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Author Fureix, C.; Jego, P.; Henry, S.; Lansade, L.; Hausberger, M.
Title Towards an Ethological Animal Model of Depression? A Study on Horses Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE
Volume 7 Issue 6 Pages e39280 EP -
Keywords
Abstract <sec><title>Background</title><p>Recent reviews question current animal models of depression and emphasise the need for ethological models of mood disorders based on animals living under natural conditions. Domestic horses encounter chronic stress, including potential stress at work, which can induce behavioural disorders (<italic>e.g.</italic> “apathy”). Our pioneering study evaluated the potential of domestic horses in their usual environment to become an ethological model of depression by testing this models’ face validity (<italic>i.e.</italic> behavioural similarity with descriptions of human depressive states).</p></sec><sec><title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title><p>We observed the spontaneous behaviour of 59 working horses in their home environment, focusing on immobility bouts of apparent unresponsiveness when horses displayed an atypical posture (termed <italic>withdrawn</italic> hereafter), evaluated their responsiveness to their environment and their anxiety levels, and analysed cortisol levels. Twenty-four percent of the horses presented the withdrawn posture, also characterized by gaze, head and ears fixity, a profile that suggests a spontaneous expression of “behavioural despair”. When compared with control “non-withdrawn” horses from the same stable, withdrawn horses appeared more indifferent to environmental stimuli in their home environment but reacted more emotionally in more challenging situations. They exhibited lower plasma cortisol levels. Withdrawn horses all belonged to the same breed and females were over-represented.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions/Significance</title><p>Horse might be a useful potential candidate for an animal model of depression. Face validity of this model appeared good, and potential genetic input and high prevalence of these disorders in females add to the convergence. At a time when current animal models of depression are questioned and the need for novel models is expressed, this study suggests that novel models and biomarkers could emerge from ethological approaches in home environments.</p></sec>
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Public Library of Science Place of Publication Editor
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5709
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Author Lampe, J.F.; Andre, J.
Title Cross-modal recognition of human individuals in domestic horses (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Abbreviated Journal Animal Cognition
Volume 15 Issue 4 Pages 623-630
Keywords Cross-modal; Recognition of humans; Horse; Equus caballus; Human–horse interaction; Animal cognition; Visual recognition; Auditory recognition; Voice discrimination; Interspecific
Abstract This study has shown that domestic horses are capable of cross-modal recognition of familiar humans. It was demonstrated that horses are able to discriminate between the voices of a familiar and an unfamiliar human without seeing or smelling them at the same moment. Conversely, they were able to discriminate the same persons when only exposed to their visual and olfactory cues, without being stimulated by their voices. A cross-modal expectancy violation setup was employed; subjects were exposed both to trials with incongruent auditory and visual/olfactory identity cues and trials with congruent cues. It was found that subjects responded more quickly, longer and more often in incongruent trials, exhibiting heightened interest in unmatched cues of identity. This suggests that the equine brain is able to integrate multisensory identity cues from a familiar human into a person representation that allows the brain, when deprived of one or two senses, to maintain recognition of this person.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer-Verlag Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5698
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Author Henry, S.; Zanella, A.J.; Sankey, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Marko, A.; Hausberger, M.
Title Adults may be used to alleviate weaning stress in domestic foals (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Physiology & Behavior Abbreviated Journal
Volume 106 Issue 4 Pages 428-438
Keywords Weaning; Social influence; Abnormal behaviours; Young-adult interactions; Welfare; Horse
Abstract The present study aims to investigate whether the presence of unrelated adult horses at weaning would reduce the social stress of weaning and the emergence of undesirable behaviours. We tested this hypothesis in 32 domestic foals by comparing short and medium term behavioural and physiological responses to weaning in foals maintained in homogeneous groups of peers (PW) to those of foals grouped with both peers and unrelated adults (AW). In total, three trials were conducted, which each trial consisting of one AW group and one PW group. In all foals, weaning was followed by increased vocalization, increased locomotion and increased salivary cortisol concentration. However, signs of stress were less pronounced and shorter in duration in weanlings housed with unrelated adults (e.g. whinnies: p < 0.05; salivary cortisol: p < 0.05). Only foals without adults exhibited increased aggressiveness towards peers (p < 0.05) and abnormal behaviours (p < 0.05) such as excessive wood-chewing and redirected sucking towards peers. In conclusion, introducing adults to minimize weaning stress in foals and later on aggressiveness and abnormal behaviours appears as the most promising approach to date.
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5689
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Author Yeon, S.C.
Title Acoustic communication in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Abbreviated Journal
Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 179-185
Keywords horse; communication; vocalization
Abstract Equine vocalization and acoustic sounds can communicate a horse’s emotional state, physiological state, and situation to other individuals, including other horses and humans. These vocalizations and acoustic sounds can be divided into several types. The whinny, nicker, squeal, blow, snore, snort, roar, and groan are typical types of horse vocalizations and acoustic sounds. The sound localization thresholds of horses are markedly poorer than those of other large mammals, such as humans and elephants. The audiogram of horse has shown their best sensitivity and hearing range in which it perceives sound. Laryngeal diseases, such as laryngeal hemiplegia, dorsal displacement of the soft palate, and alar fold paralysis, can cause laryngeal sounds in the upper airway. The analyses of horses’ vocalizations and laryngeal sounds that are reviewed in this article were conducted with computer-aided analysis programs using spectrograms and spectra that evaluate several parameters, including amplitude, fundamental frequency, duration, and formants. Laryngeal sound analysis could be a useful method for diagnosing upper airway diseases. This article presents a review of the literature describing scientific analyses of horse vocalizations and acoustic sounds to elucidate equine acoustic communications and aid in the development of horse-human bonds.
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ISSN 1558-7878 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5681
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Author Conradt, L.
Title Models in animal collective decision-making: information uncertainty and conflicting preferences Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Interface Focus Abbreviated Journal
Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 226-240
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Abstract Collective decision-making plays a central part in the lives of many social animals. Two important factors that influence collective decision-making are information uncertainty and conflicting preferences. Here, I bring together, and briefly review, basic models relating to animal collective decision-making in situations with information uncertainty and in situations with conflicting preferences between group members. The intention is to give an overview about the different types of modelling approaches that have been employed and the questions that they address and raise. Despite the use of a wide range of different modelling techniques, results show a coherent picture, as follows. Relatively simple cognitive mechanisms can lead to effective information pooling. Groups often face a trade-off between decision accuracy and speed, but appropriate fine-tuning of behavioural parameters could achieve high accuracy while maintaining reasonable speed. The right balance of interdependence and independence between animals is crucial for maintaining group cohesion and achieving high decision accuracy. In conflict situations, a high degree of decision-sharing between individuals is predicted, as well as transient leadership and leadership according to needs and physiological status. Animals often face crucial trade-offs between maintaining group cohesion and influencing the decision outcome in their own favour. Despite the great progress that has been made, there remains one big gap in our knowledge: how do animals make collective decisions in situations when information uncertainty and conflict of interest operate simultaneously?
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5653
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Author Austin, N.P.; Rogers, L.J.
Title Limb preferences and lateralization of aggression, reactivity and vigilance in feral horses, Equus caballus Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Animal Behaviour Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 83 Issue 1 Pages 239-247
Keywords aggression; behavioural asymmetry; Equus caballus; eye preference; feral horse; limb preference; reactivity; side bias
Abstract Observational field studies were conducted on two remote populations of feral horses in Australia to determine whether lateralization is a characteristic of Equus caballus as a species or results from handling by humans. Group 1 had been feral for two to five generations and Group 2 for 10–20 generations. In both groups, left-side biases were present during agonistic interactions and in reactivity and vigilance. Therefore, as in other vertebrates, the right hemisphere appears to be specialized to control agonistic behaviour and responses to potential threats. The leftwards bias was stronger in measures of behaviour involving more aggression and reactivity. Preferences to place one forelimb in front of the other during grazing were also determined. No population bias of forelimb preference was found, suggesting that such limb preferences present in domestic horses may be entrained. Since stronger individual limb preferences were found in immature than in adult feral horses, limb preference may be modified by maturation or experience in the natural habitat. Stronger limb preference was associated significantly with elevated attention to the environment but only in younger feral horses. No sex differences in lateralization were found. The findings are evidence that horses show visual lateralization, as in other vertebrates, not dependent on handling by humans. Limb preference during grazing, by contrast, does appear to depend on experience.
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ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5651
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Author Hausberger, M.; Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Wessel-Robert, S.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.
Title On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare? Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Abbreviated Journal Naturwissenschaften
Volume 99 Issue 4 Pages 291-302
Keywords Social play; Stress indicators; Animal welfare; Domestic horse
Abstract Play remains a mystery and adult play even more so. More typical of young stages in healthy individuals, it occurs rarely at adult stages but then more often in captive/domestic animals, which can imply spatial, social and/or feeding deprivations or restrictions that are challenging to welfare, than in animals living in natural conditions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that adult play may reflect altered welfare states and chronic stress in horses, in which, as in several species, play rarely occurs at adult stages in natural conditions. We observed the behaviour (in particular, social play) of riding school horses during occasional outings in a paddock and measured several stress indicators when these horses were in their individual home boxes. Our results revealed that (1) the number of horses and rates of adult play appeared very high compared to field report data and (2) most stress indicators measured differed between ‘players’ and ‘non-players’, revealing that most ‘playful’ animals were suffering from more chronic stress than ‘non-playful’ horses. Frequency of play behaviour correlated with a score of chronic stress. This first discovery of a relationship between adult play and altered welfare opens new lines of research that certainly deserves comparative studies in a variety of species.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer-Verlag Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0028-1042 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5649
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Author Fureix, C.; Bourjade, M.; Henry, S.; Sankey, C.; Hausberger, M.
Title Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballus Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 138 Issue 3–4 Pages 216-228
Keywords Horses; Social behaviour; Aggression regulation; Coping in group; Management; Social development
Abstract Horses are highly social animals that have evolved to live in social groups. However, in modern husbandry systems, single housing prevails where horses experience social isolation, a challenge-to-welfare factor. One major reason for this single housing is the owners’ concerns that horses may injure each other during aggressive encounters. However, in natural conditions, serious injuries due to aggressive encounters are rare. What could therefore explain the claimed risks of group living for domestic horses? Basing our questioning on the current knowledge of the social life of horses in natural conditions, we review different practices that may lead to higher levels of aggression in horses and propose practical solutions. Observations of natural and feral horses mostly indicate a predominance of low frequencies and mild forms of aggression, based on subtle communication signals and ritualized displays and made possible by group stability (i.e. stable composition), dominance hierarchy and learning of appropriate social skills by young horses. Obviously, adults play a major role here in canalizing undesirable behaviours, and social experience during development, associated with a diversity of social partners, seems to be a prerequisite for the young horse to become socially skilled. Given the natural propensity of horses to have a regulation of aggression in groups, the tendency to display more aggression in groups of domestic horses under some management practices seems clearly related to the conditions offered. We therefore review the managing practices that could trigger aggressiveness in horses. Non social practices (space, resource availability) and social practices (group size, stability of membership, composition and opportunities for social experiences during development) in groups of domestic horses are discussed here. Finally, we propose simple practical solutions leading to more peaceful interactions in groups of domestic horses, based on the knowledge of horses’ natural social life which therefore should be enhanced (e.g. ensuring roughage availability, favouring group stability, introducing socially experienced adults in groups of young horses, etc.). The state of the art indicates that many questions still need to be answered. Given the importance of the associated welfare issues and the consequences on the use of horses, further research is required, which could benefit horses… and humans.
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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 @ Serial 5648
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Author König v. Borstel, U.; Pirsich, W.; Gauly, M.; Bruns, E.
Title Repeatability and reliability of scores from ridden temperament tests conducted during performance tests Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 139 Issue 3–4 Pages 251-263
Keywords Horse; Personality; Temperament test; Riding; Repeatability; Performance test
Abstract Current scores for equine personality traits assessed during performance tests are characterised by high means and inadequate variation, hampering genetic selection for these traits. A number of temperament and related behaviour tests have been developed in order to make assessment of equine personality more objective. However, rarely these tests have been validated for their use as a selection tool. Thus, as a first step the aim of the present study was to integrate a temperament tests into horse performance tests, in order to assess variability and repeatability of horses’ reactivity under the rider and the reliability of the judges’ assessment thereof. The temperament test was comprised of three novel stimuli, including a visual stimulus (BALL), a visual and tactile stimulus (GATE), and a visual and auditory stimulus (CANS). A total of 224 mares and stallions were subjected to the test during their participation in station performance tests for riding horses, and 133 of these horses were subjected to the test a second time either 2–3 weeks or 18 weeks after the first test. Horses were ridden in the test by professional riders, and their reactions to the stimuli were evaluated each by two judges and the rider using scores on a scale from 1 (task not concluded) to 10 (completely calm but attentive horse). Mean scores (±SD) ranged between 6.6 ± 2.4 (GATE) and 7.8 ± 2.1 (BALL), demonstrating lower means and considerably higher standard deviations than the same horses’ scores from present evaluation of the trait labelled temperament (8.1 ± 0.9) or related personality traits (e.g. character: 8.3 ± 0.8). Using variance components from mixed model analysis, inter-observer agreement between the two judges was for the individual stimuli very high (0.95 (BALL), 0.96 (GATE), 0.89 (CANS)), and there was likewise high agreement between the judges’ and the riders’ combined scores (0.93). Repeatabilities of horses’ scores were 0.72 (BALL), 0.75 (GATE), and 0.69 (CANS). Correlations to traits from the present evaluation of personality were low or non-existent, indicating that these traits are not a reflection of anxiety or fear reactivity as assessed by novel object tests. Horses’ improvement in judges’ combined scores from first to second test was not (P > 0.1) influenced by differences in time between tests, but differed between breed-types and individual riders. Also, not surprisingly, the higher horses’ scores in the first test were, the lower their improvement in the second test was (-0.45 ± 0.06 per additional score in the first test). Temperament tests using novel stimuli presented to horses under a rider may be a practical and valid tool for improving the current assessment of equine personality traits during performance tests. Considering a combination of absolute scores and horses’ improvement in scores of repeated tests, rather than measuring only absolute scores yields relevant information about horses’ personality, and at the same time it may prevent owners from deliberately training their horses for low reactions to the test-stimuli.
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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 @ Serial 5642
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Author Young, T.; Creighton, E.; Smith, T.; Hosie, C.
Title A novel scale of behavioural indicators of stress for use with domestic horses Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal
Volume 140 Issue 1–2 Pages 33-43
Keywords Horse; Behaviour scores; Cortisol; Saliva; Welfare assessment; Non-invasive
Abstract Behaviour scores (BS) offer non-invasive, objective and easy to use ways of assessing welfare in animals. Their development has, however, largely focused on behavioural reactions to stressful events (often induced), and little use of physiological measures has been made to underpin and validate the behavioural measures. This study aimed to develop a physiologically validated scale of behavioural indicators of stress for the purpose of welfare assessment in stabled domestic horses. To achieve this, behavioural and physiological data were collected from 32 horses that underwent routine husbandry procedures. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the behavioural and physiological data revealed three meaningful components that were used as the basis of the scale. Analysis of video clips of the horses’ responses to the husbandry procedures was undertaken by a panel of equestrian industry professionals using a free choice profiling (FCP) methodology. These results were added to the scale along with key definitions from relevant literature. Salivary cortisol levels were significantly correlated with the BS confirming the scale was meaningful and reflected physiological stress. The scale offers an easy to use ‘tool’ for rapid, reliable non-invasive welfare assessment in horses, and reduces the need for potentially invasive physiological measures.
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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 @ Serial 5637
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