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Author McGee, S.; Smith, H.V. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Accompanying pre-weaned Thoroughbred (Equus caballus) foals while separated from the mare during covering reduces behavioural signs of distress exhibited Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 88 Issue 1-2 Pages 137-147  
  Keywords Distress; Foals; Maternal separation; Stereotypies; Welfare  
  Abstract Some Thoroughbred stallion farms separate the mare from the foal during breeding, leaving the foal alone in its stall. Such separation often leads to distress in the foal, as evidenced by behavioural indicators such as vocalisations, pacing or moving about, pawing and striking the body against solid objects. This study examined whether the foal's distress is reduced if a handler accompanies it during the period of separation. A total of 57 foals on an Irish stud farm were observed: 27 foals were accompanied during separation and 30 were left in isolation but discretely observed from outside the stall. On average, unaccompanied foals vocalised at significantly (P<0.001) shorter intervals (14.8 s versus 26.8 s), and spent significantly (P<0.05) more time pawing (29.6 s versus 6.8 s) than accompanied ones. In addition, 17 of the unaccompanied foals hurled themselves against a solid object on at least one occasion, while not one of the accompanied foals did this (P<0.001). Age, gender and number of times the foal had been previously separated from the mare while she was being teased or covered were not significantly related to any of the behavioural indicators of distress. Overall, the data provide clear evidence that accompanying a foal reduces the distress that it exhibits when separated from the mare. This procedure has obvious welfare benefits in the short term, in that the foal both experiences less distress and has a reduced likelihood of injuring itself, and it may have longer-term benefits by reducing the chance of the animal later developing a locomotory stereotypical behaviour.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3639  
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Author Rietmann, T.R.; Stuart, A.E.A.; Bernasconi, P.; Stauffacher, M.; Auer, J.A.; Weishaupt, M.A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Assessment of mental stress in warmblood horses: heart rate variability in comparison to heart rate and selected behavioural parameters Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 88 Issue 1-2 Pages 121-136  
  Keywords Horse; Hrv; Heart rate; Mental stress; Behaviour; Autonomic nervous system  
  Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate whether heart rate variability (HRV) could assess alterations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) at different levels of excitement. The behavioural and physiological responses of 20 warmblood horses to a challenging ground exercise task were studied. Prior to the experiment, the horses were evaluated at rest and during forward walking (FW). The horses were then forced to move backwards continuously during 3 min according to a standardised protocol (BW1). Subsequently, the horses were exposed to two training sessions, after which the backward walking (BW2) was re-evaluated. Heart rate (HR) and HRV-parameters such as the standard deviation of the beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR), the low (LF; sympathetic tone) and high frequency (HF) component of HRV (HF; parasympathetic tone) and their ratio (LF/HF; index representing the sympatho-vagal balance) were sampled at rest, and during FW, BW1 and BW2. Stress-related behaviour during BW1 and BW2 was determined from video recordings. The results of the different evaluations were compared to each other. Compared to rest and FW, the first backward experiment induced a significant rise in HR, LF and LF/HF and a significant decrease of HF. SDRR decreased from both FW and rest with only the latter reaching significance. In BW2 after the training sessions, HR and the parameters of the sympathetic branch of the ANS (LF, LF/HF) were decreased and the vagal tone (HF) increased compared to BW1; all changes were significant. The duration of stress indicating behavioural patterns revealed also a significant decrease of excitement after the training, when backward walking did not differ from forward walking in any parameter. Correlations between HRV-parameters and stress indicating behaviour as well as HR were found. We conclude that the HRV-parameters LF and HF are valuable measures to quantify sympatho-vagal balance, which allows a more precise assessment of the responses of HR and SDRR to mental stress during low intensity exercise.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 314  
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Author Murphy, J.; Waldmann, T.; Arkins, S. url  openurl
  Title Sex differences in equine learning skills and visuo-spatial ability Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 87 Issue 1-2 Pages 119-130  
  Keywords Horses; Sex differences; Visuo-spatial ability; Learning  
  Abstract There is evidence of superior visuo-spatial ability in males compared to females in most species investigated to-date. However, no known studies have addressed this issue in the equine. Equine visuo-spatial ability was investigated using a novel test apparatus with a sample of 62 horses (males=34 and females=28) during a series of six tests, where the horses were required to access a food source. The test apparatus consisted of a series of four adjacent stalls, each of which had a feed bin and a moveable barrier. The test apparatus was designed such that the breastplate barriers controlled and limited access by the horses to feed bins in all but one stall during each test. Male horses performed such that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the ability of the subjects to complete all six tests in a mean time of 30 s or less per test. There were significant differences in mean completion times for male subjects between test 1 and test 2 (P<0.05), test 1 and test 3 (P<0.001), test 1 and test 4 (P<0.05) and test 1 and test 5 (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in mean completion times between any of the six tests for female subjects. Males had a lower mean total number of errors during all tests. Male horses also successfully completed significantly more tests than females (P<0.05). These results provide the first behavioural demonstration of superior visuo-spatial ability in male horses, similar to that reported in other species.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3560  
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Author Sondergaard, E.; Ladewig, J. url  openurl
  Title Group housing exerts a positive effect on the behaviour of young horses during training Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 87 Issue 1-2 Pages 105-118  
  Keywords Horses; Housing; Human-animal relationship; Social environment; Training; Learning  
  Abstract In an experiment on the effects of social environment and training on the human-animal relationship, 20 horses were handled according to a defined schedule. Eight horses were housed singly and 12 horses were housed in four groups of 3 horses. Horses were handled three times per week in 10 min sessions from an age of 6 months until 2 years of age during two winter periods. A total of 50 and 70 sessions were given in the first and second period, respectively. Five randomly allocated people performed the training. The training scheme involved leading, tying up, touching, lifting feet, etc. in 43 stages. The horse had to fulfil the performance criteria of each stage in order to get to the next stage. In the first winter period, horses were led to the stable when they had “passed” a stage or after 10 min of training. In the second winter period, horses would start off at stage 1 again, and when they “passed” a stage they went on to the next stage within the same training session. Because of the change in training procedure results were analysed separately for the two winter periods. There was a significant difference between trainers in the number of times they allowed a horse to “pass” a stage within each winter period (χ32, P<0.05; χ32, P<0.001 for the first and the second winter period, respectively). Group housed horses “passed” more stages than single housed horses (17 versus 14; 27 versus 18 in the first and second winter period, respectively; P<0.05 for the interaction). Singly housed horses bit the trainer more frequently than did group housed horses (P<0.01). The responses of group housed horses to training clearly demonstrate the benefits of raising young horses in groups.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 724  
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Author Rousing, T.; Waiblinger, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Evaluation of on-farm methods for testing the human-animal relationship in dairy herds with cubicle loose housing systems--test-retest and inter-observer reliability and consistency to familiarity of test person Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 85 Issue 3-4 Pages 215-231  
  Keywords Cattle welfare; Fearful behaviour; Human-animal relationship  
  Abstract The human-animal relationship is an important factor when considering animal welfare at herd level. In the present study, two behavioural tests for the on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level of dairy cows housed in loose housing cubicle systems were evaluated with respect to inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability, effect of familiarity of test person as well as inter-correlation of the two tests. In a voluntary animal approach (VAA) test, the number of cows and the latencies to approach and touch a stationary test person was measured. In an avoidance (AV) test, the cows' avoidance reactions to an approaching test person were categorised. A first study was carried out in 12 commercial Danish and Austrian dairy farms. On each farm, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day and repeated within 4-5 days. For each test, cows were tested by both an unfamiliar and a familiar test person (the stock-person) and two observers simultaneously registered the animals' test responses. The inter-observer reliability of both behavioural tests was found to be high (VAA: 2.5-m approach r=0.98 (P<0.001) and touch r=0.97 (P<0.001); AV: Kappa coefficientweighted=0.886 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is 0.636)). The cows at herd level showed shortest latency for touching an unfamiliar test person on the first test day (P=0.006). Further, the AV test had a high test-retest reliability (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.503 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.660)) and results indicated no effect of familiarity of test person (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.463 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.677)). In a second study, the correlation between the two behavioural tests (similar measures) was evaluated. On each of 10 commercial Danish dairy farms with loose housing cubicle systems at four repeated sessions, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day. For each test cows were tested by the stock-person. The VAA and AV tests at herd level were highly correlated (rs=-0.84; P=0.002). The results suggest that the AV test is valid and applicable for on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level. This accounts only partly for the VAA test, which seem to be more unclear regarding motivation for the animals' approach behaviour.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4398  
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Author McLean, A.N. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Short-term spatial memory in the domestic horse Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 85 Issue 1-2 Pages 93-105  
  Keywords Animal cognition; Delayed response; Equine memory; Horse; Object permanence; Temporal cognition  
  Abstract This study investigates the ability of horses to recall a feeding event in a two-point choice apparatus. Twelve horses were individually tested whereby they were maintained immobile in a test arena and visually and aurally experienced the delivery of food into one of two feed goals. The horses were then released to make their choice in two experimental contexts: immediate release after experiencing the delivery of food, and release 10 s after food delivery. Each horse performed 40 immediate-release (IR) trials, followed by forty 10-s release trials over a 3-day period. In addition, the same horses were tested 3 months later in the spring with the same number and sequence of trials. Results were analysed by log-linear analysis of frequencies. Results showed that while horses were able to achieve the correct feed goal choice in the immediate-release trials, they were unsuccessful with the 10-s release trials. This suggests that there are limitations in recall abilities in horses, in that they may not possess a prospective type of memory. There are welfare and training implications in these findings concerning the effects of overestimating the mental abilities of horses during training and the effects of delays in reinforcements.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 403  
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Author Waiblinger, S.; Menke, C.; Korff, J.; Bucher, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Previous handling and gentle interactions affect behaviour and heart rate of dairy cows during a veterinary procedure Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 85 Issue 1-2 Pages 31-42  
  Keywords Human-animal relationship; Cattle; Handling; Stress; Heart rate; Welfare  
  Abstract Veterinary and management procedures often are aversive to the animals, resulting in physiological and behavioural stress reactions, which increase the risk of accidents and might lower performance. We investigated the effects of previous positive handling and of gentle interactions during the procedure on behaviour and heart rate in dairy cows during rectal palpation with sham insemination. Twenty cows were allocated randomly into two groups of 10 animals: handling, received additional positive handling over a period of four weeks by one person (handler); control, only routine handling by different caretakers. The week after the handling period, tests lasting 9 min, including 4 min rectal palpation, were carried out with each animal on four successive days in four situations in a balanced order: cow is alone during the test, with the handler, with an usual caretaker, or with an unknown person. Behaviour and heart rate were recorded. Previously handled animals had lower heart rate during tests (P<=0.05, n=19), kicked less when alone (P<=0.05, n=19) and tended to show less restless behaviour (P<=0.1, n=19). Cows were further calmed by gentle interactions during the test, but people differed remarkably. Cows showed less restless behaviour when gentled by the handler, both in the 4 min of rectal palpation and in the 9 min test period (each: P<=0.001, n=19). No significant stress reducing effect was found for the other two persons. In conclusion, stress reactions of cows during rectal palpation/insemination can be reduced by previous positive handling as well as by a person providing positive, gentle interactions during the procedure. The results underline the importance of positive, gentle interactions with the animals to enhance animal welfare and reduce the risk of accidents. They also show that people differ in the success to calm down the animals in aversive situations and indicate the need to investigate the characteristics responsible for the differences and identify the preconditions for a stress reducing effect in future research.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4397  
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Author Allcroft, D. J.; Tolkamp, B. J.; Glasbey, C. A.; Kyriazakis, I. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The importance of `memory' in statistical models for animal feeding behaviour Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.  
  Volume 67 Issue 1 Pages 99-109  
  Keywords Cow; Feeding data; Bouts; Memory; Satiety; Latent structure; Model comparison  
  Abstract We investigate models for animal feeding behaviour, with the aim of improving understanding of how animals organise their behaviour in the short term. We consider three classes of model: hidden Markov, latent Gaussian and semi-Markov. Each can predict the typical `clustered' feeding behaviour that is generally observed, however they differ in the extent to which `memory' of previous behaviour is allowed to affect future behaviour. The hidden Markov model has `lack of memory', the current behavioural state being dependent on the previous state only. The latent Gaussian model assumes feeding/non-feeding periods to occur by the thresholding of an underlying continuous variable, thereby incorporating some `short-term memory'. The semi-Markov model, by taking into account the duration of time spent in the previous state, can be said to incorporate `longer-term memory'. We fit each of these models to a dataset of cow feeding behaviour. We find the semi-Markov model (longer-term memory) to have the best fit to the data and the hidden Markov model (lack of memory) the worst. We argue that in view of effects of satiety on short-term feeding behaviour of animal species in general, biologically suitable models should allow `memory' to play a role. We conclude that our findings are equally relevant for the analysis of other types of short-term behaviour that are governed by satiety-like principles.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2350  
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Author Huebener, E. url  openurl
  Title Die Bewegungen von Pferderumpf und -rücken aus der Sicht des Reiters Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Tierärztliche Umschau Abbreviated Journal Tierärztl. Umschau  
  Volume 6 Issue Pages 327-334  
  Keywords Schritt – Trab – Galopp – Schmerz – Schäden  
  Abstract Die Bewegungen von Rumpf und Rücken des Pferdes in der Fortbewegung bestimmen Sitz und Schenkelhilfen – Grundlagen pferdgerechten und kultivierten, feinfühligen Reitens. In ihrer Tendenz ließen sich diese Bewegungen jetzt aus den Fußfolgen der Grundgangarten ableiten. Die Erkenntnisse sind per Video verifiziert. Mit ihrer Übersetzung in Diagramme wurde versucht, den gegenwärtigen Wissensstand für nicht-reitende Wissenschaftler und denkende Reiter gleichermaßen verständlich darzustellen. Die Akzeptanz des aufbereiteten Wissens in der Reiterei würde verbessert, wenn man zu gemessenen Werten für die Bewegungen des Pferderückens und des Pferderumpfes käme. Plädoyer eines “Nur-Reiters” für einschlägige, universitäre Forschung.  
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  Language German Summary Language Original Title  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 420  
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Author Huebener, E. url  openurl
  Title Movements of Trunk and Back of the Horse from a Rider's View Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Tierärztliche Umschau Abbreviated Journal Tierärztl. Umschau  
  Volume 6 Issue Pages 327  
  Keywords walk – trot – canter – pain – damages  
  Abstract The trunk and back movements of the horse during locomotion determine seat position and leg aids of the rider, this is the basis for horse-oriented and cultivated, sensitive riding. In their tendency these movements could now be derived from the foot sequences of the basic paces. The realizations are verified by video. By translating these movements into diagrams, the author is making an attempt to present the current state of knowledge for non-riding scholars and academically oriented riders alike. The acceptance of the prepared riding knowledge would be improved if one could produce measured values of the horse's back and trunk movements. An appeal of a rider for relevant, scholarly research.  
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  Language German Summary Language Original Title  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 437  
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