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Author Mal, M.E.; McCall, C.A.; Newland, C.; Cummins, K.A.
Title Evaluation of a one-trial learning apparatus to test learning ability in weanling horses Type Journal Article
Year 1993 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 305-311
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Abstract Fourteen Arabian foals were used to determine if a one-trial appetitive conditioning task, developed for laboratory rats, could be adapted for use in equine learning research. The learning apparatus consisted of a 1.5 m x 0.6 m wooden grid containing 40 compartments. Seven foals received a complete learning test which consisted of placing a foal in a pen with the learning apparatus on one wall, recording the foal's behavior for 5 min and then placing a food reinforcer in a target compartment (TC). After location of the food, the foal's behavior was recorded for an additional 5 min. Total visits made to the apparatus and compartments visited by the foal were recorded. The remaining seven foals received a test in which no reinforcer was placed in the TC. These foals were re-tested the next day with reinforcement. After location of the food reinforcer, all foals exhibited more visits to the apparatus, visits to the TC, visits one compartment from the TC, and visits greater than one and less than or equal to two compartments from the TC (P<0.05). Mean distance of visits from the TC decreased after location of the reinforcer (P<0.05). Increased frequency of visits to the apparatus and concentration of visits around the TC after finding the reinforcer suggest that foals had learned the location of the reinforcer. Results suggest that a one-trial appetitive conditioning test may be applicable in equine learning research.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3688
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Author Boyd, L.; Bandi, N.
Title Reintroduction of takhi, Equus ferus przewalskii, to Hustai National Park, Mongolia: time budget and synchrony of activity pre- and post-release Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 78 Issue 2-4 Pages 87-102
Keywords Equids; Przewalski's horses; Takhi; Behaviour patterns; Time budgets; Behavioural synchrony; Reintroduction
Abstract A harem of takhi (Equus ferus przewalskii) was observed during introduction to the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve of Mongolia. The goals were to examine whether the harem exhibited significant behavioural synchrony, whether release had an effect on time budget, and what the implications might be regarding acclimatisation to the wild. Behaviours were scan sampled every 10 min between the hours of 06:00 and 22:00, twice before release, twice immediately after release, and twice 2 years after reintroduction. Time budgets were constructed from these data. Considerable behavioural synchrony was evidenced both before and after release. Crepuscular grazing and midday resting were typical, regardless of the date relative to release. Upon release, the amount of time spent moving doubled for all age classes. It is suggested that this increase resulted from exploration. The amount of time spent grazing and standing remained unchanged; the increased amount of time spent moving came at the expense of resting. Two years later, the horses still spent more time moving than when captive. Somewhat less time was spent grazing, although the difference was not significant. More time was spent resting in 1996 than immediately after release. These time budgets provide evidence of successful acclimatisation to the wild. Trekking between favoured sites could account for the persistent increase in time spent moving, with concomitantly less time needed to meet nutritional needs by grazing and more time available for resting. Housing captive takhi in large enclosures is evidently insufficient to permit the amount of movement exhibited by this wild harem. The time budget of the 1- and 2-year olds was more similar to that of adults than foals, indicating approaching adulthood. That 1- and 2-year olds were nursed, without loss of body condition by the dam, provided additional evidence that the takhi achieved excellent nutritional status in the wild.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3690
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Author Val-Laillet, D.; Passille, A.M. de; Rushen, J.; von Keyserlingk, M.A.G.
Title The concept of social dominance and the social distribution of feeding-related displacements between cows Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 111 Issue 1-2 Pages 158-172
Keywords Cattle; Social dominance; Competitive success; Hierarchy; Feeding competition
Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the classical properties of social dominance describe the pattern of feeder-related displacements with groups of cattle. We also compared the advantages and disadvantages of three dominance indices for describing the competitive success at the feeder. We observed displacements at the feeder within six groups of 12 lactating dairy cows over 72 h per group. We demonstrated that the cattle in our experiment established a quasi-linear hierarchy at the feeder where many dominance relationships were bi-directional (52.0 +/- 5.9%); namely, dominance relationships were significantly linear (P < 0.05 in five of the six groups) but contained many circular triads (45.0 +/- 5.6%). Dominance rank influenced the milk production (r = 0.36, P = 0.002) and the time budget of the animals: high-ranking cows were found spending more time at the feeder during the 120 min following provision of fresh food than low-ranking cows (P = 0.022), but dominance indices based on the occurrence of displacements at the feeder did not correlate with actual time spent at the feeder. The presence of numerous circular triads and bi-directional relationships suggests that the classical properties of social dominance do not correspond to the pattern of displacements that occur at feeders within small groups of cattle. Instead, the competitive success may also be affected by motivation or persistence by the animal to gain access to the food resource.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4213
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Author Fleurance, G.; Duncan, P.; Fritz, H.; Cabaret, J.; Cortet, J.; Gordon, I.J.
Title Selection of feeding sites by horses at pasture: Testing the anti-parasite theory Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 108 Issue 3-4 Pages 228-301
Keywords Foraging strategies; Horses; Parasite risk; Patch choice
Abstract Management of grazed grasslands for production and/or conservation objectives requires a thorough understanding of the choices of feeding sites by herbivores, and of the biological processes involved. Most models of the feeding strategies of herbivores are based on the principle that optimising the intake of energy (or some nutrient) is the primary goal of foragers but other selective forces, such as parasitism, could be important. Gastrointestinal parasites (including cyathostome nematodes) have powerful effects on the fitness of herbivores and may act as a major selection pressure favouring host behaviour that reduces the risk of encountering parasites. Among large herbivores, horses have perhaps the most marked tendency to select particular feeding sites within grasslands. We test here: (1) whether horses select feeding patches with relatively low parasite densities and (2) if their choice is affected by their parasite load. We used 10 two-year old saddle-horses and three periods. In the first period, the horses were under natural parasitism which varied strongly among individuals; in the second period they were all dewormed, and in the third, a sub-set of the horses was experimentally infected with cyathostome larvae. Ninety-eight percent of the infective larvae in the pasture were found <1 m from faeces. The main determinant of the choice of feeding patch by horses was the availability of patches of different parasite risk and grass height. Controlling for availability, the horses used tall grasses (>16 cm) less than expected, whether the grass was contaminated or not, and they selected for short patches >1 m from faeces, where the risk of encountering parasites was low. These results suggest that selection of feeding sites by horses is driven by an interaction between their nutritional and anti-parasite strategies: the horses avoid the patches of tall grass which are generally of low quality and areas contaminated by parasite larvae which leads them to prefer the patches of short grass far from faeces. The parasite status of the horses at the time of the experiment had no effect on their feeding choices. However, before concluding that the challenge by cyathostomes has no effect on the selection of feeding sites in horses, it will be necessary to test whether the history of parasitism of the individuals, rather than the current status, is important.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4228
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Author Lloyd, A.S.; Martin, J.E.; Bornett-Gauci, H.L.I.; Wilkinson, R.G.
Title Horse personality: Variation between breeds Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 112 Issue 3-4 Pages 369-383
Keywords Horse personality; Breed; Assessment; Questionnaire survey; Animal
Abstract Anecdotal evidence from horse owners and handlers suggests the existence of breed typical behaviour and personality in horses. This is further supported by current research on heritability of personality characteristics in a range of species. The Horse Personality Questionnaire (HPQ) is a 25-item rating method that has previously been shown to be reliable for the assessment of personality in horses. Principal component analysis on HPQ data has identified six underlying personality components in horses. These are Dominance, Anxiousness, Excitability, Protection, Sociability and Inquisitiveness. Using the HPQ a survey of 1223 horses of eight different breeds was completed. Data were analysed to explore any differences in personality between breeds across the six personality components. Breed differences in personality were identified, and it was noted that variability between breeds varied between personality components. Anxiousness and Excitability showed the most variation between breeds, whilst Dominance and Protection showed the least variance. The results identified breed typical personalities that were comparable to results from previous studies as well as anecdotal evidence provided by the popular equine literature. The results are discussed in terms of the potential selection pressures that may have resulted in these differences.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4279
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Author Hausberger, M.; Gautier, E.; Muller, C.; Jego, P.
Title Lower learning abilities in stereotypic horses Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 107 Issue 3-4 Pages 299-306
Keywords Stereotypies; Learning ability; Horses
Abstract The question of whether motor stereotypies may be associated with learning disorders is a highly debated issue both in humans and animals, but evidence is still scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours in horses where stereotypies are well described and learning abilities measurable. Seventy horses were observed in their box at two periods (August and November) and were then submitted to an instrumental task (opening a chest by raising the lid using the nose). Fifty-one of them had shown stereotypic behaviours at both periods. It appeared that more stereotypic horses (36/51) were unsuccessful than non-stereotypic horses (3/19) in the learning task. When successful, they required a longer time in order to perform the task (368 s on average against 220 for the non-stereotypic horses). No difference was found according to the type of stereotypy performed. This is to our knowledge the first time that a relation is found between stereotypy and learning in an animal species. The additional finding that stereotypic horses spent less time lying down and sleeping suggests a possible role of attentional processes. This finding has important implications for the horse industry.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4301
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Author Nagy, K.; Schrott, A.; Kabai, P.
Title Possible influence of neighbours on stereotypic behaviour in horses Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 111 Issue 3-4 Pages 321-328
Keywords Horse; Stereotypies; Survey; Risk factors; Logistic mixed regression
Abstract Revealing risk factors of abnormal stereotypic behaviour (ASB) in horses can help in the design of protective measures. Previous epidemiological studies indicate that social isolation, housing, management conditions, and feeding regime have a strong effect on developing ASB. The common belief that exposure to a stereotypic horse increases the risk of ASB has never been substantiated. Here we report that a generalised linear mixed models (GLMM) analysis of data on 287 horses of nine riding schools revealed that exposure to a stereotypic neighbour is a significant risk factor for performing stereotypy. Also, aggressive behaviour towards other horses increased the odds of stereotypy in the aggressor. These correspondences are unlikely to be a riding-school effect, because riding schools were treated as random factor in the GLMM. Risk factors identified by epidemiological studies cannot be treated as causal agents without independent evidence. Our aim in presenting these findings was to draw attention to the possibility of neighbour effects so that other researchers would include this variable in their surveys.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4302
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Author Piggins, D.; Phillips, C.J.C.
Title Awareness in domesticated animals--concepts and definitions Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 57 Issue 3-4 Pages 181-200
Keywords Complex mind; Awareness; Humans; Domesticated animals; Conscious state
Abstract Humans will probably never experience the awareness of another species, but adopting a broad concept of awareness leads to the conclusion that other species have some awareness. The existence of a more complex mind in humans, compared with other species, leads some to suggest that awareness only exists in humans. We postulate that humans possess a significantly increased level of awareness, facilitated in particular by the acquisition of language, but that generally animals possess a level of awareness that is appropriate to their needs. Categories of awareness can be devised by identifying levels, such as are used in the identification of the conscious state in humans, or by ranking states of awareness in order of complexity. A scheme is proposed that combines these two approaches, which is considered suitable for use with domesticated animals. The advantages of identifying awareness as being sensation-, perception- or cognition-based are discussed, as well as the possibility of a scheme based on the degree and site of CNS processing. Finally, the acquisition of awareness by learning and inheritance is considered, and it is argued that in variable environments, animals will evolve increased awareness, whereas in very stable environments the energetic cost of awareness will encourage the evolution of less aware animals.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4308
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Author Lomas, C.A.; Piggins, D.; Phillips, C.J.C.
Title Visual awareness Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 57 Issue 3-4 Pages 247-257
Keywords Visual awareness; Colour vision; Rhythm
Abstract Awareness varies between different species and humans can never truly appreciate what it is like to be another individual, either of the same species or another. Visual perceptual faculties provide some evidence of the extent to which domesticated animals derive information from objects in their environment, whilst changes in behaviour resulting from different visual stimuli can also provide valuable information on the state of visual awareness. Extensive processing of potentially visual information must occur in all domesticated species, but is much less well understood than purely sensory based information. For example, sensory aspects of colour vision are reasonably well understood, but the role of wavelength variables in an animal's cognition and its colour experience is not clear. Considerable use is made of diurnal changes in photoperiod to synchronise endogenous rhythms to particular times of the day and the year. Variation in light intensity in natural images is also important for social reasons for animals to be able to discriminate between, e.g., different faces, but little is known about intensity preferences or the effects of intensity on behaviour. It appears likely that in many cases visual stimuli represent some of the most important influences on an animal's awareness, either alone or in combination with, e.g., olfactory cues. However, a much greater understanding of their processing is required before we can make useful deductions about visual awareness in domesticated animals.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4309
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Author Veissier, I.
Title Observational learning in cattle Type Journal Article
Year 1993 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 35 Issue 3 Pages 235-243
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Abstract Four experiments were designed to find evidence of observational learning in cattle. The experiments were run on ten experimental heifers, each observing a demonstrator mate performing a task, and on ten control heifers, each observing a non-demonstrator mate. The mates and observers were separated by wire netting in Experiments 1-3, but were in the same room in Experiment 4. The task to be learned was to push a panel to get food into a box. All naive animals were able to observe while their mate performed the task. The observers in Experiments 1 and 4 were Salers heifers that had no prior experience of the testing room; those in Experiment 2 were Salers heifers that were accustomed to the room; those in Experiment 3 were Aubrac or Limousin heifers that had already eaten in the room.

The behaviour of the observers was influenced by their mates: activity at or near the boxes was enhanced by the presence of demonstrators in Experiment 2 (box contacts: 38.0 +/- 16.2 vs. 22.1 +/- 11.9 for experimental and control heifers, respectively; P<0.05), while activity in other parts of the room in Experiment 3 was enhanced when non-demonstrator mates were present (wall sniffing: 5.4 +/- 13.9 vs. 13.9 +/- 13.7; P<0.05). Overall, 26 experimental heifers vs. 19 controls learned the task (P>0.05). The time spent eating was longer when the observer only had visual contact with a demonstrator (Experiment 1: 15.9 +/- 1.6 vs. 11.6 +/- 1.8 min), but was lower when physical contacts with the demonstrator were possible (Experiment 4: 4.6 +/- 8.8 vs. 5.4 +/- 2.2 min; P<0.05).

Ten out of the 11 Limousin heifers learned the task, compared with only three out of the nine Aubrac heifers (P<0.05). The latter spent more time near the door and sniffed the walls more often than the former (2.0 +/- 1.9 vs. 0.4 +/- 0.6 min, P<0.05, and 18.1 +/- 13.4 vs. 2.7 +/- 6.5 min, P<0.01), as though they were trying to flee the situation.

When animals observed a demonstrator, their attention was drawn to stimuli involved in the task but acquisition of knowledge was not greatly improved.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour Team @ birgit.flauger @ Serial 4325
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