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Burla, J. - B., Siegwart, J., & Nawroth, C. (2018). Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task. Animal, 8(6), 96.
Abstract: Horses’ ability to adapt to new environments and to acquire new information plays an important role in handling and training. Social learning in particular would be very adaptive for horses as it enables them to flexibly adjust to new environments. In the context of horse handling, social learning from humans has been rarely investigated but could help to facilitate management practices. We assessed the impact of human demonstration on the spatial problem-solving abilities of horses during a detour task. In this task, a bucket with a food reward was placed behind a double-detour barrier and 16 horses were allocated to two test groups of 8 horses each. One group received a human demonstration of how to solve the spatial task while the other group received no demonstration. We found that horses did not solve the detour task more often or faster with human demonstration. However, both test groups improved rapidly over trials. Our results suggest that horses prefer to use individual rather than social information when solving a spatial problem-solving task
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Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. - Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2002). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J. Appl. Psychol., 85(5), 879–903.
Abstract: Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
$11.95
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Grönemann, K. (2015). Konfliktfeld Pferd und Wolf – Eine Untersuchung zu Einstellungen, Erwartungen und Befürchtungen von Pferdehaltern und Reitsportlern in Niedersachsen. Master's thesis, University Hildesheim, Hildesheim.
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Passilongo, D., Buccianti, A., Dessi-Fulgheri, F., Gazzola, A., Zaccaronii, M., & Apollonio, M. (2010). The Acoustic Structure Of Wolf Howls In Some Eastern Tuscany (Central Italy) Free Ranging Packs. Bioacoustics, 19(3), 159–175.
Abstract: Italian wolf howls are described for the first time from observations between 2003–2008 of a population living in eastern Tuscany, central Italy. A sample of 37 howls selected among single responses and 128 howls included in the choruses of 7 free ranging packs was recorded and analysed. The mean fundamental frequency of the howls ranged between 274–908 Hz. Two main structures recognised by means of multivariate explorative analysis, in particular Principal Component and Cluster Analysis, were ascribed to breaking and flat howls. Discriminant Function Analysis was applied to the recognised groups with the aim to find a general rule for classification. Howls with different features were correctly assigned to the groups obtained by explorative analysis in 95.8% of cases. The analysis of the variables characterising the structure of the howls suggests that maximum frequency and range of fundamental frequency are the most important parameters for classification, while duration does not appear to play any significant role.
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McGreevy, P., & Yeates, J. (2018). Horses (Equus caballus). In Companion Animal Care and Welfare. Companion Animal Care and Welfare.
Abstract: Summary Domestic horses are equid members of the class Mammalia, order Perissodactyla, and family Equidae. Horses are obligate herbivores, with nutritional requirements as listed in a table. Adequate space is necessary for exercise, exploration, flight, sharing resources, play, and rolling. Company is essential for all horses, including stallions. Company provides opportunities for mutual grooming and play and allows horses to stand head-to-tail to remove flies. Unhandled horses may respond to humans as they would to predators, whereas handled horses' responses depend on their previous interactions with humans. Horses can suffer from several diseases as listed in another table. The best method of euthanasia of horses is usually sedation followed by either cranial shooting or the injection of an overdose of pentobarbitone into the jugular vein. Behavioural signs of distress can include increased locomotory activity, vigilance behaviours, neighing, snorting, pawing, nibbling walls and buckets, defaecation, rearing, kicking stable walls or doors, and high-stepping 'prancing'.
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Stecken, P. (2015). Bemerkungen und Zusammenhänge.
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Pawluski, J., Jego, P., Henry, S., Bruchet, A., Palme, R., Coste, C., et al. (2017). Low plasma cortisol and fecal cortisol metabolite measures as indicators of compromised welfare in domestic horses (Equus caballus). Plos One, 12(9), e0182257.
Abstract: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to chronic stress is far from straight forward, particularly with regards to animal welfare. There are reports of no effect as well as both decreases and increases in cortisol after chronic stressors. Therefore, the first aim of the present study was to determine how measures of compromised welfare, such as chronic pain and haematological anomalies, related to cortisol levels in domestic horses (Equus caballus). Domestic horses are an informative model to investigate the impact of chronic stress (due to environment, pain, work, housing conditions...) on the HPA axis. The second aim was to determine whether levels of fecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) may be used as an indicator of welfare measures. The present study used fifty-nine horses (44 geldings and 15 mares), from three riding centres in Brittany, France. The primary findings show that horses whose welfare was clearly compromised (as indicated by an unusual ears backward position, presence of vertebral problems or haematological anomalies, e.g. anaemia) also had lower levels of both FCM and plasma cortisol. This work extends our previous findings showing that withdrawn postures, indicators of depressive-like behavior in horses, are associated with lower plasma cortisol levels. We also found that evening plasma cortisol levels positively correlated with FCM levels in horses. Future research aims to determine the extent to which factors of influence on welfare, such as living conditions (e.g. single stalls versus group housing in pasture or paddocks), early life factors, and human interaction, act as mediators of cortisol levels in horses.
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Griebenow, K., & Klibanov, A. M. (1995). Lyophilization-induced reversible changes in the secondary structure of proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 92(24), 10969–10976.
Abstract: Changes in the secondary structure of some dozen different proteins upon lyophilization of their aqueous solutions have been investigated by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in the amide III band region. Dehydration markedly (but reversibly) alters the secondary structure of all the proteins studied, as revealed by both the quantitative analysis of the second derivative spectra and the Gaussian curve fitting of the original infrared spectra. Lyophilization substantially increases the beta-sheet content and lowers the alpha-helix content of all proteins. In all but one case, proteins become more ordered upon lyophilization.
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Palme, R., Touma, C., Arias, N., Dominchin, M.N., & Lepschy, M. (2013). Steroid extraction: Get the best out of faecal samples. Wien Tierärztl Monat – Vet Med Austria, 100, 238–246.
Abstract: Faecal steroid hormone metabolites are becoming increasingly popular as parameters for reproductive functions and stress. The extraction of the steroids from the faecal matrix represents the initial step before quantification can be performed. The steroid metabolites present in the faecal matrix are of varying polarity and composition, so selection of a proper extraction procedure is essential. There have been some studies to address this complex but often neglected point. Radiolabelled steroids (e.g. cortisol or progesterone) have frequently been added to faecal samples to estimate the efficiency of the extraction procedures used. However, native, unmetabolized steroids are normally not present in the faeces and therefore the results are artifi- cial and do not accurately reflect the actual recoveries of the substances of interest. In this respect, recovery experiments based on faecal samples from radiometabolism studies are more informative. In these samples, the metabolite content accurately reflects the mixture of metabolites present in the given species. As a result, it is possible to evaluate different extraction methods for use with faecal samples. We present studies on sheep, horses, pigs, hares and dogs that utilized samples containing naturally metabolized, 14C-labelled steroids. We recommend extracting faecal steroids by simply suspending the faeces in a high percentage of a primary alcohol (for glucocorticoid metabolites 80% aqueous methanol proved best suited for virtually all mammalian species tested so far). Not only does the procedure significantly increase the total amount of recovered radioactivity, it also increases the percentage of unconjugated metabolites, which are more likely to be recognized by the antibodies used in various immunoassays. The advantages of this extraction procedure are clear: it is very easy to use (no evaporation step is needed), it yields high recoveries and variation based on the extraction procedure is reduced to a minimum.
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Lee, P. (1991). Adaptation to environmental change:an evolutionary perspective. In H. O. Box (Ed.), Primate responses to environmental changes (pp. 39–56). London: Chapmann & Hall.
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