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Kronfeld, D.S.; Custalow, S.E.; Ferrante, P.L.; Taylor, L.E.; Wilson, J.A.; Tiegs, W. |
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Title |
Acid-base responses of fat-adapted horses: relevance to hard work in the heat |
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Year |
1998 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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59 |
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1-3 |
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61-72 |
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Acid-base; Strong ion difference; pCO2; Exercise; Fat adaptation; Corn oil; Ambient heat; Horse |
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Feeding and training may affect acid-base responses to strenuous exercise. Acidosis usually correlates with higher blood lactate concentrations during intense exercise, but alkalosis has been found in several studies of horses, and higher lactate responses during sprints have been found in fat adapted horses. To elucidate these unexpected findings, we applied a comprehensive physicochemical approach to evaluate acid-base responses during exercise in fat adapted horses. In incremental tests and repeated sprints, changes in blood [H+] were dependent upon corresponding changes in pCO2 but not strong ion difference (SID, the algebraic sum of ions of sodium, potassium, chloride and lactate). The influence of changes in [Lac-] were largely offset by changes in [Na+], [K+] and [Cl-], so that SID was unchanged and did not contribute to the exercise induced acidemia, so it may be inaccurate to term this a lacticacidosis. During repeated sprints, central venous [H+] increased (acidosis) but arterial [H+] decreased (alkalosis). These changes were consistent with concurrent changes in venous and arterial pCO2 but not SID. Fat adaptation decreased mixed venous pCO2 during repeated sprints, which is consistent with the lower respiratory quotient associated with fat oxidation. Less pulmonary work to eliminate CO2 could benefit horses under hot and humid conditions, especially those with mildly reduced pulmonary function. The blood lactate response was decreased during aerobic tests but increased during anaerobic tests on fat adapted horses. Fat adaptation appears to facilitate the metabolic regulation of glycolysis, by sparing glucose and glycogen at work of low intensity, but by promoting glycolysis when power is needed for high intensity exercise. The blood lactate response to repeated sprints was increased more by the combination of fat adaptation and oral supplementation of sodium bicarbonate than by the sum of the responses to fat alone or bicarbonate alone. This synergism suggests that need for further studies of the interaction of fat adaptation with dietary cation-anion balance, especially under hot conditions. These results integrate harmoniously with previous findings of lower feed intake and fecal output, lower loads of heat and CO2, lower water losses in the feces and by evaporation, and less spontaneous activity and reactivity in fat adapted horses. Thus fat adaptation confers several advantages on horses and presumably other equids used for hard work, especially in the heat. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4832 |
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Breuer, K.; Sutcliffe, M.E.M.; Mercer, J.T.; Rance, K.A.; Beattie, V.E.; Sneddon, I.A.; Edwards, S.A. |
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Title |
The effect of breed on the development of adverse social behaviours in pigs |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
84 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
59-74 |
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Pig; Breed; Harmful social behaviour; Ear-biting; Tail-biting; Tail-chew test |
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Tail-biting and other harmful social behaviours are a common problem on pig farms. The aims of the current experiment were (1) to investigate the genetic component of harmful social behaviours such as tail-biting by assessing breed differences, and (2) to further investigate the reliability and predictability of a test, [`]the tail-chew test', previously identified as potentially being capable of predicting a pig's predisposition for tail- and ear-biting. The behaviour of three pig breeds (Large White (LW), Landrace (LR), Duroc (DR)), with 100 pigs per breed, was observed in a [`]tail-chew test', and by observing the performance of harmful social behaviour directed to pen mates in flat deck pens after weaning. The tail-chew test, carried out on two consecutive days pre-weaning, involved observing the behaviour of individual pigs towards two suspended ropes. Pigs were weaned at 28 days and the occurrence of harmful social behaviour was recorded 4 weeks later over 2 consecutive days (1 h per day) using a group [`]period occurrence' scanning method. Breed had a significant effect on rope-directed behaviour in the tail-chew test and on harmful social behaviour. DR pigs interacted with the ropes in the tail-chew test more often (median 23.0 vs 19.0 and 17.5 times in 20 min, P<0.001) and for longer (31.0 vs 20.0 and 23.2 s, P<0.001) than LR and LW pigs, respectively. Although not significantly different from LW, DR pigs tended to direct more total harmful social behaviour towards pen mates than the other breeds. In particular, DR were observed in more total pig-directed biting of pen mates (median 9.0 vs 6.0 and 7.0, P<0.01) than LR and LW, and tended to nose pen mates more often than the other breeds (13.0 vs 11.0 and 10.0, P=0.06). LR pigs bit the ears of pen mates less often than LW and DR (4.0 vs 5.0 and 6.0, P<0.001). Belly-nosing activity was low, with a median of 0 for all breeds, but LR belly-nosed pen mates more often than Durocs (interquartile ranges 0-2.0 vs 0-1.0 and 0-1.0, P<0.01). The behaviour observed in the tail-chew test on day 1 correlated significantly with that observed on day 2 of the test (e.g. frequency of rope-directed behaviour rs=0.380,P<0.01). There were significant but weak correlations between rope-directed behaviour and the performance of some harmful social behaviours. The significant breed differences indicate some genetic contribution to expression of harmful social behaviours. However, the tail-chew test was found to be of limited ability to predict tail- and ear-biting under commercial conditions. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4979 |
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Breuer, K.; Hemsworth, P.H.; Coleman, G.J. |
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Title |
The effect of positive or negative handling on the behavioural and physiological responses of nonlactating heifers |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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84 |
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1 |
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3-22 |
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Dairy heifer; Fear; Handling; Stress response; Milk production; Stimulus generalisation |
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This experiment investigated the effects of positive and negative tactile handling on the stress physiology and behaviour of dairy heifers. Forty-eight 5-14-month-old nonlactating Holstein-Friesian heifers were allocated to one of two handling treatments, either positive or negative tactile handling, over four time replicates. Handling was imposed twice daily, 2-5 min per session and involved moving animals individually along a 64 m outdoor route. The negatively handled heifers took longer to approach within 1 and 2 m of a stimulus person in a standard test, than their positively handled counterparts (P<0.001) and had a greater flight distance to an approaching stimulus (P<0.001). The time taken by the heifers to approach within 1 and 2 m of a familiar person was similar to that taken to approach within 1 and 2 m of an unfamiliar person in the standard test (P<0.05). There was a tendency for heifers to have a greater flight distance from the approaching unfamiliar person than from the approaching familiar person (P=0.06). The negatively handled heifers had greater (P<0.05) increases in total cortisol concentrations 5, 10 and 15 min after exposure to a human and had higher (P<0.05) free cortisol concentrations in the afternoon than the positively handled heifers. It is concluded that the nature of the human contact affects the subsequent behavioural response of heifers to humans. This behavioural response may extend to other humans through the process of stimulus generalisation, although there was some evidence of moderate discrimination. Negative handling results in an acute stress response in the presence of humans and also leads to a chronic stress response. Further research into the effect of these stress responses on milk production and welfare in fearful cows in a commercial situation is suggested. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4980 |
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Bräuer, J.; Call, J.; Tomasello, M. |
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Visual perspective taking in dogs (Canis familiaris) in the presence of barriers |
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Journal Article |
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2004 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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88 |
Issue |
3-4 |
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299-317 |
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Dogs; Visual perspective taking; Metacognition |
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Previous studies have shown that dogs have developed a special sensitivity to the communicative signals and attentional states of humans. The aim of the current study was to further investigate what dogs know about the visual perception of humans and themselves. In the first two experiments we investigated whether dogs were sensitive to the properties of barriers as blocking the visual access of humans. We presented dogs with a situation in which a human forbade them to take a piece of food, but the type and orientation of the barrier allowed the dog to take the food undetected in some conditions. Dogs differentiated between effective and ineffective barriers, based on their orientation or the particular features of the barriers such as size or the presence of window. In the third study we investigated whether dogs know about what they themselves have seen. We presented subjects with two boxes and placed food in one of them. In the Seen condition the location of the food was shown to the dogs while in the Unseen condition dogs were prevented from seeing the destination of the food. Before selecting one of the boxes by pressing a lever, dogs had the opportunity to seek extra information regarding the contents of the boxes, which would be particularly useful in the condition in which they had not seen where the food was hidden. Dogs rarely used the opportunity to seek information about the contents of the box before making their choice in any condition. Therefore, we found no evidence suggesting that dogs have access to what they themselves have seen, which contrasts with the positive evidence about visual perspective taking in others from the first two experiments and previous studies. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4986 |
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Momozawa, Y.; Kusunose, R.; Kikusui, T.; Takeuchi, Y.; Mori, Y. |
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Assessment of equine temperament questionnaire by comparing factor structure between two separate surveys |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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92 |
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1-2 |
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77-84 |
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Anxiety; Factor analysis; Horses; Questionnaires; Temperament |
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To establish a method for assessing equine temperament by use of a questionnaire, we carried out two surveys. The subject animals were all thoroughbreds maintained at the same farm. Respondents were the primary caretaker and two colleagues working with each horse. Factor analysis was performed on the responses to each survey. In both surveys, five factors were extracted and four of them were common between the two surveys. The common factors were [`]Anxiety', [`]Trainability', [`]Affability', and [`]Gate entrance'. There were sufficient internal consistencies in responses about [`]Anxiety', [`]Trainability', and [`]Affability' in the two surveys to indicate the validity of this questionnaire in evaluating these factors in equine temperament. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5063 |
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Jezierski, T.; Jaworski, Z.; Górecka, A. |
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Effects of handling on behaviour and heart rate in Konik horses: comparison of stable and forest reared youngstock |
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1999 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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62 |
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1 |
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1-11 |
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Handling; Behaviour; Heart rate; Horses; Rearing |
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Thirty foals and young Konik horses born in 3 consecutive years and reared up to weaning either in a forest reserve (R) or conventional stable (S) were compared with respect to behavioural reactions and heart rate (HR) during handling manipulations. The foals were randomly allocated within sex and rearing group to one of two handling treatments. Intensively handled (IH) foals received a 10-min handling, 5 days/week, beginning at the age of 2 weeks (S foals) or 10 months (R foals), and lasting up to the age of 24 months. During handling IH foals were haltered, touched, rubbed and their feet were picked up; non-handled (NH) foals were not handled except for routine or emergency veterinary care. The horses were tested at the age of approximately 6 months (S only) and 12, 18 and 24 months of age. In a test comprising catching the horse on a paddock, leading away from and towards the stable, picking up feet and being approached by an unfamiliar person, the horses' behaviour was scored and the HR was recorded telemetrically. The IH horses scored better as far as manageability behaviour is concerned (P<0.001) and demonstrated lower HR than the NH ones and the S horses scored better than R ones (P<0.001). Fillies demonstrated higher HR than colts (P=0.007). Youngstock of all groups tended to be less manageable at the age of 24 months than at 18 months. Differences between youngstock stemming from particular harems from the reserve seem to be related to differences in accidental contact with people visiting the forest reserve. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5064 |
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Penzhorn, B.L.; Novellie, P.A. |
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Some behavioural traits of Cape mountain zebras (Equus zebra zebra) and their implications for the management of a small conservation area |
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1991 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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29 |
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1-4 |
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293-299 |
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The social organisation of mountain zebras (Equus zebra zebra) consists of breeding herds (1 male, 2.4 females (range 1-5) and their offspring) which remain stable over many years, and bachelor groups. Foals leave their maternal herds of their own accord. In a free-ranging population the behaviour of the foals in leaving the herd is probably an adequate mechanism to prevent inbreeding, but inbreeding may occur in confined populations. Individual recognition by means of stripe pattern allows a check to be kept. Seasonal movement of mountain zebras is associated with a relative change in diet quality (as indicated by crude protein contents of preferred food plants and of faeces) between summer and winter habitats. Any conservation area should be large and varied enough to include both summer and winter habitats. Mountain zebras favour taller grass than most antelope species, harvesting their food at 50-150 mm from the ground. The existence of large populations of antelope could, therefore, be detrimental to zebras. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5074 |
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Stachurska, A.; Pieta, M.; Ussing, A.P.; Kapron, A.; Kwiecinska, N. |
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Difficulty of cross-country obstacles for horses competing in Three Day Events |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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123 |
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3-4 |
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101-107 |
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Cross-country; Obstacles; Eventing horse; Behaviour |
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The objective of the study was to determine which cross-country obstacles are more difficult for eventing horses. Jumping scores were considered in terms of the horse's reaction to novelty and to the fearfulness of novel objects which are the fences situated in novel terrain. The data concerned 11 classes of One to Four Star level (stars showing the difficulty of the class) held at the Olympic Games and three international Three Day Events. A total of 400 entries, in which 259 horses jumped 372 obstacles were considered. Scores of 11,341 jumps at particular fences were categorized either as faulty jumps or non-faulty jumps. Factors describing the fences versus the jumping scores were studied with least square analysis of variance, with respect to the interaction between the star level and the fence traits. The overall frequency of faults at the cross-country amounted to 4.33 ± 0.57%. Among the effects analyzed, the difficulty of cross-country fences for the horses depends upon whether an obstacle is single or is an element of a combination, whether it is straight or requiring an effort in both height and spread, is broad or narrow, has a solid top or a brush, has an alternative or not and whether it is a water crossing or not. At One Star level, the less experienced horses react differently to certain fence traits compared to horses participating in Three or Four Star levels. It is concluded that the equine visionary system, being less developed towards identification of stationary objects than the human visionary system may be a key towards explaining the horse's behaviour while jumping the obstacle. The height-spread obstacles, those of the narrow front, with the brush and with the alternative seem to involve more faults because of the equine low-acuity vision. The same reason may justify the similar frequency of faults at the single obstacles and the first elements in combinations. Accurate methods of measuring equine vision would complement behavioural tests and should both be introduced into the selection of eventing horses. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5076 |
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Lansade, L.; Simon, F. |
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Horses' learning performances are under the influence of several temperamental dimensions |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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125 |
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1-2 |
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30-37 |
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Avoidance task; Equus caballus; Fearfulness; Learning; Personality; Temperament |
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Learning performances are influenced by many factors, not only breed, age and sex, but also temperament. The purpose of this study was to understand how different temperamental dimensions affect the learning performance of horses, Equus caballus. First, we carried out a series of behavioural tests on 36 Welsh ponies aged 5-7 years to measure five temperamental dimensions: fearfulness (novel area test and surprise test), gregariousness (social isolation test), reactivity to humans (passive human test), tactile sensitivity (von Frey filament test) and activity level (evaluation of locomotor activity during all the tests). We then presented them with two learning tasks (avoidance and backwards-forwards tasks). In the avoidance task they had to learn to jump over a fence when they heard a sound associated with an aversive stimulus (puff of air). In the backwards-forwards task they had to walk forwards or move backwards in response to a tactile or vocal command to obtain a food reward. There was no correlation between performances on the two learning tasks, indicating that learning ability is task-dependent. However, correlations were found between temperamental data and learning performance (Spearman correlations). The ponies that performed the avoidance task best were the most fearful and the most active ones. For instance, the number of trials required to perform 5 consecutive correct responses (learning criterion) was correlated with the variables aimed at measuring fearfulness (way of crossing a novel area: rs = -0.41, P = 0.01 and time to start eating again after a surprise effect: rs = -0.33, P = 0.05) and activity level (frequency of trotting during all the tests: rs = -0.40, P = 0.02). The animals that performed the backwards-forwards task best were the ones that were the least fearful and the most sensitive. For instance, the learning criterion (corresponding to the number of trials taken to achieve five consecutive correct responses) was correlated with the variables aimed at measuring fearfulness (latency to put one foot on the area: rs = 0.43, P = 0.01; way of crossing a novel area: rs = 0.31, P = 0.06; and time to start eating again after a surprise effect: rs = 0.43, P = 0.009) and tactile sensitivity (response to von Frey filaments: rs = -0.44, P = 0.008). This study revealed significant links between temperament and learning abilities that are highly task-dependent. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5077 |
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Nagy, K.; Bodó, G.; Bárdos, G.; Bánszky, N.; Kabai, P. |
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Differences in temperament traits between crib-biting and control horses |
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2010 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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122 |
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1 |
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41-47 |
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Crib-biting; Stereotypic behaviour; Equine temperament; Trainability; Coping strategies |
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Abstract |
Recent studies have suggested that crib-biting in horses is associated with diminished capacity of learning or coping with stress. Such findings raise the question whether trainability, which is fundamentally important in practice, could also be affected by stereotypic behaviour. Trainability of a horse is difficult to assess in simple tests, however, it is reliably estimated by experienced riders. To assess trainability and other characteristics related to that, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the owners of 50 crib-biting and 50 control horses. Where possible, control horses were selected from the same establishment as crib-biters. Groups did not differ significantly regarding age, breed, gender, training level or usage. Principal component analysis revealed three main factors which can be labelled as [`]Anxiety', [`]Affability' and [`]Trainability'. The [`]Anxiety' factor consisted of the items [`]Nervousness', [`]Excitability', [`]Panic', [`]Inconsistent emotionality', [`]Vigilance', [`]Skittishness', and [`]Timidity'. [`]Affability' consisted of [`]Friendliness toward people', [`]Cooperation', [`]Docility' and [`]Friendliness toward horses'. [`]Trainability' involved [`]Concentration', [`]Trainability', [`]Memory', and [`]Perseverance'. Temperament traits were not affected by age, gender, breed or training level, but the usage of the horse and the presence of crib-biting behaviour had significant effects. Competition horses had lower level of [`]Anxiety' (p = 0.032) and higher level of [`]Trainability' (p = 0.068) than leisure horses. Crib-biting horses had significantly lower level of [`]Anxiety' than control horses (p < 0.001), while [`]Trainability' and [`]Affability' did not differ between groups (p = 0.823 and p = 0.543, respectively). Competition horses are more often exposed to novel environment and to frightening stimuli (e.g. colourful obstacles) than leisure horses and therefore might have also become more habituated to these types of stimuli. Coping with novel situation may be enhanced by defusing nervous behaviour by the more experienced riders of competition. Previous studies indicated crib-biting horses to be less reactive when challenged as compared to control horses. We suggest that the virtual calmness and lower nervousness of the crib-biting horses might be due to the passive coping style of these animals. [`]Affability' of horses might be more related to housing and management conditions than to crib-biting. Contrary to expectations, scores on [`]Trainability' had not coincided with the impaired learning of crib-biting horses reported in laboratory tests. However, previous behavioural tests on equine learning rarely had a direct relevance to the training abilities of the horses. Our results do not support crib-biting stereotypy to affect performance in training, which is a complex learning process involving cooperation and docility in the social environment. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5078 |
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