Abstract: Temperament is an important factor when working with horses. Behavioral tests have been developed to measure certain dimensions in horses. Relations between temperament and ability to riding activity have been highlighted (Lansade 2008a). The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the effect of age on temperament, 2) to verify that temperament are related to breeds 3) to check if the ease to be ridden is in relation with temperament, on a first set of data. Five dimensions of temperament have been measured in 98 field stallions (Table 1). They were tested as described by Lansade (2008 a,b): fearfulness/curiosity (tests: crossing a novel aera, suddenly opening an umbrella, novel object), gregariousness (test: isolation), locomotor activity (during the other tests), reactivity/curiosity to a non familiar human (tests: passive and active human), tactile (Von Frey filament) and auditory sensitivities. Table 1: Number of stallions according to breed (or group of breeds) and age. Breeds or groups of breeds Young (<13 years) Old (>=13 <20 years) Merens 1 15 10 Leasure horse breeds 2 13 10 Jumping pony breeds 3 / 20 Jumping horse breeds4 9 10 Arabians / 11 Total 37 61 (1) Merens : french mountain horse breed (2) Appaloosa, Barbe, Lusitanian, Polish, Paint (3) French Saddle Pony, Connemara, New Forest, Welsh (4) French Saddle Horse, Anglo-Arab, KWPN, Foreign breeds Effect of age. Due to imbalanced data, only stallions from 3 breed groups were compared (29 young ones selected at random and 30 old ones). Young stallions presented a higher emotivity (more elevated distance/intensity of the flight after umbrella opening (P=0.001)) and curiosity (more sniffings/nibblings the passive human (P=0.04) and the novel object (P<0.0001)) compared to old ones. Relation with breed groups. In young stallions, differences were noted : in the number of trots during social isolation (P=0.001) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.005). Merens had smaller values than Jumping horses for these 2 variables. In older stallions, differences were also noted: in the number of sniffings/nibblings the novel object (P=0.04), in the manner to cross the novel aera (P=0.03), in the distance and intensity of the flight after umbrella opening (P=0.04), in the number of trots during isolation (P=0.02) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.03). Merens had lower reactivity compared: 1) to Arabians (for novel aera) and 2) compared to Jumping ponies and Jumping horses (for isolation and tactile sensitivity). Minimal level of rider. Stallions of all ages and breeds were divided into 3 groups according to the level of riders able to ride them safely, according to a questionnaire: beginners, intermediate level and pre-national competition level. Stallions adapted to beginners showed lower values in the number of trots during isolation (P=0.02) and in the tactile sensitivity (P=0.03) than stallions rode by pre-competition level riders. Conclusion : The intensity of fear reactions to suddenness decreased with age. Differences between breeds and eases of use have been related to temperament measurements.

Abstract: The horse's temperament, including its manageability and reactivity and/or fearfulness, is of importance as it can result in problems and can render horses unsuitable for inexperienced riders. Early experience, including handling during infancy, may influence the horse's adult behaviour and reduce its fear of humans and other potentially frigthening situations. In the various species studied, handling has generally been undertaken during the neonatal period. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of handling young horses around the time of weaning, a period which has been demonstrated to be effective in increasing ease of handling in cattle and goats. Sixteen Anglo-Arab foals were handled for 12 days either immediately following weaning (early handled: EH) or 21 days later (late handled: LH); eight additional non-handled foals served as controls (C). Handling consisted of haltering, gently petting all parts of the body, picking up feet and leading the foal over 120 m. During handling sessions, EH were easier to handle than LH: time taken to fit them with a halter, to pick up feet, and “walk-ratio” (time walking under constraint/total time walking) were significantly lower for EH. During subsequent tests conducted over 2 days, 4, and 7 months, as well as 10 months and to some extent 18 months after the end of handling period, EH and LH were easier to handle and less reactive than controls, although differences diminished with time. The period following weaning can therefore be qualified as an “optimal period” for handling. Some of the effects persist for at least 18 months.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to test the existence of a “fearfulness” trait in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different fear-eliciting situations. It was also to identify which behavioural parameters are the best indicators of this trait. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Of these, 33 Welsh ponies and 21 Anglo-Arabs were also tested at 2.5 years of age. At each age, they were subjected to four test situations. The first test involved the introduction of a novel object in the test pen (novel object test). In the second test, a novel area was placed in the pen between the horse and a bucket of food, to determine the time the horse took to cross the area (novel area test). Finally, the third test consisted in suddenly opening an umbrella in front of the horse while it was eating (surprise test). During these tests, many behavioural parameters were recorded. A fourth test consisted of a surprise test during which the horse was held by a handler while its heart rate was measured. Spearman correlations were used to identify links between behavioural parameters measured during different tests and between different ages. Reactions to the first three tests showed consistency between them and over time. Among all the behavioural parameters measured during these tests, some presented high stability over time and were well correlated with behaviours expressed during other tests, indicating they are the best indicators of a fearfulness trait: the frequency of licking/nibbling the novel object, the time to put one foot on the novel area and to eat from a bucket placed just behind it, and the flight distance and the time to eat under the opened umbrella. The stability across responses expressed in various fear-eliciting events and over time from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggests the existence of a [`]fearfulness' trait in horses. The different indexes of heart rate measured or calculated during the surprise effect present limited stability over time and almost no correlation with the behavioural parameters measured during the other three tests. We conclude that, in contrast to the previously mentioned behaviours, these are not reliable measures of a temperament trait. From a practical point of view, this study shows that it is possible to identify a horse's level of fearfulness as early as 8 months of age using the first three tests.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to test the existence of a “reactivity-to-humans” trait which is stable over time and across situations. For this purpose, four test situations were repeated on the same animals at 8 months, 1.5 years (N = 110 horses) and 2.5 years of age (N = 54 horses). These situations involved a “familiar passive human test” during which a familiar person stayed motionless in the test pen, a “familiar active human test” and an “unfamiliar active human test” during which a familiar or unfamiliar person attempted to touch the horse, and a “halter-fitting and heart-rate measurement test”, during which the horse was haltered and equipped with a surcingle and then had its heart-rate measured. Many behavioural variables were recorded during the tests, and correlations between ages and variables measured during other situations were investigated. When correlations were found, we concluded that the variables corresponded to temperament traits which are stable over time and across situations. The horses tested were divided into four groups according to breed (Anglo-Arab and Welsh) and year of birth (2001 and 2002). Data for each group were analysed separately with Spearman rank correlations. Regarding stability over time, there was a strong correlation between ages in the frequency of licking/nibbling the passive human, the time taken by a familiar or unfamiliar person to touch the horse, and the time taken to fit a halter (e.g. the time taken to touch the horse's muzzle was significantly correlated between ages in 7 out of the 8 possible cases: 0.40 <= R <= 0.67). Regarding stability across situations, results indicate that the more frequently a horse sniffed, licked or nibbled a passive human, the easier it was for either a familiar or unfamiliar active human to touch and halter it. Moreover, a horse which could be touched easily by a familiar human could also be touched and haltered easily by an unfamiliar human. These behaviours, which are linked directly to humans, therefore indicate good stability over time and across situations. In conclusion, this stability suggests the existence of a “reactivity-to-humans” temperament trait, whether the human is passive or active, familiar or unfamiliar. When the animals do not have frequent contact with humans, this reactivity is stable over time and can be measured as early as 8 months of age using the behavioural variables cited above.

Abstract: Animals can indirectly gather meaningful information about other individuals by eavesdropping on their third-party interactions. In particular, eavesdropping can be used to indirectly attribute a negative or positive valence to an individual and to adjust one's future behavior towards that individual. Few studies have focused on this ability in nonhuman animals, especially in nonprimate species. Here, we investigated this ability for the first time in domestic horses (Equus caballus) by projecting videos of positive and negative interactions between an unknown human experimenter (a “positive” experimenter or a “negative” experimenter) and an actor horse. The horses reacted emotionally while watching the videos, expressing behavioral (facial expressions and contact-seeking behavior) and physiological (heart rate) cues of positive emotions while watching the positive video and of negative emotions while watching the negative video. This result shows that the horses perceived the content of the videos and suggests an emotional contagion between the actor horse and the subjects. After the videos were projected, the horses took a choice test, facing the positive and negative experimenters in real life. The horses successfully used the interactions seen in the videos to discriminate between the experimenters. They touched the negative experimenter significantly more, which seems counterintuitive but can be interpreted as an appeasement attempt, based on the existing literature. This result suggests that horses can indirectly attribute a valence to a human experimenter by eavesdropping on a previous third-party interaction with a conspecific.