Abstracts

Paedomorphosis: a novel explanation of physical and behavioral differences in horses?

Overshadowing: a silver lining to a dark cloud in horse training

D. Goodwin 1, M. Levine 2, P. McGreevy 3

1 School of Psychology, University of Southampton, UK.
2 McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK.
3 Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

A.N. McLean

Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, Clonbinane Road, Broadford, VIC 3658, Australia

Paedomorphosis is the retention of juvenile characteristics at maturity. The current popularity of small heads and long legs in the selection of some performance horses suggests paedomorphism in horses. We compared 10 different breeds with the Exmoor pony and found further evidence of paedomorphism which may influence communication, play, trainability, responsiveness and socialization. These qualities can directly influence the usefulness and therefore welfare of riding horses.

Overshadowing refers to the over-riding of a fearful reaction by making the horse respond to simple pressure cues that it has previously learned. E.g. while the horse is expressing fear of clippers it is asked to step back and forward (previously learned) until the back and forward response is light and it is no longer reacting to the clippers.

Investigating cribbing and weaving behavior in horses in Michigan

Group housing with automatic feeding systems: implications for behavior and horse welfare

C. Wickens1, C. Heleski1, S. Bursian1, K. Clark 2

1 Department of Animal Science, 2 Institute for Public Policy and Social Research,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824.

E. T. Gieling 1, M. Cox 1, M. C. van Dierendonck 2

1 Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
2 Ethology & Welfare - Equine Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, PO Box 80166, 3508 TD Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Management of horses during and outside of training and competition influences their behavior and well-being. The performance of stereotypic (repetitive, seemingly functionless) behavior in horses is suggested to indicate either current or past sub-optimal welfare. The objectives of our study were to determine whether Michigan horse owners are concerned about cribbing and weaving behavior (CWB) and to investigate how these horses are managed. A web-based questionnaire was developed to investigate these questions. Three hundred and seven individuals participated, representing a total of 2,376 horses. The results demonstrate that Michigan horse owners do express concern about CWB and that attempts are often made to control these behaviors. Methods such as cribbing collars, increasing the amount of forage in the horse’s diet, and increasing the amount of turnout were used most frequently. Further research into the causes of CWB, the success of intervention methods, and educational programs for horse owners about stereotypic behavior are needed.

Housing and management influences horses in their performances while being worked in association with humans. Properly designed group housing with individual access to feeding stations is mimicking natural behaviour and improves performance.

'Barn talk' – possible expression in equine vocalization

D. Browning 1, J. Nadeau 2, P. Scheifele 2, J. Dinger 2

Browning Biotech, 139 Old North Road, Kingston, RI 02881-1418, 2 Dept. Animal Science, Univ. of Connecticut, 3636 Horsebarn Rd. Ext.

Equines are primarily visually responding animals but in a barn stall, visibility is limited while visitors can approach closely. This may cause “barn talk” as the horse tries to understand the situation or even acknowledge those that they know.

Preliminary investigations into the ethological relevance of round-yard training with horses

Addition of positive reinforcement enhances learning a frightening task (but only for the frightened horses)

A. Warren-Smith 1 , P.McGreevy 2

1 Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 883, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia;

2 Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

L. Bauson, C. Heleski

Department of Animal Science, 1250 Anthony Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 USA

Round-yard training, also referred to round-pen training, is a popular technique used on unridden horses. It is said to hinge on the trainer's ability to capitalise on the natural responses found within a group of horses. Most often, the leader in a group is a high-ranking mare. It is said that, to discipline an unruly youngster, she will chase it away and keep it away from the group for some time. The youngster is then said to show certain behavioural signs of submission. In response to these, the mare is said to eventually relax the pressure on the youngster and so will avert her eye contact and allow the youngster to re-join the group. Transferring this interaction to the round-yard technique involves the trainer assuming the role of the mare and chasing the young horse around the round-yard until it shows key behavioural responses. These include turning its head to the trainer, licking and chewing as well as lowering the head towards the ground. The moment the horse offers these responses, the chasing should cease and the handler should assume a passive stance, turning his body away from the horse and removing eye contact. The horse is then allowed to reduce its speed and approach the handler. It soon learns that if it slows down and approaches the handler, it can avoid being chased. Hence, after a few repetitions of this process, the horse will have learned to stay with, and follow the handler to avoid being chased. Some round-yard practitioners call this process ‘join-up' and it is said to occur within minutes of horses undergoing round-yard training.

Although there are many published studies of the ways horses behave in free-ranging groups, none have reported the process on which round-yard training is based. Our study was designed to assess the behaviour of mares when paired with colts in a round-yard to see if it matched with the predictions implied by round-yard advocates.

The results from our limited (8 minute) test period showed that the six mare-colt pairs spent most time at opposite ends of the round-yard, only being within 1 m of each other for 2.8 s during the first minute. The pairs were in the 'join-up' position for only 0.73% of the test period. The youngsters did show some head-lowering and licking-and-chewing, but mostly when they were facing away from the mares. These responses occurred together 0.45% of the time.

Our finding that the mare-colt pairs spent only a few seconds in close proximity to each other during the first minute and then stayed away from each other, implies that, within this time-frame, responses reflective of 'join-up' do not occur when horses are confined in a round-yard. Furthermore, this implies that round-yard technique depends more on the principles of learning theory than an imitation of horse-horse interactions.

Many horses are trained primarily with negative reinforcement (e.g. leg pressure to get a horse to walk forward; poll pressure to get a horse to lead forward). Positive reinforcement (e.g. handful of oats or scratching the withers) is still sometimes frowned upon within the horse industry. We embarked upon teaching horses to walk over a tarp (typically scary for horses not previously exposed.) We used 34 Arabian mares and geldings, ranging in age from 2 – 29 years, but with each treatment group averaging 11 years. One treatment was handled in the “traditional” way; that is, they were asked to lead forward by applying pressure on the halter and lead; if and when they stepped forward, the pressure was released. This was repeated until the horses would calmly cross the tarp. The other treatment was similar, but when the horse stepped forward, it received a handful of oats; again, the process was repeated until the horse would calmly cross the tarp. If the horse would not cross the tarp after 10 minutes of consistent, patient effort, the horse was classified a “failure” and excluded from the rest of the trial. There was a greater chance that horses would “fail” the task if they were in the “traditional” treatment; in other words, the addition of oats increased the probability that a horse would cross over the tarp. However, when only those horses who crossed the tarp were compared, it actually took slightly less time to get a horse to cross the tarp with solely the “traditional” treatment.