Abstract: Summary Animals have several types of magnetic organ, often separately specialized for determining direction versus location. Recent results offer hints about how these once-unimaginable detectors may have evolved.

Abstract: Socially acquired predator avoidance is a phenomenon in which individuals acquire an avoidance response towards an initially neutral stimulus after they have experienced it together with the antipredator signals of social companions. Earlier research has established that alarm calls used for intraspecific communication are effective stimuli for triggering acquisition. However, animals produce a large range of other antipredator responses that might engage antipredator learning. Here, I examine the effects of conspecific distress calls, a signal that is produced by birds when restrained by a predator, and that appears to be directed towards predators, rather than conspecifics, on predator avoidance learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis. Distress calls reflect high levels of alarm in the caller and should, therefore, mediate robust learning. Experiment 1 revealed that subjects performed higher rates of head movements in response to a previously unfamiliar avian mount after it had been presented simultaneously with playbacks of conspecific distress vocalizations. Experiment 2 revealed that increased rates of head saccades resembled the spontaneous response evoked by a novel stimulus more closely than it resembled the response evoked by a perched raptor, suggesting that distress calls inculcated a visual exploratory response, rather than an antipredator response. While it is usually thought that the level of acquisition in learners follows a simple relationship with the level of alarm shown by demonstrators, the present results suggest that this relationship may be more complex. Antipredator signals with different functions may have differential effects on learners.

Abstract: Aus dem Inhalt:
* Warum Freispringen?
* Die Ausstattung
* Der Ablauf
* Sehen lernen
* Freispringen aufbauen
* Fehler korrigieren
Kurzbeschreibung
In vielen größeren Reitställen wird das Freispringen von den dortigen Ausbildern für die untergestellten Pferde angeboten. Doch auch in Eigenregie und auf kleineren Anlagen – sowohl in der Halle als auch auf dem Reitplatz – lässt sich das Freispringen organisieren und durchführen. Es bringt Abwechslung in den Trainingsalltag von Pferden aller Rassen und Reitweisen und hat auch für Pferde, die unter dem Sattel nicht springen müssen, einen hervorragenden gymnastizierenden Effekt. Für Springpferde gehört das Freispringen zu einem durchdachten Trainingskonzept zwingend dazu – lernen sie hierbei doch, Selbstvertrauen und Routine zu gewinnen und ihre Springtechnik zu verbessern. Voraussetzung ist, dass die Menschen, die das Freispringen durchführen, die Hindernisse sachkundig aufbauen, die Pferde richtig vorbereiten und den Ablauf des Freispringens den Fähigkeiten des jeweiligen Kandidaten entsprechend gestalten. Das notwendige Handwerkszeug hierfür liefert ihnen dieses verständlich geschriebene und mit vielen erläuternden Bildern und Bildabfolgen versehene Buch.
Über den Autor
Claudia Götz, geboren 1965, ist Diplomjournalistin und arbeitet unter anderem als Sachbuchautorin. Als Matrix-Rhythmus-Therapeutin verfügt sie über umfangreiches Wissen rund um Anatomie und Physiologie der Muskulatur und bildet sich zum Beispiel im Bereich Trainingslehre regelmäßig weiter. Die Berittführerin FN und begeisterte Vielseitigkeits- und Freizeitreiterin lebt in der Nähe von Regensburg.

Abstract: Despite a long history of human-horse relationship, horse-related incidents and accidents do occur amongst professional and non professional horse handlers. Recent studies show that their occurrence depend more on the frequency and amount of interactions with horses than on the level of competency, suggesting a strong need for specific research and training of individuals working with horses. In the present study, we review the current scientific knowledge on human-horse relationships. We distinguish here short occasional interactions with familiar or unfamiliar horses (e.g. veterinary inspection) and long-term bonds (e.g. horse-owner). An important aspect of the horse-human relationship is to try and improve the development and maintenance of a strong positive relationship. Studies show that deficits in the management conditions (housing, feeding, possibilities for social contact, and training methods) may lead to relational problems between horses and humans. Different methods have been used to assess and improve the human-horse relation, especially at the young age. They reveal that the time and type of contact all play a role, while recent studies suggest that the use of familiarized social models might be a great help through social facilitation. We argue that an important theoretical framework could be Hinde's [Hinde, R., 1979. Towards Understanding Relationships. Academic Press, Londres] definition of a relationship as an emerging bond from a series of interactions: partners have expectations on the next interaction on the basis of the previous ones. Understanding that a relationship is built up on the basis of a succession of interactions is an important step as it suggests that attention is being paid to the “positive” or “negative” valence of each interaction as a step for the next one. A better knowledge of learning rules is certainly necessary in this context not only to train the horse but also to counterbalance the unavoidable negative inputs that exist in routine procedures and reduce their impact on the relationship. It appears clearly that research is needed in order to assess how to better and safely approach the horse (e.g. research in position, posture, gaze, etc.), what type of approaches and timing may help in developing a positive bond, what influence human management and care have on the relationship, and how this can be adapted to have a positive influence on the relationship. Also the interaction between rider and horse, the search for the optimal match between two individuals, is an aspect of the horse-human relationship that requires attention in order to decrease the number of horse-riding accidents and reduced states of welfare. On the other hand, adequate knowledge is readily available that may improve the present situation rapidly. Developing awareness and attention to behavioural cues given by horses would certainly help decreasing accidents among professionals when interacting. Scientists therefore should play a major role in transmitting not only elements of the current knowledge of the ethology of the horse but also by helping developing observational skills.

Abstract: The influence of maternal rank and experience on patterns of maternal care and social relationships of foals were investigated in a managed herd of Sorraia horses, Equus caballus. Social interactions and spatial relationships of 13 foals (seven females and six males) born to seven mares were examined from birth to 10 months of life, within the three major periods of foal development. Conflict over suckling between dam and foal was not generally affected by rank and experience, but higher-ranking mothers allowed more suckling during late lactation than lower-ranking mothers. Foals of higher-ranking mares spent more time in proximity to the mother during socialization. Maternal rank and experience did not significantly affect maternal protectiveness, foal independence from the mother or the development of affiliative relationships between foals and group members. Foals of higher-ranking mares received lower frequencies of aggression from other horses only in the first month of life. Dominance relationships among foals depended mainly on aggressiveness and were not associated with maternal rank. The large variability in maternal behaviour, the absence of a significant association between maternal rank and body condition at parturition and the stable social environment within this herd may partly account for the reported results.