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Author (up) Ahrendt, L.P.; Christensen, J.W.; Ladewig, J.
Title The ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through social observation Type Abstract
Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 139 Issue 1 Pages 105-113
Keywords Horse; Social learning; Social interaction; Instrumental task; Investigative behaviour; Aggression
Abstract The ability of horses to learn through social observation may ease the implementation of new management systems, because the use of automatic feeders etc. by naive horses could be facilitated by observation of experienced horses. However, previous studies found no documentation for observational learning abilities in horses. This study aimed to investigate the ability of horses to learn an instrumental task from a familiar conspecific when social interaction was allowed during the demonstration. Two similar experiments were performed. In the first experiment, Observer horses (n=11) participated in ten successive demonstrations, where a trained Demonstrator opened an operant device by pushing a sliding lid aside with the muzzle in order to obtain a food reward. Immediately after the demonstrations the Observer horses were given the opportunity to operate the device alone. Control horses (n=11) were aware that the device contained food but were presented to the operant device without demonstration of the task. The learning criterion was at least two openings. Accomplishment of and latency to accomplish the learning criterion, and investigative behaviour towards the operant device were recorded. Five Observers and one Control, out of the eleven horses in each treatment group, accomplished the learning criterion. Even though this presents a high odds ratio (OR) in favour of the Observer treatment (OR=7.6), there was no significant difference between the treatment groups (P=0.15). Analysis of investigative behaviour showed, however, that the demonstrations increased the motivation of the Observer horses to investigate the device. Subsequently, a similar experiment was performed in a practical setting with 44 test horses (mixed age, gender and breed). We used the same operant device and the same number and type of demonstrations, although the horses were held on a loose rope to minimise aggression. In this second experiment, six of 23 Observer horses and five of 21 Control horses learned the instrumental task, representing no influence of the demonstration. Thus, this study did not demonstrate an ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through observation.
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ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00087-1 Serial 5773
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Author (up) Ahrendt, L.P.; Labouriau, R.; Malmkvist, J.; Nicol, C.J.; Christensen, J.W.
Title Development of a standard test to assess negative reinforcement learning in horses Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 169 Issue Pages 38-42
Keywords Algometry; Horse behaviour; Learning performance; Operant conditioning; Pressure-release; Horse training
Abstract Most horses are trained by negative reinforcement. Currently, however, no standardised test for evaluating horses' negative reinforcement learning ability is available. The aim of this study was to develop an objective test to investigate negative reinforcement learning in horses. Twenty-four Icelandic horses (3 years old) were included in this study. The horses were tested in a pressure-release task on three separate days with 10, 7 and 5 trials on each side, respectively. Each trial consisted of pressure being applied on the hindquarter with an algometer. The force of the pressure was increased until the horse moved laterally away from the point of pressure. There was a significant decrease in required force over trials on the first test day (P<0.001), but not the second and third day. The intercepts on days 2 and 3 differed significantly from day 1 (P<0.001), but not each other. Significantly stronger force was required on the right side compared to the left (P<0.001), but there was no difference between first and second side tested (P=0.56). Individual performance was evaluated by median-force and the change in force over trials on the first test day. These two measures may explain different characteristics of negative reinforcement learning. In conclusion, this study presents a novel, standardised test for evaluating negative reinforcement learning ability in horses.
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ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6650
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Author (up) Albright, J.; Sun, X.; Houpt, K.
Title Does cribbing behavior in horses vary with dietary taste or direct gastric stimuli? Type Journal Article
Year Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl Anim Behav Sci
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords Horse; Stereotypy; Cribbing; Diet
Abstract Abstract Concentrated feed diets have been shown to drastically increase the rate of the cribbing, an oral stereotypy in horses, but the specific component causing the rise has not been identified. Furthermore, the mechanism through which feed affects cribbing has not been explored. In the first experiment of this study, we quantified the latency to crib and number of cribs in 15 min after the horses tasted various grain, sugar, and artificial sweetener solutions. Undiluted grain stimulated the most cribs (P < 0.01) compared with all other solutions, and shortest latency to crib, although this was significantly higher only when compared with diluted grain (P = 0.03). In Experiment 2, latency to crib and number of cribs in 15 min after the grain and sugar solutions were administered via nasograstric tube were also evaluated. There were no statistical differences among cribbing responses to grain, fructose, and water administered directly to the stomach although grain stimulated cribbing behavior more quickly than 10% fructose (P = 0.03) and 100% tap water (P = 0.04). These results confirm that highly palatable diets, possibly mediated through the opioid and dopaminergic systems, are one of the most potent inducers of cribbing behavior. The highly palatable taste remains the probable “cribogenic” factor of concentrated diet, although gastric and post-gastric effects cannot be excluded.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6123
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Author (up) Anderson, M.K.; Friend, T.H.; Evans, J.W.; Bushong, D.M.
Title Behavioral assessment of horses in therapeutic riding programs Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 63 Issue 1 Pages 11-24
Keywords Horses; Therapeutic riding; Temperament; Cortisol; Catecholamines
Abstract A behavioral assessment of horses who were being used and not used in therapeutic riding programs was conducted to help determine useful methods of selecting horses for use in therapeutic riding programs. A total of 103 horses (76 horses from five therapeutic riding centers and 27 non-therapeutic riding horses from four sites) were used. Temperament survey for each horse were completed by three riding instructors at each therapeutic riding center or by the individual most knowledgeable about the horse at the other sites. Twenty personality traits from the survey were used to quantify temperament. Concentrations of plasma cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine were also measured in each horse. A reactivity test was then conducted which involved introducing three novel stimuli: a walking and vocalizing toy pig placed on a cardboard surface in front of the horse for 20 s; popping a balloon near the horse's flank area; and suddenly opening an umbrella and holding it open in front of the horse for 20 s. Reactions (expressions, vocalizations and movement) to each of the stimuli were scored and used to calculate an average reactivity score for each horse. The therapeutic riding instructors did not often agree on the temperament of their center's horses. The personality trait ratings made by the therapeutic riding instructors at each center were on average significantly correlated (P<0.01, r>0.52) for only 37.8% of the horses for any two instructors and 7.8% for three instructors. No significant correlations were found between temperament, reactivity, and the hormone concentrations (r<0.19), but regression analysis indicated a possibility of predicting temperament from the reactivity score and hormone concentrations (P<0.08). There was also a tendency for relationships between extremes in temperament (desirable vs. undesirable) and the hormone concentrations (P<0.09), and between extremes in reactivity (low vs. high) and the hormone concentrations (P=0.08). The difference in ratings among riding instructors indicates a need for more collaboration between instructors when evaluating horse temperament. This study also indicates that it was very difficult to objectively determine the suitability of horses for therapeutic riding programs regarding their temperament and reactivity, probably because other traits (e.g., smoothness of gait) are also considered very important.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4812
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Author (up) Appleby M.
Title Consciousness, Cognition and Animal Welfare – J.K. Kirkwood, R.C. Hubrecht, S. Wickens, H. O'Leary, S. Oakley (Eds.), Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, 2001, 251 pp., Paperback, Supplement to Volume 10 of Animal Welfare, 15/US$ 30, ISSN 0962-7286 Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 77 Issue Pages 239-241
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 3485
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Author (up) Appleby, M.
Title Consciousness, Cognition and Animal Welfare: J.K. Kirkwood, R.C. Hubrecht, S. Wickens, H. O'Leary, S. Oakley (Eds.), Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, 2001, 251 pp., Paperback, Supplement to Volume 10 of Animal Welfare, [pound sign]15/US$ 30, ISSN 0962-7286 Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 77 Issue 3 Pages 239-241
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2905
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Author (up) Araba, B.D.; Crowell-Davis, S.L.
Title Dominance relationships and aggression of foals (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 1994 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 41 Issue 1-2 Pages 1-25
Keywords aggression; dominance; horse; Equus caballus
Abstract Studied a herd of 15 Belgian brood-mares and 10 foals. Specific aspects of social structure studied were dominance-subordinance relationships, preferred associates, social spacing, aggression rates, the frequency of aggressions administered down the dominance hierarchy, and interactive play bouts. The rank order of the foals, both before and after weaning, was positively correlated with the rank order of their dams. There was also a significant relationship between a foal's rank and its total aggression or aggression rate per subordinate post-weaning. Higher ranking foals had higher rates of aggression. Over 80% of threats were directed down the dominance hierachy. The play-rank order of the foals, scored by the number of times foal left a play bout, was not significantly correlated with the rank order as scored by agonistic interactions. -from Authors
Address Dept Anatomy and Radiology, Univ of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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ISSN 01681591 (Issn) ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 790
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Author (up) Austin, N.P.; Rogers, L.J.
Title Lateralization of agonistic and vigilance responses in Przewalski horses (Equus przewalskii) Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal
Volume 151 Issue Pages 43-50
Keywords Behavioural lateralization: Eye preference; Limb preference; Aggression; Vigilance; Reactivity; Przewalski horses
Abstract tEye and limb preferences were scored in the closest undomesticated relative of Equuscaballus using the same methods as used previously to study laterality in feral horses.Observations were made of 33 Przewalski horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) (male N = 20,female N = 13) living under natural social conditions on a large reserve in France. Signifi-cant left-eye/side biases were found in agonistic interactions within harem bands (M ± SEbias to left 58% ± 0.01 for threats, P < 0.001; 68% ± 0.05 for attacks; P < 0.001) and in stallionfights (threats, 52% ± 0.01 left, P < 0.001; attacks, 63% ± 0.02 left, P < 0.001): as many as 80%of the horses were significantly lateralized in attack responses within harem bands. Lat-erality of vigilance was measured as lifting up the head from grazing and turning it to theleft or right side: a directional bias to the left was found (M ± SE 53% ± 0.02 left, P < 0.001).Side bias in reactivity was calculated as the percent of head lifts above the level of thewithers on the left or right side and this was also left side biased (M ± SE 73% ± 0.03 left,P < 0.001). These results indicate right-hemisphere specialization for control of aggressionand responses to novelty. The left bias in attack scores within harem bands was strongerin males than females (P = 0.024) and in immature than adult horses (P = 0.032). Immaturehorses were also more strongly lateralized than adults in vigilance scores (P = 0.022), whichmay suggest that experience reduces these side biases. Our results show that Przewalskihorses exhibit left eye preferences, as do feral horses, and do so even more strongly thanferal horses. Considering feral and Przewalski horses together, we deduce that ancestralhorses had similar lateral biases. Also similar to feral horses, the Przewalski horses showedno significant forelimb preference at the group level or in the majority of horses at theindividual level, confirming the hypothesis that previously reported limb preferences indomestic breeds are entrained or generated by breed-specific selection.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5768
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Author (up) Autio, E.; Heiskanen, M.-L.
Title Foal behaviour in a loose housing/paddock environment during winter Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 91 Issue 3-4 Pages 277-288
Keywords Foal behaviour; Horse; Loose house; Time budget; Weather
Abstract The aim of this study was to establish some basic facts about weanling horse (Equus caballus) behaviour in a loose housing/paddock environment during winter. The behaviour of 10 foals (seven American Standardbred and three Finnish cold-blooded foals) was observed in a cold loose housing/paddock environment from December 2002 to March 2003. The time budget, circadian rhythm and effect of weather conditions on behaviour were examined. The foals were observed for a total of 23 24-h periods by video recording. The method used was instantaneous sampling (), where the locations of foals were noted at every 15 min along with the behaviour performed at that time. Temperature, humidity and wind speed were recorded three times a day. The foals spent 43.2 +/- 6.6% of the time in the sleeping hall (an insulated building with a deep-litter bed), 51.4 +/- 5.8% in the open paddock and 5.2 +/- 2.7% in the shelter (a two-sided, roofed entrance shelter in front of the sleeping hall). The time spent outdoors was greatest between the hours of 08:00 and 20:00, but the foals spent some time outdoors also at night. They spent most of the day eating hay (27.6 +/- 3.0%) (offered ad libitum), standing (25.5 +/- 2.8%) and resting (32.1 +/- 2.4%). The proportion of locomotive behaviour patterns was 5% of the observations. The foals in this study were able to perform species-specific behaviour patterns (resting, eating, being active) and to follow the natural circadian rhythm of these patterns. The behaviour of the foals did not change much as the temperature dropped from 0 to -20 [degree sign]C. The time spent in the sleeping hall did not increase greatly, nor the time spent eating, resting or lying close to each other (huddling). On the basis of their behaviour, the weanling horses did not seem to suffer from the cold environment.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3632
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Author (up) Bachmann, I.; Bernasconi, P.; Herrmann, R.; Weishaupt, M.A.; Stauffacher, M.
Title Behavioural and physiological responses to an acute stressor in crib-biting and control horses Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 82 Issue 4 Pages 297-311
Keywords Horse welfare; Stereotypies; Crib-biting; Pituitary-adrenocortical axis; Sympatho-adrenomedullar axis; Stress response; Stress sensibility
Abstract The responses of eleven pairs of crib-biting and non-crib-biting horses (controls) to an arousal-inducing stimulus were studied. Video-observation of the horses revealed that crib-biting horses spent between 10.4 and 64.7% of their stabling time performing the stereotypy. During the first 2 days of an experimental period, the horses were conditioned to receive food from a special bucket. On the third day the food bucket was presented, but the horses were not allowed to feed. Arousal behaviour and crib-biting intensity as well as plasma cortisol concentration, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded at rest, and during and after presentation of the food stimulus. The stimulus induced a significant increase of HR and arousal behaviour in crib-biters and in controls, whereas the crib-biting frequency decreased. Power spectral analysis of the HRV revealed significant differences between crib-biters and controls at rest: crib-biters had a lower vagal tone (high frequency component, HF) and a higher sympathetic tone (low frequency component, LF) than controls. The lower basal parasympathetic activity might be an indication why crib-biting horses, in contrast to the controls, showed neither a significant decrease of the HF component during presentation of the food stimulus nor an increase of the HF component after presentation. Thus, there might be differences in the tuning of the autonomous nervous system and of the stress reactivity in crib-biting and in control horses. The results suggest that the crib-biting horses are more stress sensitive and physiologically and psychologically less flexible than the control horses.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3614
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