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McDonnell, S.M. |
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Human-horse interactions: Where are the behaviorists in 2008? |
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2008 |
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IESM 2008 |
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Havemeyer Equine Behavior Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania USA 19348 |
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This presentation will include commentary on work presented at this meeting as representative of the rapidly growing body of equine behavior science evidence relevant to human-horse interaction and the welfare of domestic, feral, and wild horses.
A substantial literature has accumulated detailing the behavior patterns of wild and feral equid populations, and to some extent the behavior of horses in various domestic environments. Professor Klingel“s and Professor Houpt”s work, begun nearly 40 years ago, continues to inspire colleagues around the world to qualitatively and quantitatively describe behavior of equids in a variety of environments. Several examples of the importance of this type of work to human-horse interaction and horse welfare are evident in throughout the meeting. It forms the basis for assessing the disturbance of behavior in wildlife management projects such as fertility manipulations (Hopkins; Ransom & Cade) or species reintroduction (Kaczensky et al). Study of the apparent variability in observations among the populations will lead to a better understanding of environmental and other factors, which will have fruitful application to welfare of horses both in domestic and natural environments. Unfortunately, this work always brings to mind what I perceive as a nagging threat to horse welfare and quality of human-horse interaction is misinformation concerning natural horse behavior. Natural horse behavior seems to be of great general interest, but unfortunately inaccuracies and misinterpretations are pervasive in popular “horse culture” and continue to be a conspicuous influence on management and training of domestic horses. Unfortunately, this misinformation often makes its way and influences equine education, both lay and equine science/veterinary education. Comparative observational study of behavior of horses in all settings by trained behaviorists, along with research designed to address purported implications for management of domestic horses, along with initiatives to transfer knowledge to educators at all levels should be encouraged.
Included in this meeting is considerable work addressing questions of domestic management practices such as forced weaning, transportation, stabling, and arbitrary grouping and regrouping of horses. This adds to a growing body of applied physiology and behavior research that has established trained behaviorists as a critical resource on teams making decisions on humane management.
Also well represented in work presented at this meeting is the exploration of cognition, perception, and temperament in horses. It is personally pleasing to see examples of direct investigation of the ability of the horse to respond to subtle human posture and gesture, which for many of us has represented just annoying possible confounders of earlier cognition studies. Behaviorists trained in perception and learning will no doubt contribute enormously to this exciting area of investigation. |
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McDonnell, S.M. |
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IESM 2008 |
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Invited speaker IESM 2008 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4460 |
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Klingel H, |
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Title |
The behavior of horses (Equidae) |
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1972 |
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Handbuch der Zoologie |
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Handb. Zoolog. |
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McDonnel, S. (Translator) |
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from Professor Hans Klingels Equine Reference List |
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1298 |
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McComb, K. |
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Social cognition and emotional awareness: studies on elephants and horses |
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2015 |
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Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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McComb, K. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
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Wald |
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Krueger, K. |
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Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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in prep |
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978-3-95625-000-2 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5800 |
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Boross, B.; Maros, K. |
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Possible indicators of the human-horse relationship among adult horses |
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2008 |
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IESM 2008 |
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According to scientists human-horse relationship is influenced by management conditions (Hausberger et al.; 2007) including handling methods (Henry et al.; 2005). Furthermore, Henry et al. (2005) show that mares foals“ behaviour toward humans may be influenced even by the mares. Although the familiarity of the testperson is said to be an important variable measuring relationship (Waiblinger et al.; 2006), other studies show that horses generalize from the experimenter to unfamiliar humans (Henry et al.; 2005) or from the caretaker to other human beings (Hausberger et al.; 2002).
Methods: 51 horses were observed in a 20x20 sandy arena (familiar to the subjects) to evaluate their relationship with a testperson.
First an arena test was carried out for 5 minutes. The horse was put into the arena alone. After that the person test came in which the testperson interacted with the horse.
The person test consisted of 3 or 4 different phases according to the horse”s behaviour. The phases were: (1.) voluntary animal approach test in which the testperson stood still and the subject was allowed to move wherever it wanted (Appr-vol); (2.) the testperson calling the horse to himself (Appr-call); (3.) the testperson making the horse stay beside him (Stand-still); (4.) the testperson making the horse follow him (without any tools and food reward) (Follow).
First 51 horses were tested with testpersons who were familiar to the animals. After that 39 horses were retested with unfamiliar testpersons within more than one week.
To analyze the potential effects of different human-related factors on the horse behaviour in the person test, such as time spent with training the horse (grooming, riding, working etc.), training methods, number of trainers etc. a questionnare has been used.
Results: Arena test: Horse behaviour was affected neither by their age (2-24 years) nor by their gender (30 geldings and 1 stallion vs 20 mares), however, mares spent more time in the entrance of the arena.
In the test with unfamiliar testpersons (retest) horses stood longer and walked less, which could reflect some habituation to the situation.
Person test: Gender and age of horses or time (years) elapsing since the horse started to be trained did not have any effect on the reactions of horses.
There was a positive correlation between the time (hours) spent with the horse weekly and the time of Follow.
The number of trainers had a significant effect on the Appr-vol and Follow responses: the less the number of the trainers, the sooner the horse approached the familiar testperson and the longer the animal followed him.
In the person test, significant difference was observed only in Appr-vol, thus horses followed the familiar testpersons much longer than the unfamiliar ones. Horses trained to follow their trainers without a lead rope followed significantly longer than animals without this kind of trainings.
Conclusion: Followership seemed to be the most sensitive behavioural response to human familiarity and it may also indicate some other aspects of horse-human relationship, however, training has a clear effect on this human related reaction. |
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Department of Organic Agriculture and Animal Welfare, Szent István University |
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Maros, K. |
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IESM 2008 |
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Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Fullpaper |
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yes |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4480 |
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Szarka, A.; Nagy, K.; Maros, K. |
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Approaching a horse, approaching a human: Tolerating and seeking human contact in pastured horses |
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Conference Article |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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in press |
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We tested untrained horses (foals and breeding mares) in 3 different breeding centres. Horses were kept in a pasture during daytime in bigger groups (median 12, min: 6, max 35 / pasture) according to age, gender and breed (hungarian halfbred, hucul, arabian and thoroughbred). To measure their reactions to an unfamiliar person we conducted an active and a passive human test. In the active human test the test person (TP) approached a focal animal in the group from a predetermined direction: from their front, from their side (left or right) or from the rear. As TP reached the horse (of app. 0.5 m distance), she tried to pet the animal’s head. The TP always chose and approached a standing or a grazing horse (ie. those that were not walking, galloping, playing etc.). The horse’s reaction to the approaching human was scored 1-5. Score 1: the horse moved away and the TP could not even approach it within 0.5 m; Score 2: the horse made max. 2 steps away, but could be reached and petted; Score 3 and Score 4: the horse stood in its place but showed different signs of discomfort (head turn – Score 3; backing ears, tail slash – Score 4); Score 5: the horse stood and did not show any sign of discomfort or actively approached the TP. There was no significant difference in the horses’ reaction between approaching from their left or right side. Approaching from their front or from their side (left or right) did not differ significantly either. However, the odds of walking away from the TP (score 1 or 2) was 2.7 (Fisher-test, p=0.039) and 3.3 (p=0.012) times higher when TP approached from the rear compared to approaching from their front or from their side (left or right), respectively. In the passive human test the TP stood immobile for 4 minutes in 5 or 10 m far from the horses during their active (grazing) or inactive (standing idle during noon) period. Horses approached TP significantly sooner (general linear model, p=0.017) when she stood 5m distance (38 ±63 s) compared to 10m (97 ±52 s). The arrival of a second horse after the first horse approached the TP showed significant high correlation with the latency of the first horse arrival (Pearson correlation, r=0.96, p<0.001). The horses were less keen (p=0.008) to approach the human when they were tested in an inactive period (177 ±110 s) compare to active period (38 ±63 s). |
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Maros, K. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
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Wald |
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Krueger, K.; |
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978-3-9808134-26 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5594 |
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Maros, K.; Kovács, R.; Nagy, K. |
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Title |
Questionnaire survey personality assessment of horses of different use |
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Conference Article |
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2015 |
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Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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horse, personality, questionnaire, |
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We collected data from 248 horses of different breeds, age, sex and use, forming four groups: 74 trotters, 70 gallop horses, 60 horseback archery horses and 44 police horses. All horses were trained and ridden/driven in a regular base. Caretakers or owners who were familiar with the target animals were asked to assess their horses’ temperament. The temperament scores were obtained with the 7-point scale questionnaire according to the Horse Personality Questionnaire which has 25 items and has previously been shown to be reliable for the assessment of personality in horses. It measures six personality components in horses: Dominance, Anxiousness, Excitability, Protection, Sociability and Inquisitiveness.
Component scores were calculated according to Lloyd, A.S., Martin, J.E., Bornett-Gauci, H.L.I., Wilkinson, R.G. (2008) Horse personality: Variation between breeds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 112. 369–383. The component scores were compared across the four examined groups using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Post hoc multiple comparisons tests were then carried out to explore specific breed differences on each component. The value of alpha was set at 0.05 for all statistical tests.
Groups differed significantly regarding Anxiousness and Excitability, but no significant differences were found regarding Dominance, Protection, Sociability or Inquisitiveness among groups. This finding is in line with the findings of Lloyd et al. (2008) who showed that Anxiousness and Excitability components have the highest level of variation between breeds.In our study, gallop horses had the highest rank regarding Excitability and they differed significantly from police horses which had the lowest rank for this personality component. Interestingly gallop horses had the lowest rank regarding Anxiousness, and trotters got the highest rank in in this component.
According to our results gallop horses are the most extreme in their personality. It is conceivable that being excitable is a more favourable trait for a race horse than for a working police horse. However, it is interesting that trotters are more anxious than gallop horses since they also have a high thoroughbred ancestry. The effect of work and training on these horses needs further surveys. |
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Maros, K. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
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Wald |
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Krueger, K. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5904 |
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Malavasi, R.; Huber, L. |
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Referential communication in the domestic horse (Equus caballus): first exploration in an ungulate species |
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Conference Article |
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2015 |
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Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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domestic horse, referential communication, human-horse communication, intentionality |
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An important question in the study of animal communication is whether non-human animals are able to produce communicative gestures, i.e. nonvocal bodily actions directed to a recipient, physically ineffective but with a meaning shared in the social group [1]. Passive gestures are instrumental, tuned to the mere presence/absence of others, whereas active informers recognize receivers as communicative agents and activate shared-attention mechanisms for identifying their attentional state (SAM [2]; e.g. Schwab and Huber [3]). Six operational criteria must be evaluated to classify a signal as referential and intentional [4]: (1) alternative gazes between the partner and the target; (2) apparent attention-getting behaviours are deployed; (3) an audience is required to exhibit the behaviour; (4) the attentional status of an observer influences the propensity to exhibit behaviours; (5) communication is persistent and (6) there is elaboration of communicative behaviour when apparent attempts to manipulate the partner fail. Dogs [5] and non-human primates (reviewed in Liebal and Call [6]) can tune a human receiver’s attention to the object of interest by combining directional and attention-getting signals, such as turning the head or body, gazing to the receiver, and/or establishing eye contact. Research on other species is scarce.
Horses rely on humans to survive in domestic settings and may have evolved skills for communicating flexibly with them [7]. Horses understand human attentional cues (such as body and head orientation, eyes opened/closed) [8], permanent pointing [9] and, to some extent, gazing [10]. Here we tested the ability of 14 outdoor, herd-living domestic horses to communicate referentially with a human partner about the location of a desired target, a bucket of food out of reach. After the baiting of two buckets placed in opposite, unreachable locations were shown by the experimenter, the subject would walk to one of the two buckets. Because approaching a bucket would reveal that the food is out of reach, we expected the horse to look back to the experimenter, then to the bucket, and alternate this gazing several times to indicate its intention. To test whether our prediction is correct and alternate gazing is indeed the result of the horse's referential communication, we video-recorded the behaviour of the subjects in the test (FORWARD) and three control conditions: (1) FORWARD: experimenter oriented to the center of the arena, (2) BACK: experimenter backward oriented in respect to the arena, (3) ALONE: experimenter absent, (4) MANY: as FORWARD plus a familiar human oriented to the subject behind the bucket (Figure 1). We used a conservative criterion of back gazing by considering only turning the head back more than 90 degrees. The results confirmed our prediction. The horses alternated gazes between the partner and the buck significantly more often in the FORWARD than in all the other conditions (Table 1), thus satisfying operational criteria #1, #3 and #4. They also alternated head nods with gazes to the partner significantly more often during the FORWARD condition. We thus considered head nods not an instrumental signal of arousal, but an attention-getting behaviour with communicative function. Subjects used both head nods and neck stretched toward the buck more often in the FORWARD than in the BACK and the ALONE conditions, thus satisfying criteria #2, #3 and #4. In condition MANY, the frequency of head nods did not differ from condition FORWARD, probably because nods were directed to the additional partner behind the buck. This also satisfies criteria #4. The horses gazed to the partner most often in the FORWARD than in the BACK and the MANY conditions, but not in the ALONE. In this condition, subjects could observe the partner walking further from the test arena. To test for the different functions of gazes in presence and in absence of the partner, we compared their average duration between the two conditions: the significantly longer duration of gazes when the subject was alone suggests the instrumental monitoring function of gazes in this experimental condition.
Altogether, the findings suggest that domestic horses possess the ability to use referential communication in an interspecific context, but additional analyses are needed to test for operational criteria #5 and #6. Flexible and voluntary use of communicative signals reveal sophisticated cognitive processes involved in the strategic emission of these signals, and the finding of referential communication skills in an ungulate species forces us to reconsider the evolutionary path of intelligence. Furthermore, ungulates are used intensively by humans (transportation, meat, agriculture, leisure activities), and their welfare is often compromised. Determining whether ungulates can communicate their needs and preferences is paramount to a proper ethical management. |
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Malavasi, R. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5876 |
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Lovrovich, P.; Sighieri, C.; Baragli, P. |
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The human-given cues and behavioural plasticity of horses during a delayed three choice task |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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in press |
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Recent studies have tested the ability of horses to understand human gestures. But even at the moment results are rather contradictory. This study was aimed at analyzing ability of horses to understand, remember and use human-given cues in a delayed three choice task. After the training period, sixteen horses had to choose between three blue buckets. One of them hid a carrot. Eight horses (A-group) saw the person hiding the carrot and they had to choose the correct bucket only after the person had hidden carrot and gone away. Control group, eight horses (B-group) did not know where the carrot was, and could only choose the bucket through the use of smell or by random choice. Each horse carried out 10 trials in the same test session. A-group chose the correct bucket to a greater extent on the first try (4.37±1.42), compared to the second (3.00±0.53) and the third try (0.75±0.71). With significant differences between the first and the second try (t14=2.582, p=0.022), the first and the third try (t14=6.508, p=0.000), and between the second and the third try (t14=7.180, p=0.000). Also the B-group chose the correct bucket to a greater extent on the first try (3.87±0.83) compared to the second (3.37±1.51) and the third (1.75±1.49). Anyway, there was no differences between the first and the second try (t14=0.821, p=0.425). As regards the B-group, statistical differences were found between the first and the third try (t14=3.523, p=0.003) and between the second and the third try (t14=2.171, p=0.048). Moreover, A-group showed a negative correlation (r=-0.652, p=0.0409) between the number of correct answers at first trial, and seemed that they used human information during the first half of the trials. As the trials proceeded, the average time required to find carrot decreased, with a negative correlation (r=-0.779, p=0.0079) over trials while, the number of overturned bucket to find carrot increased over trials (r=0.770, p=0.0091). As the trials proceeded, the horses tended to choose at first the bucket where the carrot had been found in the previous trial (r=0.450, p=0.013). Any kind of correlation over trials was found in B-group. In the first trials, the horses we studied seemed to understand human given-cues information, store it and use it appropriately even in absence of a person. As trials proceeded they seemed to change strategy, searching carrots where it had been found in the previous trial. Therefore, horses could use human given-cues or other cognitive strategy depending on the time, energy cost and mental effort required to solve the task. KW - |
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Lovrovich, P. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
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Wald |
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Krueger, K. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5547 |
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Lojek, J., Gorska, B. |
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Day-Time Budgets of Konik Polski Horses (Equus caballus) Maintained in two Housing Systems |
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2008 |
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IESM 2008 |
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A comparison of day-time time budgets of the konik polski horses kept in two different housing systems: free-roaming and in a limited area, was the aim of the study. The observations were carried out in the Biebrza National Park from January to June 2006 on a total of 12 horses (7 females and 5 males) aged from 2 to 5 years. The horses were kept for one year in a free-roaming system on a area of 200 ha where they formed two family bands. Later, during the winter the horses were grouped together in 1 ha enclosure with free access to water, hay given 3 times per day and oats given irregularly mainly in the winter. In the spring horses were let out again into the free-roaming system. A comparison was made of the horses“ behavior characterizing their daily activity in both housing systems. Behavioral data were collected during 122 h of direct observations in 1 hour focal samples in three periods of the day: morning (from dawn to 11:00 am), afternoon (from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm) and in the evening (from 4:00 pm until dusk). The proportion of time spent on feeding and resting behavior and locomotion activity in the total time of the observations, depending on the time of day and sex of the horses, was determined. For the evaluation of the frequency of drinking, comfort, eliminative, sexual and exploratory behavior the number of appeared cases in all horses was added up and divided by the number of observation hours. In spite of significant differences in the intensity of feeding and in the time spent on recumbency found in both housing systems depending on the time of day and sex of the horses, it seems that konik polski horses kept in different housing systems have a tendency to maintain the stable day-time time budgets, which was demonstrated by the similar time of their daily activity spent on feeding (75.9 % of total time in limited area and 71,2 % free-roaming) and resting upright (respectively 16.9 % and 15.8%) as well as cases of urination (0.18 cases/1 hour of observation in limited area and 0.17 in free-roaming in total), self- grooming (respectively 0.40 and 0.56) and mutual-grooming (0.17 and 0.12). But other signs of comfort behavior were observed nearly twice as often in the horses in the limited area (0,42) than in the free roaming system (0,22). The patterns of exploratory behavior were observed decisively more often in the case of horses in limited area (0,5 cases/1 hour of observation) than in the free-roaming system (0,07). The different housing system affected the konik polski horses” time-budget, with decreased time spent in limited area as compared to free-roaming horses in recumbent rest (respectively 2.5 % and 7,0 % of total time), locomotion activity in walk (4.9 % and 8,2 %) and trot (0.006 % and 2,3 %). Due to delivering forage to the paddock the locomotion of the horses related with searching, choosing and eating also decreased. Key words: housing systems, day-time time budgets, konik polski horses |
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Warsaw Agricultural University, Horse Breeding Department |
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Lojek, J. |
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IESM 2008 |
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yes |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4478 |
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Lojek, J.; Lojek, A.; Zielinska, A. |
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Certain factors influencing the condition of free-ranging Konik Polski horses (Equus caballus) in the Bierza National Park |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting |
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Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg |
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in press |
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Body Condition Scoring; free-ranging; Konik Polski horses; Biebrza National Park |
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The objective of the study was to analyze certain factors influencing the condition of free-ranging Konik Polski horses in a fenced area measuring 200 ha located in the Biebrza National Park (Biebrza NP). The Body Condition Scoring system (BCS) was used not only as means of assessment of health and fitness of the horses but also for evaluation of the quality and productivity of the grazing area selected for horses, as well as stocking rate. Body Condition Scoring was determine with a 9-point scale by averaging the scores that were assigned to each of the six body areas that are most responsive to changes of body fat (Hennecke, 1983). The condition of horses was assessed 7 times from February 2009 to December 2011 on a total of 59 horses (3 stallions (n= 12 observations), 21 females 3–8 year olds (n=81) and 35 youngsters (up to 2 year olds) (n=88). The number (from 1 to 3) and composition of family bands varied throughout the period of investigation. The horse population in the Biebrza NP consist of horses from 3 different breeding centers. The analysis of variance (GLM) was used to investigate the effects of the fixed factors – weather conditions, family band, breeder of the horses, age and sex, on the mean of BCS points of horses (SPSS, version 19.0). The most important factor influencing the condition of free-ranging Konik Polski horses in the Biebrza NP were weather conditions, what is shown by the data concerning temperature from 3-month period preceding condition scoring (P < 0.01). This factor influenced not only animals, but also vegetation characteristics. The highest BCS means of horses (5.09) were achieved when average temperature during the 3-month period preceding condition scoring amounted between +1 to +8°C, and was better than obtained when average temperature amounted +18°C (4.80). The last temperature seems too high for horses and can be connected also with other factors, like high incidence of insects which could deteriorate grazing activity of animals. The lowest BCS means (4.56) were obtained when mean temperature was below 0°C. Other factors had no significant effect on the BCS means. As concern to breeder, the highest BCS means achieved mares from Popielno (5.08) – the oldest Polish free-ranging population of Konik Polski horses, which confirms that horses from this breeding center are justly considered to be the toughest and well adapting to difficult environmental conditions. The horses from the Biebrza NP achieved also high BCS means (4.79) which prove that they were well suited to the specific conditions of this habitat, which is overgrown mostly with forest – 73,7%, and willow and birch shrubs – 13,3% of area. The grazing area measures about 40 hectares and consists of wetlands dominated by sedges (Carex sp.). The horses moved from the Seven Island Reservation to Biebrza NP achieved the poorest results as far as adaptation to the conditions of the new habitat, and reached the lowest BCS means (4.57). The youngest horses (up to 2 year olds), 3-5 year olds, and 6-8 year olds had similar BCS means (respectively 4.94, 4.83, 4.68) which indicates good acclimatization of horses from different age categories to the grazing resources in the Biebrza NP. The highest means achieved by youngest horses indicate important trait of Konik Polski horses – mare`s careful care of offspring. The BCS means of horses from different family groups show the highest value of horses from family group of the most experienced stallion – Mrok (4.97). In every BCS scoring, stallions achieved the highest means, which was the reason to exclude their results from analysis. The results of this study suggest that the Body Condition Scoring of horses in the Biebrza National Park depends primarily on the acclimatization of horses to harsh environmental conditions and less importantly to belonging to a specific breeder, family band, age or sex. |
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Lojek, J. |
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Xenophon Publishing |
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Wald |
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Krueger, K. |
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978-3-9808134-26 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5504 |
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