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Author Bachmann, I.; Audige, L.; Stauffacher, M.
Title Risk factors associated with behavioural disorders of crib-biting, weaving and box-walking in Swiss horses Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Equine Veterinary Journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet J
Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 158-163
Keywords Animal Husbandry/*methods; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology); Data Collection; Female; Horse Diseases/epidemiology/*etiology/prevention & control; Horses; *Housing, Animal; Male; Mental Disorders/epidemiology/etiology/prevention & control/*veterinary; Prevalence; Regression Analysis; Risk Factors; *Stereotyped Behavior; Switzerland/epidemiology
Abstract REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Studies on the prevalence of behavioural disorders in horses and on associated risk factors have revealed inconsistent results. There are many studies on the neuropharmacological, surgical or mechanical therapy of stereotypies, but little is known about their causation. OBJECTIVES: To explore risk factors associated with the occurrence of behavioural disorders in horses. METHODS: A sample of horse owners, selected randomly and representative for Switzerland, was contacted in a postal survey. Answers were provided for 622 stables (response rate 35.2%). Individual data of 2,341 horses were examined with path analysis (multivariable linear and logistic regression), and adjustment made for possible confounding effects due to age and breed. RESULTS: Out of 60 possible risk factors, 11 were associated with the outcome at the univariable level (null-hypothesis path model) and 3 factors remained after the backward logistic regression procedure. Mature Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds, assessed by the owners to be reactive, fed 4 times a day and without daily pasture, had increased odds of displaying crib-biting, weaving and box-walking. Furthermore, indirect associations of 5 factors with the outcome were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The final logistic regression model of risk factors leads to the hypotheses that causal prevention of stereotypic behaviours should be based upon housing and management conditions which allow tactile contact with other horses (e.g. mutual grooming), daily free movement (paddock or pasture), as well as the provision of high amounts of roughage but of little or no concentrates. POTENTIAL CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is one of the aims of population medicine to prevent the development of behavioural disorders. Further research is needed to test the concluding hypotheses in experimental studies or to verify them in the context of similar observational studies.
Address Institute of Animal Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), LFW B55. 1, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:12638792 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1907
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Author Barton, R.A.
Title Neocortex size and behavioural ecology in primates Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication Proceedings of the Royal Society B Abbreviated Journal Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B
Volume 263 Issue 1367 Pages 173-177
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Brain/*anatomy & histology; Cerebral Cortex/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; *Ecology; Evolution; Primates/anatomy & histology/*physiology/psychology; Regression Analysis; Species Specificity
Abstract The neocortex is widely held to have been the focus of mammalian brain evolution, but what selection pressures explain the observed diversity in its size and structure? Among primates, comparative studies suggest that neocortical evolution is related to the cognitive demands of sociality, and here I confirm that neocortex size and social group size are positively correlated once phylogenetic associations and overall brain size are taken into account. This association holds within haplorhine but not strepsirhine primates. In addition, the neocortex is larger in diurnal than in nocturnal primates, and among diurnal haplorhines its size is positively correlated with the degree of frugivory. These ecological correlates reflect the diverse sensory-cognitive functions of the neocortex.
Address Department of Anthropology, University of Durham
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ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:8728982 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4783
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Author Holmstrom, M.; Magnusson, L.E.; Philipsson, J.
Title Variation in conformation of Swedish warmblood horses and conformational characteristics of elite sport horses Type Journal Article
Year 1990 Publication Equine Veterinary Journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet J
Volume 22 Issue 3 Pages 186-193
Keywords Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Breeding; Female; Forelimb/anatomy & histology; Hindlimb/anatomy & histology; Horses/*anatomy & histology/physiology; Least-Squares Analysis; Male; Physical Conditioning, Animal; Regression Analysis; Sex Characteristics
Abstract The variation in conformation of 356 Swedish Warmblood horses is described, using a quantitative method of measuring horses. Thirty-three of the horses were elite dressage horses, 28 were elite showjumpers, 100 were riding school horses and 195 were unselected four-year-olds. Most horses had a long body form. The average height at the withers was 163.4 cm. Sixty per cent of the horses had a bench knee conformation, 50 per cent had a toe-in conformation of the forelimbs and 80 per cent had outwardly rotated hind limbs. The majority of these deviations were mild or moderate. Conformation was influenced by sex and age. Mares were smaller and had longer bodies and shorter limbs. The elite dressage horses and showjumpers had larger hock angles and more sloping scapulas than other horses. The showjumpers also had smaller fetlock angles in the front limbs. It is suggested that the larger hock angles among the elite horses may be because hocks with small angles are more prone to injury, and because small hock angles may negatively influence the ability to attain the degree of collection necessary for good performance in advanced classes.
Address Department of Animal Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skara
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ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:2361507 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3756
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Author Nicol, C.J.; Potzsch, C.; Lewis, K.; Green, L.E.
Title Matched concurrent case-control study of risk factors for feather pecking in hens on free-range commercial farms in the UK Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication British poultry science Abbreviated Journal Br Poult Sci
Volume 44 Issue 4 Pages 515-523
Keywords *Aggression; Analysis of Variance; Animal Husbandry/methods; Animals; Case-Control Studies; Chickens/*physiology; Feathers; Female; Multivariate Analysis; Odds Ratio; Regression Analysis; Species Specificity
Abstract 1. The aim of the study was to compare the management and husbandry of free-range flocks in the UK where feather pecking was either present (case) or absent (control). 2. One hundred flocks were enrolled into a concurrent case-control study: 50 where birds had recently started feather pecking, and 50 matched control flocks where birds of the same age had not started feather pecking. 3. Information was obtained from a detailed interview with the flock manager, and by direct inspection of the flock, house and range. 4. Initial univariate analyses revealed that case flocks were more likely to comprise ISA Brown than Lohmann, were more likely to be restricted from litter areas to prevent floor eggs, and were less likely to use the outside range. 5. Cluster analysis indicated that feather pecking was not associated with any particular husbandry system. 6. The only influential risk factor significant in the multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was use of the outdoor range. The risk of feather pecking was reduced 9-fold in flocks where more than 20% of birds used the range on sunny days (odds ratio = 0.12). Use of the range was positively associated with the presence of trees and/or hedges on the range.
Address Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, England. c.j.nicol@bris.ac.uk
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ISSN 0007-1668 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:14584840 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 79
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Author Verheyen, K.; Price, J.; Lanyon, L.; Wood, J.
Title Exercise distance and speed affect the risk of fracture in racehorses Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Bone Abbreviated Journal Bone
Volume 39 Issue 6 Pages 1322-1330
Keywords Animals; Case-Control Studies; Cohort Studies; England; Exertion; Female; Fractures, Bone/etiology/*veterinary; Horse Diseases/*etiology; Horses/*injuries; Male; Physical Conditioning, Animal/adverse effects/methods; Poisson Distribution; Prospective Studies; Regression Analysis; Risk Factors; Running/injuries/physiology
Abstract In order to gain insight into those training regimens that can minimise the risk of fracture in athletic populations, we conducted a large epidemiological study in racehorses. Thoroughbred racehorses provide a suitable model for studying fracture development and exercise-related risk factors in physically active populations. They represent a homogeneous population, undertaking intensive exercise programmes that are sufficiently heterogeneous to determine those factors that influence injury risk. Daily exercise information was recorded for a cohort of 1178 thoroughbreds that were monitored for up to 2 years. A total of 148 exercise-induced fractures occurred in the study population. Results from a nested case-control study showed a strong interactive effect of exercise distances at different speeds on fracture risk. Horses that exceeded 44 km at canter (< or =14 m/s) and 6 km at gallop (>14 m/s) in a 30-day period were at particularly increased risk of fracture. These distances equate to ca. 7700 bone loading cycles at canter and 880 loading cycles at gallop. Fifty-six fractures occurred in the subset of study horses that were followed since entering training as yearlings, when skeletally immature (n = 335). Cohort analysis of this data set showed that, in previously untrained bones, accumulation of canter exercise increased the risk of fracture (P < or = 0.01), whereas accumulation of high-speed gallop exercise had a protective effect (P < 0.01). However, increasing distances at canter and gallop in short time periods (up to one month) were associated with an increasing fracture risk. All training exercise involves a balance between the risk of fracture inherent in exposure to loading and the beneficial effect that loading has by stimulating bone cells to produce a more robust architecture. Results from our study provide important epidemiological evidence of the effects of physical exercise on bone adaptation and injury risk and can be used to inform the design of safer exercise regimens in physically active populations.
Address Epidemiology Unit, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom. kverheyen@rvc.ac.uk
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ISSN 8756-3282 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:16926125 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4030
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