horses, Equus callabus, and assigned each horse to one of six reinforcement protocols. The reinforcement protocols involved combinations of reinforcers administered (primary versus secondary plus primary), schedule of reinforcement (continuous versus variable ratio), and reinforcers applied during extinction (none or secondary). There were no differences (P>=0.11) between horses which received a secondary reinforcer (click) followed by the primary reinforcer (food) and those which received only the primary reinforcer (food) in the number of trials required to train the horses to touch their noses to a plastic cone (operant response). There also were no differences (P>=0.12) between horses which received the secondary reinforcer plus primary reinforcer and those which received only the primary reinforcer in regards to the number of trials to extinction. We conclude that there is no difference in the amount of training required to learn the operant task or in the task's resistance to extinction between horses that received a secondary reinforcer followed by a primary reinforcer versus horses which received only a primary reinforcer. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3581 |
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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 |
Abbreviated Journal |
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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Murphy, J.; Waldmann, T.; Arkins, S. |
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Sex differences in equine learning skills and visuo-spatial ability |
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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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87 |
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1-2 |
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119-130 |
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Horses; Sex differences; Visuo-spatial ability; Learning |
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There is evidence of superior visuo-spatial ability in males compared to females in most species investigated to-date. However, no known studies have addressed this issue in the equine. Equine visuo-spatial ability was investigated using a novel test apparatus with a sample of 62 horses (males=34 and females=28) during a series of six tests, where the horses were required to access a food source. The test apparatus consisted of a series of four adjacent stalls, each of which had a feed bin and a moveable barrier. The test apparatus was designed such that the breastplate barriers controlled and limited access by the horses to feed bins in all but one stall during each test. Male horses performed such that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the ability of the subjects to complete all six tests in a mean time of 30 s or less per test. There were significant differences in mean completion times for male subjects between test 1 and test 2 (P<0.05), test 1 and test 3 (P<0.001), test 1 and test 4 (P<0.05) and test 1 and test 5 (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in mean completion times between any of the six tests for female subjects. Males had a lower mean total number of errors during all tests. Male horses also successfully completed significantly more tests than females (P<0.05). These results provide the first behavioural demonstration of superior visuo-spatial ability in male horses, similar to that reported in other species. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3560 |
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Sondergaard, E.; Ladewig, J. |
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Group housing exerts a positive effect on the behaviour of young horses during training |
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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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105-118 |
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Horses; Housing; Human-animal relationship; Social environment; Training; Learning |
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In an experiment on the effects of social environment and training on the human-animal relationship, 20 horses were handled according to a defined schedule. Eight horses were housed singly and 12 horses were housed in four groups of 3 horses. Horses were handled three times per week in 10 min sessions from an age of 6 months until 2 years of age during two winter periods. A total of 50 and 70 sessions were given in the first and second period, respectively. Five randomly allocated people performed the training. The training scheme involved leading, tying up, touching, lifting feet, etc. in 43 stages. The horse had to fulfil the performance criteria of each stage in order to get to the next stage. In the first winter period, horses were led to the stable when they had “passed” a stage or after 10 min of training. In the second winter period, horses would start off at stage 1 again, and when they “passed” a stage they went on to the next stage within the same training session. Because of the change in training procedure results were analysed separately for the two winter periods. There was a significant difference between trainers in the number of times they allowed a horse to “pass” a stage within each winter period (χ32, P<0.05; χ32, P<0.001 for the first and the second winter period, respectively). Group housed horses “passed” more stages than single housed horses (17 versus 14; 27 versus 18 in the first and second winter period, respectively; P<0.05 for the interaction). Singly housed horses bit the trainer more frequently than did group housed horses (P<0.01). The responses of group housed horses to training clearly demonstrate the benefits of raising young horses in groups. |
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McLean, A.N. |
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Short-term spatial memory in the domestic horse |
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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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85 |
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1-2 |
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93-105 |
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Animal cognition; Delayed response; Equine memory; Horse; Object permanence; Temporal cognition |
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This study investigates the ability of horses to recall a feeding event in a two-point choice apparatus. Twelve horses were individually tested whereby they were maintained immobile in a test arena and visually and aurally experienced the delivery of food into one of two feed goals. The horses were then released to make their choice in two experimental contexts: immediate release after experiencing the delivery of food, and release 10 s after food delivery. Each horse performed 40 immediate-release (IR) trials, followed by forty 10-s release trials over a 3-day period. In addition, the same horses were tested 3 months later in the spring with the same number and sequence of trials. Results were analysed by log-linear analysis of frequencies. Results showed that while horses were able to achieve the correct feed goal choice in the immediate-release trials, they were unsuccessful with the 10-s release trials. This suggests that there are limitations in recall abilities in horses, in that they may not possess a prospective type of memory. There are welfare and training implications in these findings concerning the effects of overestimating the mental abilities of horses during training and the effects of delays in reinforcements. |
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403 |
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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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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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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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McCall, C.A.; Salters, M.A.; Simpson, S.M. |
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Relationship between number of conditioning trials per training session and avoidance learning in horses |
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1993 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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36 |
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4 |
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291-299 |
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Horse; Learning; Avoidance conditioning |
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Sixteen horses were used to determine if number of trials given per training session (5, 10, 15 or 20) affected learning performance in an avoidance conditioning task. The horse had to move from one side of a test pen to the other during an auditory cue presentation to avoid aversive stimulation. A pen 8 mx3.6 m, divided into two equal sections by a 13-cm diameter plastic pipe lying on the ground, was used as the test pen. Painted plywood panels were fastened to the fence in half the pen to help horses distinguish visually between the two parts. A 10-s auditory cue was used as a signal for horses to move from one side of the test pen to the other. A 20-s intertrial interval was used. Training sessions were conducted every third day. Each trial was recorded as an avoidance (the horse completed the task during auditory cue presentation and avoided aversive stimulus) or an error (the horse received aversive stimulus). After completing ten consecutive avoidances (criterion), the horse was removed from the study. Numbers of training sessions, trials, avoidances and errors until reaching criterion were recorded for each horse. Horses varied greatly within these variables with ranges of 3-18 sessions, 37-121 trials, 20-68 avoidances and 17-53 errors to criterion. No differences were detected (P>0.05) in the number of conditioning trials per training session (treatment) for the mean number of trials, avoidances or errors to criterion. Number of training sessions to criterion differed (P<0.01) among treatments, indicating that an optimum number of learning trials per training session might exist. Mean sessions to criterion for horses receiving 5, 10, 15 and 20 trials per session were 15.1+/-1.3, 5.8+/-1.1, 5.3+/-1.1 and 4.6+/-1.1, respectively. Regression analysis indicated that 16.2 trials per training session would minimize number of sessions to criterion. Although it is widely assumed that learning efficiency in horses is decreased when intense activity is concentrated into a small number of sessions, these results indicate that moderate repetition of training activities is needed for efficient learning. |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
3686 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
