Equine

The effect of stabling routines on potential behaviour indicators of affective state in horses and their use in assessing quality of life

Increasing interest in equine welfare has emphasised the need for objective and reliable behavioural indicators of horses' affective state. However, research has yielded mixed results regarding behaviours suited for industry use largely because they are subject to anthropomorphic interpretation. Stabling...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Bradshaw-Wiley, E., Randle, H. 2023. The effect of stabling routines on potential behaviour indicators of affective state in horses and their use in assessing quality of life. Animals 13(6), 1065.

Social behavior in farm animals: Applying fundamental theory to improve animal welfare

A fundamental understanding of behavior is essential to improving the welfare of billions of farm animals around the world. Despite living in an environment managed by humans, farm animals are still capable of making important behavioral decisions that influence welfare....

Year Published: 2022Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Lee, V. E., Arnott, G., Turner, S. P. 2022. Social behavior in farm animals: Applying fundamental theory to improve animal welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 932217.

Efficacy of lidocaine topical solution in reducing discomfort reaction of horses to intramuscular vaccination

Vaccinations via intramuscular injection are a key component of preventative health care in horses. Development of problematic behavioral aversion to injections is quite common. Our clinical impression has been that topical anesthetic applied to injection sites can reduce the behavioral...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Analgesia, Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Torcivia, C., McDonnell, S. 2022. Efficacy of lidocaine topical solution in reducing discomfort reaction of horses to intramuscular vaccination. Animals 12(13), 1659.

Regular positive reinforcement training increases contact-seeking behaviour in horses

Horses are commonly trained using negative reinforcement. However, a growing body of scientific evidence supports positive reinforcement as an efficient training method for horses. In this study we investigated the effects of adding a small but regular amount of positive...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Larssen, R., Roth, L. S. V. 2022. Regular positive reinforcement training increases contact-seeking behaviour in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 252, 105651.

Shelter use by horses during summer in relation to weather conditions and horsefly (Tabanidae) prevalence

National legislation requires shelter access for horses kept outside during winter, whereas there are no requirements for shelter access to provide shade and a refuge from biting insects during summer. This study investigated use of artificial shelters by 10 horse...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Winther Christensen, J., Gargulak Andersen, A., Nymark Skovbo, K. et al. 2022. Shelter use by horses during summer in relation to weather conditions and horsefly (Tabanidae) prevalence. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 253, 105676.

Pet-directed speech improves horses’ attention toward humans

In a recent experiment, we showed that horses are sensitive to pet-directed speech (PDS), a kind of speech used to talk to companion animals that is characterized by high pitch and wide pitch variations. When talked to in PDS rather...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Jardat, P., Calandreau, L., Ferreira, V. et al. 2022. Pet-directed speech improves horses' attention toward humans. Scientific Reports 12(1), 4297.

Automatic brushes induce positive emotions and foster positive social interactions in group-housed horses

In mammals, positive tactile contact is recognized as an effective tool for triggering positive affective states. In this study, we investigated the benefits of providing automatic rotative brushes for group-housed horses. Our three aims were: i. to determine whether horses...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lansade, L., Lemarchand, J., Reigner, F. et al. 2022. Automatic brushes induce positive emotions and foster positive social interactions in group-housed horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105538.

Development of a composite pain scale in foals: A pilot study

Prompt pain management is crucial in horses; however, tools to assess pain are limited. This study aimed to develop and pilot a composite scale for pain estimation in foals. The “Foal Composite Pain Scale” (FCPS) was developed based on literature...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lanci, A., Benedetti, B., Freccero, F. et al. 2022. Development of a composite pain scale in foals: A pilot study. Animals 12(4), 439.

The animal-human interface in farm animal production: Animal fear, stress, reproduction and welfare

A negative human-animal relationship (HAR) from the perspective of the animal is a limiting factor affecting farm animal welfare, as well as farm animal productivity. Research in farm animals has elucidated sequential relationships between stockperson attitudes, stockperson behaviour, farm animal...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Acharya, R. Y., Hemsworth, P. H., Coleman, G. J. et al. 2022. The animal-human interface in farm animal production: Animal fear, stress, reproduction and welfare. Animals 12(4), 487.

Pain assessment in horses using automatic facial expression recognition through deep learning-based modeling

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a machine vision algorithm to assess the pain level in horses, using an automatic computational classifier based on the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) and trained by machine learning method. The...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lencioni, G. C., de Sousa, R. V., de Souza Sardinha, E. J. et al. 2021. Pain assessment in horses using automatic facial expression recognition through deep learning-based modeling. PLOS ONE 16(10), e0258672.