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Author Krueger, K.; Schwarz, S.; Marr, I.; Farmer, K.
Title Laterality in Horse Training: Psychological and Physical Balance and Coordination and Strength Rather Than Straightness Type Magazine Article
Year 2022 Publication Animals Abbreviated Journal Animals
Volume 12 Issue 8 Pages 1042
Keywords balance; body asymmetry; equitation; horse; motor laterality; sensory laterality; stress; welfare
Abstract For centuries, a goal of training in many equestrian disciplines has been to straighten the horse, which is considered a key element in achieving its responsiveness and suppleness. However, laterality is a naturally occurring phenomenon in horses and encompasses body asymmetry, motor laterality and sensory laterality. Furthermore, forcibly counterbalancing motor laterality has been considered a cause of psychological imbalance in humans. Perhaps asymmetry and laterality should rather be accepted, with a focus on training psychological and physical balance, coordination and equal strength on both sides instead of enforcing “straightness”. To explore this, we conducted a review of the literature on the function and causes of motor and sensory laterality in horses, especially in horses when trained on the ground or under a rider. The literature reveals that body asymmetry is innate but does not prevent the horse from performing at a high level under a rider. Motor laterality is equally distributed in feral horses, while in domestic horses, age, breed, training and carrying a rider may cause left leg preferences. Most horses initially observe novel persons and potentially threatening objects or situations with their left sensory organs. Pronounced preferences for the use of left sensory organs or limbs indicate that the horse is experiencing increased emotionality or stress, and long-term insufficiencies in welfare, housing or training may result in left shifts in motor and sensory laterality and pessimistic mentalities. Therefore, increasing laterality can be regarded as an indicator for insufficiencies in housing, handling and training. We propose that laterality be recognized as a welfare indicator and that straightening the horse should be achieved by conducting training focused on balance, coordination and equal strength on both sides.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Animals
Series Volume 12 Series Issue (down) 8 Edition
ISSN 2076-2615 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6670
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Author Baumgartner, M.; Boisson, T.; Erhard, M.H.; Zeitler-Feicht, M.H.
Title Common Feeding Practices Pose A Risk to the Welfare of Horses When Kept on Non-Edible Bedding Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Animals Abbreviated Journal Animals
Volume 10 Issue Pages 441
Keywords horse behaviour; feed intake pause; bedding; welfare indicator; feeding practices; roughage; horse welfare; individual housing system
Abstract During the evolution of the horse, an extended period of feed intake, spread over the entire 24-h period, determined the horses� behaviour and physiology. Horses will not interrupt their feed intake for more than 4 h, if they have a choice. The aim of the present study was to investigate in what way restrictive feeding practices (non ad libitum) affect the horses� natural feed intake behaviour. We observed the feed intake behaviour of 104 horses on edible (n = 30) and non-edible bedding (n = 74) on ten different farms. We assessed the duration of the forced nocturnal feed intake interruption of horses housed on shavings when no additional roughage was available. Furthermore, we comparatively examined the feed intake behaviour of horses housed on edible versus non-edible bedding. The daily restrictive feeding of roughage (2 times a day: n = 8; 3 times a day: n = 2), as it is common in individual housing systems, resulted in a nocturnal feed intake interruption of more than 4 hours for the majority (74.32%, 55/74) of the horses on shavings (8:50 ± 1:25 h, median: 8:45 h, minimum: 6:45 h, maximum: 13:23 h). In comparison to horses on straw, horses on shavings paused their feed intake less frequently and at a later latency. Furthermore, they spent less time on consuming the evening meal than horses on straw. Our results of the comparison of the feed-intake behaviour of horses on edible and non-edible bedding show that the horses� ethological feeding needs are not satisfied on non-edible bedding. If the horses accelerate their feed intake (also defined as �rebound effect�), this might indicate that the horses� welfare is compromised. We conclude that in addition to the body condition score, the longest duration of feed intake interruption (usually in the night) is an important welfare indicator of horses that have limited access to roughage.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Animals
Series Volume 10 Series Issue (down) 3 Edition
ISSN 2076-2615 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6647
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Author Cerasoli, F.; Podaliri Vulpiani, M.; Saluti, G.; Conte, A.; Ricci, M.; Savini, G.; D'Alterio, N.
Title Assessment of Welfare in Groups of Horses with Different Management, Environments and Activities by Measuring Cortisol in Horsehair, Using Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Type
Year 2022 Publication Animals Abbreviated Journal Animals
Volume 12 Issue 14 Pages
Keywords cortisol; animal welfare; horse; Lc-Hrms/Ms
Abstract Horses have always been animals used for companionship, work, transportation, and performance purposes over the history of humanity; there are different ways of managing horses, but studies on how horse welfare is influenced by different activities and managements are scanty. Understanding how the management, the environment, and the different uses of horses can affect the level of stress and well-being is important not only for people associated with horses. Three groups of horses with different management, environments, and activities were selected: (1) stabled horses ridden frequently, (2) horses that perform public order service under the Italian state police, and (3) free-ranging horses. Cortisol analysis was carried out on horsehair samples using liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), a laboratory technique used for the first time to quantify horsehair cortisol. The selection of horses to be included in the three groups was carried out by including only subjects with positive welfare assessment in accordance with the horse welfare assessment protocol (AWIN). These analyses demonstrated that the cortisol levels detected in the horsehair of free-ranging animals were significantly higher compared to those detected in stabled and working horses. These results may have been a consequence of complex environmental, managerial, and behavioral factors, which should be worth further investigation
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Animals
Series Volume 12 Series Issue (down) 14 Edition
ISSN 2076-2615 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6674
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Author Sigurjónsdóttir, H.; Haraldsson, H.
Title Significance of Group Composition for the Welfare of Pastured Horses Type Journal Article
Year 2019 Publication Animals Abbreviated Journal Animals
Volume 9 Issue 14 Pages
Keywords horse welfare; aggression; allogrooming; pastured horses; Icelandic horse
Abstract We explore how herd composition and management factors correlate with frequencies of social interactions in horse groups. Since the welfare of horses correlates with low aggression levels and social contact opportunities, information of this kind is important. The data are a collection of records of social interactions of 426 Icelandic horses in 20 groups of at least eight horses. The complexities and limitations of the data prohibit useful statistical modelling so the results are presented descriptively. Interesting and informative patterns emerge which can be of use both in management and in future studies. Of special interest are the low levels of agonistic behaviours in breeding groups where one stallion was present. The horses were less agonistic when in groups with young foals and where group membership was stable. Unfamiliar yearlings in peer groups were especially aggressive. Allogrooming was most frequent in groups with relatively more young horses and in unstable and small groups. Interestingly, the horses allogroomed more if they had few preferred allogrooming partners. The findings show that composition (age/sex) and stability of groups are of great importance with respect to aggression levels and opportunities for establishing bonds.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Animals
Series Volume 9 Series Issue (down) 1 Edition
ISSN 2076-2615 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6510
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Author Waters, A.J.; Nicol, C.J.; French, N.P.
Title Factors influencing the development of stereotypic and redirected behaviours in young horses: findings of a four year prospective epidemiological study Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Equine veterinary journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet J
Volume 34 Issue 6 Pages 572-579
Keywords Age Factors; Animal Husbandry/*methods; Animal Welfare; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Female; Horse Diseases/epidemiology/prevention & control/*psychology; Horses; Housing, Animal; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; *Stereotyped Behavior; Weaning
Abstract Stereotypies are invariant and repetitive behaviour patterns that seemingly have no function, which tend to develop in captive animals faced with insoluble problems and may be indicative of reduced welfare. A 4 year prospective study of the factors influencing the development of stereotypic and redirected behaviours (abnormal behaviour) in a population of 225 young Thoroughbred and part-Thoroughbred horses was conducted between 1995 and 1999. Abnormal behaviour affected 34.7% of the population. Multivariable analysis showed that foals of low- or middle-ranking mares were less likely to develop abnormal behaviour than foals of dominant mares (rate ratio (RR) 0.23, P<0.01; RR 0.48, P<0.01, respectively). Weaning by confinement in a stable or barn was associated with an increased rate of development of abnormal behaviour, compared with paddock-weaning (RR 2.19, P<0.05), and housing in barns, rather than at grass after weaning, was associated with a further increase (RR 2.54, P<0.01). Specific stereotypic and redirected behaviours were then considered as separate outcomes. Crib-biting was initiated by 10.5% of horses at median age 20 weeks, weaving by 4.6% of horses at median age 60 weeks, box-walking by 2.3% of horses at median age 64 weeks and wood-chewing by 30.3% of horses at median age 30 weeks. Wood-chewing developed at a lower rate in horses born to subordinate or mid-ranking mares than in horses born to dominant mares (RR 0.29, P<0.01; RR 0.41, P<0.01, respectively), and at a higher rate in horses kept in barns or stables rather than at grass after weaning (RR 4.49, P<0.001; RR 1A6, P<0.001, respectively). Feeding concentrates after weaning was associated with a 4-fold increase in the rate of development of crib-biting (RR 4.12, P = 0.02). The results of this study support the idea that simple changes in feeding, housing and weaning practices could substantially lower the incidence of abnormal behaviour in young horses.
Address University of Bristol, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol, UK
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (down) Edition
ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12357996 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 84
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Author Baker, K.C.; Seres, E.; Aureli, F.; De Waal, F.B.
Title Injury risks among chimpanzees in three housing conditions Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 51 Issue 3 Pages 161-175
Keywords Aggression; *Animal Welfare; Animals; Female; *Housing, Animal; Male; *Pan troglodytes; Risk Assessment; Wounds and Injuries/*veterinary
Abstract Meeting the psychological needs of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) can be a challenge given their aggressiveness on the one hand and the complexity of their social lives on the other. It is unclear how to balance the need to provide opportunities for species-appropriate behavior against potential risks of injury chimpanzees may inflict on each other. This study evaluates the suggestion that simpler social environments protect chimpanzees from wounding. Over a two-year period all visible injuries to 46 adult males, 64 adult females, and 25 immature chimpanzees were recorded at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center. Approximately half of the subjects were mother-reared, and the rest were nursery-reared. Housing included compounds containing about 20 chimpanzees, interconnected indoor-outdoor runs for groups of up to 12 individuals, and smaller indoor-outdoor runs for pairs and trios. Annual wounding rates were calculated for serious wounds (extensive injuries and all those requiring veterinary intervention) as well as for minor wounds. Compound-housed chimpanzees incurred the highest level of minor wounding, but serious wounding levels were not affected by housing condition. Even with a period of dominance instability and elevated levels of wounding in one compound, compound chimpanzees were not injured more than those in smaller social groups over the long term. Nursery-reared females in moderate-sized groups were wounded more than mother-reared females. Also, nursery-reared males and females were wounded less often when paired with mother-reared companions. Overall, this study indicates that maintaining chimpanzees in pairs and trios would not be an effective means for reducing injuries. The management of wounding in chimpanzee colonies is influenced more by the sex and rearing composition of a colony.
Address Living Links Center, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. kateb@rmy.emory.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (down) Edition
ISSN 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:10902665 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 188
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Author Ninomiya, S.; Sato, S.; Kusunose, R.; Mitumasu, T.; Obara, Y.
Title A note on a behavioural indicator of satisfaction in stabled horses Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 106 Issue 1-3 Pages 184-189
Keywords Animal welfare; Satisfaction; Horses; Operant response; Stable
Abstract We observed the behaviour of six stabled horses (stallions n = 3; geldings n = 3) in an attempt to identify behavioural measures of eating satisfaction. The horses were required to perform an operant response (pressing a button with the muzzle) in order to access a food reward in an experimental box stall. After each horse had successfully learned the experimental situation, it participated in the experimental protocol on 4 days. Horses were brought to the experimental box stall for the operant response sessions (1 h duration per session), and upon completion, they were returned to their own (home) box stalls. The number of presses for the reward was a Fixed Ratio schedule of either 3 or 12 muzzle presses (FR3, FR12) and the FR procedure for each horse was as follows: FR3 FR12 FR12 FR3 or FR12 FR3 FR3 FR12. Number of rewards obtained during each session, and behaviour and heart rate after each session were recorded for each horse. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that the number of rewards obtained in FR3 was higher than in FR12 (P < 0.05). The horses spent more time in standing-rest, (with ears rotating laterally and exhibiting a low neck position) indicating sleep, in the home box stall, after FR3 compared to FR12 treatments (P < 0.05). Mean heart rate after standing-sleep was significantly lower than mean heart rate in the home box stall (P < 0.01). These results suggest that eating satisfaction induces sleep in stabled horses, and that episodes of standing-sleep behaviour may be a useful indicator of appropriate or enhanced welfare in the horse.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 281
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Author Thorne, J.B.; Goodwin, D.; Kennedy, M.J.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P.
Title Foraging enrichment for individually housed horses: Practicality and effects on behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 94 Issue 1-2 Pages 149-164
Keywords Horse; Foraging behaviour; Eating; Feeding; Enrichment; Welfare
Abstract The stabled (UK) or stalled (USA) horse is commonly fed a restricted-forage diet in contrast to the varied ad libitum high-fibre diet it evolved to consume. A low-forage diet has been linked to the performance of stereotypical behaviour and health problems including gastric ulceration and impaction colic (in cases where horses are bedded on straw). Provision of a diet closer to that which the horse is adapted to and which enables more natural feeding behaviour warrants investigation. This trial aimed to establish whether the behavioural effects observed in short-term trials when stabled horses were provided with a multiple forage diet persist over longer periods. It also aimed to develop a practical methodology for maintaining stabled horses under forage-enriched conditions. Nine horses (aged 5-20 years, various breeds), acting as their own controls, participated in an 18-day, cross-over, Latin Square designed trial, in which they received comparable weights of two dietary treatments: a Single Forage (SF, hay) diet and a Multiple Forage (MF) diet (three long-chop and three short-chop commercially available forages). Following a 2-day acclimatisation, horses were maintained on the forage treatments for 7 days. Horses were observed on alternate days, morning and afternoon, during the 25 min following forage presentation. Horses then crossed over onto their second treatment and, following a further 2 days' acclimatisation, the same protocol was followed for a further 7 days. Observations from video were made using The Observer 3.0(R) and SPPS (version 11). Horses on the MF treatment performed foraging behaviour significantly more frequently and for significantly longer periods than horses on the SF treatment. On the MF treatment horses sampled all forages during observations. However, there were significant differences in the frequency and duration of foraging on individual forages, indicating that horses demonstrated individual preferences for particular forages. Stereotypic weaving behaviour only occurred on the SF treatment. The results indicate that the potentially beneficial behavioural effects of short-term multiple forage provision do persist when horses are managed on a MF diet for a 7-day period. They suggest that a MF diet provides a means of enriching the stabled horse's environment, by offering variety and enabling patch foraging behaviour. The methodology proved practical for maintaining horses under forage-enriched conditions and could easily be adopted by horse owners to facilitate foraging behaviour.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (down) Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 333
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Author Mendl, M.
Title Performing under pressure: stress and cognitive function Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 221-244
Keywords Stress; Cognition; Attention; Learning; Memory; Welfare
Abstract The way in which cognitive functioning is affected by stressors is an important area of research for applied ethologists because stress caused by captive conditions may disrupt cognitive processes and lead to welfare and husbandry problems. Such problems may be minimised through an understanding of the links between stress and cognition. The effects of stress on cognitive function have been studied in disciplines ranging from human perceptual psychology to animal neuroscience. The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction to this research, focusing on the effects of stressors on attention, memory formation and memory recall. Findings from such a diverse literature with little apparent inter-disciplinary communication are inevitably complex and often contradictory. Nevertheless, some generalities do emerge. The idea that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between an individual's state of stress or arousal and its ability to perform a cognitive task effectively, the so-called Yerkes-Dodson law, is commonly encountered. The law has limited explanatory value because it is unlikely that different stressors act on cognitive function via the same intervening, non-specific state. Furthermore, the law only provides a very general description of the relationship between stress and cognitive function. Empirical research on attention and memory processes reveals more specific findings. Stressors appear to cause shifts, lapses and narrowing of attention, and can also influence decision speed. These processes may be viewed as serving an adaptive role helping the animal to search for and scrutinise a source of danger. There is conflicting evidence as to whether hormones involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress response play a part in these processes. These hormones and those involved in the sympathetic-adrenomedullary stress response do appear to play an important role in memory formation. Low or moderate concentrations of circulating glucocorticoids and catecholamines can enhance memory formation, while excessively high or prolonged elevations of these hormones can lead to memory disruption. The effects of stressors on memory recall are less clear. There is evidence for disruptive effects, and for facilitatory effects indicating state-dependent memory recall; events experienced under conditions of high arousal may be best recalled under similar conditions. Applied ethologists have the opportunity to extend work in this area, which often involves studies of single stressors/stress hormones acting in isolation and limited measures of cognitive function, by focusing on real-life husbandry stressors encountered by captive animals. This will yield fundamental information which also has direct relevance to animal welfare and management issues.
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Language Summary Language Original Title
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 393
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Author Proudman, C.; Pinchbeck, G.; Clegg, P.; French, N.
Title Equine welfare: risk of horses falling in the Grand National Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 428 Issue 6981 Pages 385-386
Keywords Accidental Falls/prevention & control/*statistics & numerical data; Animal Welfare; Animals; Great Britain; Horse Diseases/prevention & control; Horses/*physiology; Odds Ratio; Risk Assessment; *Sports
Abstract As in other competitive sports, the famous Grand National steeplechase, which is held at Aintree in the United Kingdom and is watched by 600 million people worldwide, sometimes results in injury. By analysing data from the past 15 Grand National races (consisting of 560 starts by horses), we are able to identify several factors that are significantly associated with failure to complete the race: no previous experience of the course and its unique obstacles, unfavourable ground conditions (too soft or too hard), a large number of runners, and the length of the odds ('starting price'). We also find that there is an increased risk of falling at the first fence and at the jump known as Becher's Brook, which has a ditch on the landing side. Our findings indicate ways in which the Grand National could be made safer for horses and illustrate how epidemiological analysis might contribute to preventing injury in competitive sport.
Address Epidemiology Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK. c.j.proudman@liverpool.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (down) Edition
ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15042079 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 535
Permanent link to this record