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Krueger, K., Esch, L., & Byrne, R. (2019). Animal behaviour in a human world: A crowdsourcing study on horses that open door and gate mechanisms. Plos One, 14(6), e0218954.
Abstract: Anecdotal reports of horses opening fastened doors and gates are an intriguing way of exploring the possible scope of horses' problem-solving capacities. The species' natural environment has no analogues of the mechanisms involved. Scientific studies on the topic are missing, because the rate of occurrence is too low for exploration under controlled conditions. Therefore, we compiled from lay persons case reports of horses opening closed doors and gates. Additionally, we collected video documentations at the internet platform YouTube, taking care to select raw data footage of unedited, clearly described and clearly visible cases of animals with no distinct signs of training or reduced welfare. The data included individuals opening 513 doors or gates on hinges, 49 sliding doors, and 33 barred doors and gateways; mechanisms included 260 cases of horizontal and 155 vertical bars, 43 twist locks, 42 door handles, 34 electric fence handles, 40 carabiners, and 2 locks with keys. Opening was usually for escape, but also for access to food or stable-mates, or out of curiosity or playfulness. While 56 percent of the horses opened a single mechanism at one location, 44 percent opened several types of mechanism (median = 2, min. = 1, max. = 5) at different locations (median = 2, min. = 1, max. = 4). The more complex the mechanism was, the more movements were applied, varying from median 2 for door handles to 10 for carabiners. Mechanisms requiring head- or lip-twisting needed more movements, with significant variation between individuals. 74 horses reported in the questionnaire had options for observing the behaviour in stable mates, 183 did not, which indicates that the latter learned to open doors and gates either individually or from observing humans. Experience favours opening efficiency; subjects which opened several door types applied fewer movements per lock than horses which opened only one door type. We failed to identify a level of complexity of door-fastening mechanism that was beyond the learning capacity of the horse to open. Thus, all devices in frequent use, even carabiners and electric fence handles, are potentially vulnerable to opening by horses, something which needs to be considered in relation to keeping horses safely.
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Reader, S. M., & Laland, K. N. (2003). Animal Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Bergmüller, R., & Taborsky, M. (2010). Animal personality due to social niche specialisation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25(9), 504–511.
Abstract: The existence of 'animal personality', i.e. consistent individual differences in behaviour across time and contexts, is an evolutionary puzzle that has recently generated considerable research interest. Although social factors are generally considered to be important, it is as yet unclear how they might select for personality. Drawing from ecological niche theory, we explore how social conflict and alternative social options can be key factors in the evolution and development of consistent individual differences in behaviour. We discuss how animal personality research might benefit from insights into the study of alternative tactics and illustrate how selection can favour behavioural diversification and consistency due to fitness benefits resulting from conflict reduction among social partners.
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Beck, B. B. (1980). Animal tool behaviour: The use and manufacture of tools by animals. New York: Garland.
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McBride, S. D., Parker, M. O., Roberts, K., & Hemmings, A. (2017). Applied neurophysiology of the horse; implications for training, husbandry and welfare. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 190, 90–101.
Abstract: Understanding the neural circuits underlying equine behaviour has the potential to help optimise strategies of husbandry and training. This review discusses two areas of neurophysiological research in a range of species and relates this information to the horse. The first discussion focuses on mechanisms of learning and motivation and assesses how this information can be applied to improve the training of the horse. The second concerns the identification of the equine neurophysiological phenotype, through behavioural and genetic probes, as a way of improving strategies for optimal equine husbandry and training success. The review finishes by identifying directions for future research with an emphasis on how neurophysiological systems (and thus behaviour) can be modified through strategic husbandry. This review highlights how a neurophysioloigical understanding of horse behaviour can play an important role in attaining the primary objectives of equitation science as well as improving the welfare of the horse.
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Haidn, B., & Berger, N. (2003). Arbeitszeitbedarf für die Pensionspferdehaltung in landwirt-schaftlichen Betrieben. Tagungsband 6, Vechta 25.-27. März 2003, Tagung: Bau, Technik und Umwelt in der landwirtsch, 386–391.
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Pick, M., Pick, J., Rahn, A., & Wolff, N. (2016). Artgerechte Haltung von Pferden: Sachverständige Empfehlungen zur Pferdehaltung aus Sicht des Tierschutzes. Hamburg: Tredition GmbH.
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Lucidi, P., Bacco, G., Sticco, M., Mazzoleni, G., Benvenuti, M., Bernabò, N., et al. (2013). Assessment of motor laterality in foals and young horses (Equus caballus) through an analysis of derailment at trot. Physiol. Behav., 109, 8–13.
Abstract: The conflicting results regarding the study of motor laterality in horses may indicate that there does not exist a proper method to assess the degree and the direction of motor bias in these animals. Unfortunately, even less is known about the development of laterality in horses, and to what extent early manipulations can still exert their effects in adulthood. We propose a new method that can be easily applied at a very early age thus avoiding testing adult horses eventually biased by human handling and/or training. Forty-six horses (29 nine-month-old foals and 17 two-year old horses) were handled since birth bilaterally and housed in groups in wide areas. At the time of the analysis, in order to minimize environmental and sensorial disturbances, each horse was tested in a round pen individually or as dyad mother-foal. The ability/inability to properly execute a circle at trot was then recorded, assuming the direction of derailment, i.e. the cutting of the circle, as an indicator of motor bias. From the results of the study it is arguable that motor laterality in horses is acquired over time: in fact foals tested while their mothers were being subjected to longeing showed a higher percentage of ambidextrous animals, while two-year-old horses appeared biased toward the right (p<0.05). Results are discussed in the light of the scientific knowledge about equine biomechanics, taking into account horses' locomotion that leads to the advancement of the body mass through the activation of a kinetic chain that originates from the hindquarters.
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Cerasoli, F., Podaliri Vulpiani, M., Saluti, G., Conte, A., Ricci, M., Savini, G., et al. (2022). Assessment of Welfare in Groups of Horses with Different Management, Environments and Activities by Measuring Cortisol in Horsehair, Using Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (Vol. 12). Animals, 12(14).
Abstract: Horses have always been animals used for companionship, work, transportation, and performance purposes over the history of humanity; there are different ways of managing horses, but studies on how horse welfare is influenced by different activities and managements are scanty. Understanding how the management, the environment, and the different uses of horses can affect the level of stress and well-being is important not only for people associated with horses. Three groups of horses with different management, environments, and activities were selected: (1) stabled horses ridden frequently, (2) horses that perform public order service under the Italian state police, and (3) free-ranging horses. Cortisol analysis was carried out on horsehair samples using liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), a laboratory technique used for the first time to quantify horsehair cortisol. The selection of horses to be included in the three groups was carried out by including only subjects with positive welfare assessment in accordance with the horse welfare assessment protocol (AWIN). These analyses demonstrated that the cortisol levels detected in the horsehair of free-ranging animals were significantly higher compared to those detected in stabled and working horses. These results may have been a consequence of complex environmental, managerial, and behavioral factors, which should be worth further investigation
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Rogers, L. (2020). Asymmetry of Motor Behavior and Sensory Perception: Which Comes First? Symmetrie, 12(5), 690.
Abstract: By examining the development of lateralization in the sensory and motor systems of the human fetus and chick embryo, this paper debates which lateralized functions develop first and what interactions may occur between the different sensory and motor systems during development. It also discusses some known influences of inputs from the environment on the development of lateralization, particularly the effects of light exposure on the development of visual and motor lateralization in chicks. The effects of light on the human fetus are related in this context. Using the chick embryo as a model to elucidate the genetic and environmental factors involved in development of lateralization, some understanding has been gained about how these lateralized functions emerge. At the same time, the value of carrying out much more research on the development of the various types of lateralization has become apparent.
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