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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
Keywords: cortisol; animal welfare; horse; Lc-Hrms/Ms
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Skandakumar, S., Stodulski, G., & Hau, J. (1995). Salivary IgA: a Possible Stress Marker In Dogs. In Animal Welfare (Vol. 4, pp. 339–350).
Abstract: Stress in humans has been reported to be associated with a decrease in the salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) levels enabling the possible use of s-IgA to assess stress. Prolonged stress, if reliably assessed in a non-invasive manner, may be used to assess animal welfare. This study analysed groups of dogs undergoing physical and temperamental training and s-IgA levels were measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis in prospective samples. Behavioural assessment was carried out and cortisol levels in saliva were measured by ELISA. A significant negative correlation (P < 0.007) between the logarithmic cortisol concentrations and s-IgA levels in saliva was recorded. The behavioural assessment of the dogs agreed well with the biochemical markers. It is concluded that IgA levels in saliva may be a useful marker of dog well-being and that stress results in decreased s-IgA levels.
Keywords: Animal Welfare; Behaviour; Cortisol; Dog; Salivary Iga (S-Iga); Stress; Well-Being
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Visser, E. K., Ellis, A. D., Rijksen, L., Van Reenen, C. G., & VanDierendonck, M. (2008). Effect of training method on response of horses to a human approach test. In IESM 2008.
Abstract: The human-horse relationship forms an essential component in the diversity of todays use of horses. The reactions of horses to interactions with humans are mostly the result of interplay between their own temperament; the temperament and skills of the human and their previous experience – with humans. Moreover, the understanding of the human-horse relationship may improve the welfare of horses and humans. Nowadays, “sympathetic” training methods are gaining tremendous attention of horse owners. In the “sympathetic” training method the focus lies on the use of body language in human-horse communication, as well as respecting the horses natural needs. With 28 horses the effect of a “sympathetic” training method versus a conventional training method on the horse“s response on a human-approach test was studied. Fourteen horses of 3.5 years of age were subjected to a five week training period with a conventional training method, the other fourteen horses were subjected to a ”sympathetic“ training method. The overall frequency of snorting during the human approach tests decreased on average from 4.4 (± 1.1) before the training period to 3.1 (± 0.9) after the training period (both groups). However, there was a significant (p=0.006) difference between training methods: the horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method decreased snorting by 4.3 (±1.1) while the horses trained in the conventional method increased with 1.5 (±0.9). While horses trained in the conventional method whinnied less in the second human approach test, horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method whinnied more after the period of training. This difference was found to be significant (p=0.006). Defecating decreased over time, but was not different between training methods. The frequency of touching the unfamiliar handler increased over time for both training methods. The horses trained in a conventional method increased from 1.5 to 2.5 and for the sympathetic trained horses from 1.9 to 3.7. This increase was not significantly different for the training methods. Heart rate showed a minor decrease between the human approach tests (before training period 85.3 bpm, after training period 74.3 bpm) but there were no significant differences between training methods. Similarly, there was a slight increase in heart rate variability (rmssd: from 37.0 to 45.2), but no significant differences between training methods. Overal it was concluded that horses trained with this ”sympathetic“ method tended to be more trustful and less stressful in the presence of an (unfamiliar) human compared to horses trained with a conventional method. This may have been due to reduced stress during horse-human contact in the ”sympathetic" training method used. The long term effects on the welfare of the horses, still needs to be investigated.
Keywords: Horse, training, welfare
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Nagy, K., Bodó, G., Bárdos, G., & Harnos, A. (2008). Is modified Forssell"s operation superior to cribbing collar in preventing crib-biting in horses? In IESM 2008.
Abstract: Crib-biting (wind-sucking) might be a coping response of the horses to the challenges of
uncontrolled environmental events. Prevention of this stereotypic behaviour evokes physiological responses consistent with increased stress. Reducing the incidence of cribbiting, however, is important in order to prevent undesirable physical and behavioural consequences (tooth erosion, altered gut function, gastric inflammation/ulceration, colic, etc.). Common treatment of crib-biting is the application of a cribbing collar, which limits the flexion of the neck making this stereotypic movement uncomfortable and difficult. Another method, the modified Forssell"s operation, is becoming more and more popular amongst the horse owners. It is based on the removal of the muscles used in crib-biting (m.omohyoideus, m.sternohyoideus, m.sternothyrohyoideus) and the ventral branches of the spinal accessory nerves. Surveys on the success of this surgical procedure have revealed inconsistent results, and, contrary to the cribbing collar, its effect on the stress level have not been studied either. The aim of our study was to determine whether the modified Forssell"s procedure is superior to the cribbing collar treatment. Differences in stress management was tested by a crib-biting provoking test, in which surgically treated horses, crib-biting horses, crib-biting horses with cribbing collar, and normal horses (those showing no stereotypies), altogether 56 horses were compared. In this test, a food bucket had been placed out of the reach of the animal, from which titbits were given 3 times. Behaviour and heart rate variability (HRV) of the horses were recorded and analysed throughout the test. Hypotheses were tested by linear mixed model. According to our results, both prevention methods (collar or surgery) inhibited crib-biting successfully though not totally. Regarding behaviour and heart rate variability, horses prevented from crib-biting (by collar or surgery) differed significantly from crib-biting and normal horses but not from each other. Normal horses were usually trying to reach the food-bucket while present and were standing still afterwards, whereas the other three groups had not really made efforts to reach the bucket, spent less time with resting, and performed or tried crib-biting. During the stress-test, normal and crib-biting horses had shown good stress-adaptation to the challenge since their HRV, after an initial increase, returned to the basal value by the end. On the contrary, HRV of the two prevented groups remained elevated and showed large oscillations throughout. They had not found a successful coping behaviour either. Our results suggest that since prevention may significantly increase distress, the treatment in itself, without changing the motivation of the horse to perform the replacement behaviour – it seems to be unsatisfactory and insufficient. After prevention the motivation of the horse to perform crib-biting should be addressed. In addition, considering that prevention by collar and surgery had not resulted in any significant behavioural or physiological differences, the superiority of the modified Forssell"s procedure might be questioned. However, the surgery might be recommended if treatment with collar is ineffective. |
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Hausberger, M., & Fureix, C. (2012). On the significance of puzzling behaviours: what do yawning and adult play tell us about horse (Equus caballus) welfare? In K. Krueger (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting (Vol. in press). Wald: Xenophon Publishing.
Abstract: Some behaviours remain a mystery and their determinants are still uncertain. Here we propose a critical interpretation of two puzzling behaviours, i.e. yawning and adult play, recorded in large samples of domestic horses kept in sub-optimal conditions (e.g. time-restricted feeding practices, social isolation). Yawning is involved in behavioural state changes, especially in quiet contexts of motor relaxation, but seems also to be triggered by stress and emotional contexts. Thus, we investigated specific correlates of yawning and stereotypic behaviours in two large samples of working horses (n1 = 87, n2 = 59). A clear co-occurrences of yawning and stereotypic behaviours appeared: stereotypic horses yawned more than the non-stereotypic horses (Fisher test, p < 0.02), yawning increased at the same time periods as stereotypic behaviours did (Wilcoxon tests, p < 0.05 to 0.001) and yawning frequency was even sometimes positively correlated with stereotypic behaviour frequencies (Spearman correlations, p < 0.005). Play, more typical of young stages in healthy individuals, occurs rarely at adult stages but then more often in captive/domestic animals (which can be challenging to welfare) than in animals living in natural conditions. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that adult play may reflect altered welfare states in horses, where, as in several species, play rarely occurs at adult stages in natural conditions. We observed the behaviour (in particular social play) of 29 adult riding school horses during occasional outings in a paddock and measured several stress indicators (health-related, behavioural and physiological) when these horses were in their home individual boxes. Results revealed that the number of horses and rates of adult play appeared very high compared to field report data and that most stress indicators measured differed between “players” and “non-players”, revealing that most “playful” animals were more prone to suffer from chronic stress contrarily to “non-playful” horses (Fisher, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation tests, p < 0.05 to 0.001). Altogether, these results show that yawning and adult play can both reflect altered welfare states in horses, highlighting that these puzzling behaviours should not be considered, as currently thought, as reliable indicators of good welfare states and / or expression of positive emotions.
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König von Borstel, U., Kienapfel, K., McLean, A., Wilkins, C., Evans, D., & McGreevy, P. (2015). Hyperflexing the horse‘s neck: a cost-benefit and meta-analysis. In Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting.
Abstract: In ethical discussions, a cost-benefit analysis requires that welfare costs associated with an activity can be reliably estimated and balanced against the potential benefits of the activity to both humans and animals. The current study applies a meta-analysis to the peer-reviewed evidence for costs and benefits of hyperflexion of the neck in horses; a practice that has attracted enormous public and scientific scrutiny over the past 15 years. A literature review identified 55 studies dealing with horses’ head and neck postures. Fourty-two of these studies examined the impact of various postures on equine welfare, for example, by assessing behavior, physiological stress parameters, health or rider-horse interaction. Thirty-five studies examined the impact of various postures on gymnastics (e.g. kinematics, shifts in weight distribution, muscle activity, airway functioning or overall workload). For the meta-analysis a dataset containing information from each of the individual studies was created. Data included information such as type, degree, duration and circumstances of hyperflexion applied in that particular study as well as information on the horses (e.g., sport discipline, level of training, breed) and on the study design (e.g., size of study and experimental or epidemiological research design). The results of the study regarding the impact of hyperflexion on a) welfare and b) gymnastics were coded as positive (1), insignificant or contradictory (0) or negative (-1). The significant majority of studies (88%) concluded that a hyperflexed head and neck posture negatively impacts welfare. Just one study suggested welfare advantages of training in a hyperflexed head and neck posture. An analysis using a generalized linear mixed model to assess the influence of the above factors collated in the dataset revealed that none of these factors significantly influenced the probability of a study to detect negative welfare implications. Thus hyperflexing the neck appears to impair horses’ welfare regardless of, for example, the duration or the way of achieving hyperflexion. A concurrent assessment of the evidence for gymnastic benefits showed that approximately one quarter of studies conclude that there may be benefits, while another quarter of the studies conclude that hyperflexion has detrimental effects on gymnastics. Thus, on the costs-side there is a clear reduction in equine welfare and some undesirable gymnastic effects, as well as likely a compromised profile of the equestrian sports in public. Benefits, on the other hand, include some desirable gymnastic effects, and potentially increased control of the horse for the rider. On balance, it appears that the costs associated with hyperflexion exceed the potential benefits of the activity to both humans and horses.
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Krueger, K. (Ed.). (2008). Proceedings of the International Equine Science Meeting 2008. Wald: Xenophon Verlag.
Abstract: Target group: Biologists, Psychologists, Veterinarians and Professionals
Meeting target: Because the last international meeting on Equine Science took place a couple years ago, there is an urgent need for equine scientists to exchange scientific knowledge, coordinate research provide knowledge for practical application, and discus research results among themselves and with professionals who work with horses. Additionally, dialog concerning the coordination of the study “Equitation Science” in Europe is urgently needed. Coordination and cooperation shall arise from the meeting, enrich the research, and advance the application of scientific knowledge for the horses` welfare. |
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Waran, N. K. (1997). Can studies of feral horse behaviour be used for assessing domestic horse welfare? (Vol. 29).
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Houpt, K. A. (1991). Animal behavior and animal welfare. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 198(8), 1355–1360.
Abstract: The value of behavioral techniques in assessing animal welfare, and in particular assessing the psychological well being of animals, is reviewed. Using cats and horses as examples, 3 behavioral methods are presented: (1) comparison of behavior patterns and time budgets; (2) choice tests; and (3) operant conditioning. The behaviors of intact and declawed cats were compared in order to determine if declawing led to behavioral problems or to a change in personality. Apparently it did not. The behavior of free ranging horses was compared with that of stabled horses. Using two-choice preference tests, the preference of horses for visual contact with other horses and the preference for bedding were determined. Horses show no significant preference for locations from which they can make visual contact with other horses, but they do prefer bedding, especially when lying down. Horses will perform an operant response in order to obtain light in a darkened barn or heat in an outside shed. These same techniques can be used to answer a variety of questions about an animal's motivation for a particular attribute of its environment.
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Nicol, C. J., Brown, S. N., Glen, E., Pope, S. J., Short, F. J., Warriss, P. D., et al. (2006). Effects of stocking density, flock size and management on the welfare of laying hens in single-tier aviaries. Br Poult Sci, 47(2), 135–146.
Abstract: Management practices, stocking rate and flock size may affect laying hen welfare but there have been few replicated studies in commercial non-cage systems that investigate this. This study used a broad range of physical and physiological indicators to assess the welfare of hens in 36 commercial flocks. Six laying period treatments were examined with each treatment replicated 6 times. It was not possible to randomly allocate treatments to houses, so treatment and house were largely confounded. Three stocking rates were compared: 7 birds/m(2) (n = 2450), 9 birds/m(2) (n = 3150) and 12 birds/m(2) in either small (n = 2450) or large (n = 4200) flocks. In addition, at 12 birds/m(2), in both small and large flocks, birds were subjected to either standard (SM) or modified (MM) management. MM flocks had nipple drinkers and no nest-box lights. Bone strength, fracture incidence, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, live weight, organ weights, serum creatine, serum osmolality, muscle pH and faecal corticosterone were measured on samples of birds at the end of the rearing period and at the end of lay. During the laying period, mortality, production and integument condition were recorded at regular intervals. Birds housed at 9 birds/m(2) had higher mortality than birds housed at 12 birds/m(2) by the end of lay, but not higher than birds housed at 7 birds/m(2). Birds housed at 7 and 9 birds/m(2) had lower percent liver weight, and worse plumage condition than most of the 12 bird/m(2) treatments. Modified management tended to improve plumage condition. There were no clear effects of flock size on the welfare indicators recorded. At the end of the rearing period fracture incidence was almost negligible and H:L ratio was within a normal range. By the end of lay fracture incidence was 60% and H:L ratio was high, with no treatment effect for either measure. This, together with information on faecal corticosterone, feather loss and mortality, suggests that the welfare of birds in all treatments was relatively poor by the end of lay.
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