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Author Christensen, J.W.; Ahrendt, L.P.; Lintrup, R.; Gaillard, C.; Palme, R.; Malmkvist, J. doi  openurl
  Title Does learning performance in horses relate to fearfulness, baseline stress hormone, and social rank? Type (up) Abstract
  Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal App Anim Behav Sci  
  Volume 140 Issue 1 Pages 44-52  
  Keywords Horse; Learning; Fearfulness; Stress; Reinforcement; Social rank  
  Abstract The ability of horses to learn and remember new tasks is fundamentally important for their use by humans. Fearfulness may, however, interfere with learning, because stimuli in the environment can overshadow signals from the rider or handler. In addition, prolonged high levels of stress hormones can affect neurons within the hippocampus; a brain region central to learning and memory. In a series of experiments, we aimed to investigate the link between performance in two learning tests, the baseline level of stress hormones, measured as faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), fearfulness, and social rank. Twenty-five geldings (2 or 3 years old) pastured in one group were included in the study. The learning tests were performed by professional trainers and included a number of predefined stages during which the horses were gradually trained to perform exercises, using either negative (NR) or positive reinforcement (PR). Each of the learning tests lasted 3 days; 7min/horse/day. The NR test was repeated in a novel environment. Performance, measured as final stage in the training programme, and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Faeces were collected on four separate days where the horses had been undisturbed at pasture for 48h. Social rank was determined through observations of social interactions during feeding. The fear test was a novel object test during which behaviour and HR were recorded. Performance in the NR and PR learning tests did not correlate. In the NR test, there was a significant, negative correlation between performance and HR in the novel environment (rS=-0.66, P<0.001, i.e. nervous horses had reduced performance), whereas there was no such correlation in the home environment (both NR and PR). Behavioural reactions in the fear test correlated significantly with performance in the NR test in the novel environment (e.g. object alertness and final stage: rS=-0.43, P=0.04), suggesting that performance under unfamiliar, stressful conditions may be predicted by behavioural responses in a fear test. There was a negative correlation between social rank and baseline stress hormones (rS=-0.43, P=0.04), i.e. high rank corresponded to low FCM concentrations, whereas neither rank nor FCM correlated with fearfulness or learning performance. We conclude that performance under stressful conditions is affected by activation of the sympathetic nervous system during training and related to behavioural responses in a standardised fear test. Learning performance in the home environment, however, appears unrelated to fearfulness, social rank and baseline FCM levels.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00168-2 Serial 5769  
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Author Ahrendt, L.P.; Christensen, J.W.; Ladewig, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through social observation Type (up) 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.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00087-1 Serial 5773  
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Author Feh, C. url  isbn
openurl 
  Title Relationships and Communication in Socially Natural Horse Herds Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2005 Publication The domestic horse : the origins, development, and management of its behaviour Abbreviated Journal The domestic horse : the origins, development, and management of its behaviour  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Horses are quite unique. In most mammals, sexes segregate and maintain bonds only during the breeding season (Clutton-Brock, 1989). Some canids, a few rodents and primate species such as gorillas, hamadryas baboons and red howler monkeys are the exception, where the same males stay with the same females all year round and over many breeding seasons. Typically, both sexes disperse at puberty in these species. In horses, it was clearly shown that the causes for female dispersal were incest avoidance and not intra-specific competition (Monard, 1996). As a rule, this is confirmed for mammal species where tenure length by males exceeds the age at first reproduction in females (Clutton-Brock, 1989). When horses are allowed to choose their mating partner freely, the inbreeding coefficient of the offspring is lower than expected should they mate randomly (Duncan et al, 1984).  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Cambridge University Press 2005 Place of Publication Cambridge Editor Mills, D. S. ; McDonnell, , S. M.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN 13 978-0-521-81414-6 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @; Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.092 Serial 472  
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Author Nathan J. Emery url  openurl
  Title The Evolution of Social Cognition Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2005 Publication The Cognitive Neuroscience of Social BehaviourGarten Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Although this bookis focusedon the cognitive neuroscience ofhuman social behaviour, an

understandingofsocial cognition in non-human animals is critical for unravellingthe neural basis of

social cognition in humans as well as the selective pressures that have shapedthe evolution ofcomplex

social cognition. Thanks to methodological limitations, we know little about the relationships between

certain biochemical andelectrophysiological properties ofthe human brain andhow theycompute the

behaviour andmental states ofother individuals. Traditional techniques for examiningneural function

in humans, such as event-relatedpotentials (ERP),positron emission tomography(PET),and

functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI),are constrainedbythe fact that subjects are placed

either into an immoveable scanner with a lot ofbackgroundnoise or wiredup with dozens of

electrodes that are sensitive to slight movements. The possibilityofscanningor recordingbrain waves

from two individuals that are physicallyinteractingsociallyis technicallyimpossible at present

(however, see Montague et al, 2002 for a new methodfor simultaneouslyscanningtwo individuals

interactingvia a computer).

The onlywayto understandthe neurocognitive architecture ofhuman social behaviour is to examine

similar social processes in both human andnon-human animal minds andmake comparisons at the

species level. An additional argument is that traditional human socio-cognitive tasks are dependent on

the use ofstories, cartoons andverbal cues andinstructions (Heberlein & Adolphs, this volume)which

themselves will elicit specific neural responses that have to be eliminatedfrom neural responses

specificallyrelatedto mindreading. Therefore, the development ofnon-verbal tasks wouldprovide a

breakthrough for studies in non-linguistic animals, pre-verbal human infants andhuman cognitive

neuroimaging.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Psychology Press Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 543  
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Author Pusey, A. E.; Packer, C. openurl 
  Title The Ecology of relationships Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2003 Publication Behavioural Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.  
  Volume Issue Pages 254 -283  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Blackwell Scientific Publication Place of Publication Oxford Editor Krebs, J.R.; Davis, N.B.;  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 820  
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Author Giraldeau, Luc-Alain url  isbn
openurl 
  Title The ecology of information use Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 1997 Publication Behavioural ecology : an evolutionary approach Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Blackwell Science Place of Publication Cambridge, Mass. Editor Krebs, J.R.; Davies, N.B.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN 0865427313 9780865427310 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ 35114973 Serial 4277  
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Author unknown openurl 
  Title Personality and Personality Disorders Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 1997 Publication Behavioural Genetics Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 195-207  
  Keywords  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher W. H. Freeman and Company Place of Publication New York Editor Plomin, R.; DeFries, J.C.; McClearn, G.E.;Rutter, M.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition 3  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4283  
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Author Hausberger, M.; Richard-Yris, M.-A. url  isbn
openurl 
  Title Individual differences in the domestic horse, origins, development and stability Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2005 Publication The domestic horse : the origins, development, and management of its behaviour Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 33-52  
  Keywords  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Cambridge University Press 2005 Place of Publication Cambridge Editor Mills, D.S.; McDonnell,  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN 13 978-0-521-81414-6 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Feh2005 Serial 4819  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bergmüller, R. openurl 
  Title Animal Personality and Behavioural Syndromes Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour – Evolution and Mechanisms Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 587-621  
  Keywords  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Springer Place of Publication Heidelberg Editor Kappeler, P.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5179  
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Author van Schaik, C.P. doi  isbn
openurl 
  Title Social learning and culture in animals Type (up) Book Chapter
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 623-653  
  Keywords Life Sciences  
  Abstract Most animals must learn some of the behaviours in their repertoire, and some must learn most. Although learning is often thought of as an individual exercise, in nature much learning is social, i.e. under the influence of conspecifics. Social learners acquire novel information or skills faster and at lower cost, but risk learning false information or useless skills. Social learning can be divided into learning from social information and learning through social interaction. Different species have different mechanisms of learning from social information, ranging from selective attention to the environment due to the presence of others to copying of complete motor sequences. In vertical (or oblique) social learning, naïve individuals often learn skills or knowledge from parents (or other adults), whereas horizontal social learning is from peers, either immatures or adults, and more often concerns eavesdropping and public information use. Because vertical social learning is often adaptive, maturing individuals often have a preference for it over individual exploration. The more cognitively demanding social learning abilities probably evolved in this context, in lineages where offspring show long association with parents and niches are complex. Because horizontal learning can be maladaptive, especially when perishable information has become outdated, animals must decide when to deploy social learning. Social learning of novel skills can lead to distinct traditions or cultures when the innovations are sufficiently rare and effectively transmitted socially. Animal cultures may be common but to date taxonomic coverage is insufficient to know how common. Cultural evolution is potentially powerful, but largely confined to humans, for reasons currently unknown. A general theory of culture is therefore badly needed.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Springer Berlin Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor Kappeler, P.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN 978-3-642-02624-9 Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5268  
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