Hausberger, M., Fureix, C., Bourjade, M., Wessel-Robert, S., & Richard-Yris, M. - A. (2012). On the significance of adult play: what does social play tell us about adult horse welfare? Naturwissenschaften, 99(4), 291–302.
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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Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Leroy, H., Henry, S., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus. Anim. Behav., 79(4), 869–875.
Abstract: Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.
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Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Henry, S., Fureix, C., Nassur, F., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus). Anim. Cogn., 13(5), 753-764.
Abstract: A central question in the interspecific human/animal relationship is how domestic animals perceive humans as a significant element of their environment. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the use of positive or negative reinforcement in horse training may have consequences on the animals’ perception of humans, as a positive, negative or neutral element. Two groups of ponies were trained to walk backwards in response to a vocal order using either positive or negative reinforcement. Heart rate monitors and behavioural observations were used to assess the animals’ perception of humans on the short (just after training) and long (5 months later) terms. The results showed that the type of reinforcement had a major effect on the subsequent animals’ perception of familiar and unfamiliar humans. Negative reinforcement was rapidly associated with an increased emotional state, as revealed by heart rate measurements and behavioural observations (head movements and ears laid back position). Its use led the ponies to seek less contact with humans. On the contrary, ponies trained with positive reinforcement showed an increased interest in humans and sought contact after training. This is especially remarkable as it was reached in a maximum of 5 sessions of 1 to 3 min (i.e. 5 to 15 min) and had lasting effects (visible after 5 months). Even learning was positively influenced by positive reinforcement. Overall, horses seem capable of associating humans to particular experiences and display extended long-term memory abilities.
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Benhajali, H., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Ezzaouia, M., Charfi, F., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Reproductive status and stereotypies in breeding mares: A brief report. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 128(1-4), 64–68.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between age, reproductive status and sire of the mare and the tendency to perform stereotypies. One hundred and fourteen purebred Arab mares, offspring of 39 sires ( offspring per sire) and aged 4-21 years () were observed from the 30th March to the 15th of May 2005 using instantaneous scan sampling. We used a multivariate logistic regression in order to study the relationship between age, reproductive status and sire of the mare and the tendency to perform stereotypies. 28% of the observed mares showed stereotypic behaviour, mostly weaving (22%). Neither age (χ2 Wald = 9.36, p = 0.89) nor sire (χ2 Wald = 4.34, p = 1.0) affected the occurrence of stereotypies whilst the reproductive status of the mare influenced significantly the occurrence (χ2 Wald = 10.75, p = 0.001) but also the type (χ2 = 12.1, p < 0.001) of stereotypic behaviour. Weaving was more frequent in non foaling mares (41.4%) than in foaling mares (1.8%) that performed mostly stall-walking.
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