Equine

Effects of three non-confrontational handling techniques on the behavior of horses during a simulated mildly aversive veterinary procedure

In a randomized between-subjects design, we evaluated the effectiveness of each of three non-confrontational handling interventions compared to no intervention control on the behavior of horses during a single-trial simulated mildly aversive health care scenario. These handling interventions included withers...

Year Published: 2018Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Watson, J. C., McDonnell, S. M. 2018. Effects of three non-confrontational handling techniques on the behavior of horses during a simulated mildly aversive veterinary procedure. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 19-23.

Applied neurophysiology of the horse; implications for training, husbandry and welfare

Understanding the neural circuits underlying equine behaviour has the potential to help optimise strategies of husbandry and training. This review discusses two areas of neurophysiological research in a range of species and relates this information to the horse. The first...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Animal Training, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: McBride, S. D., Parker, M. O., Roberts, K. et al. 2017. Applied neurophysiology of the horse; implications for training, husbandry and welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 190, 90-101.

Poker Face: Discrepancies in behaviour and affective states in horses during stressful handling procedures

Correct assessment of stress in horses is important for both horse welfare and handler safety during necessary aversive procedures. Handlers depend on behaviour when judging how well an individual is tolerating stressful procedures such as loading or veterinary intervention. However,...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Squibb, K., Griffin, K., Favier, R. et al. 2018. Poker Face: Discrepancies in behaviour and affective states in horses during stressful handling procedures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 34-38.

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment of horses exposed to short-term emotional treatments

Assessing emotion in animals is fundamental to the study of animal welfare with methodologies for reliable and valid assessments being highly desirable. Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is based on the assumption that human observers are capable of integrating details of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Hintze, S., Murphy, E., Bachmann, I. et al. 2017. Qualitative Behaviour Assessment of horses exposed to short-term emotional treatments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 196, 44-51.

Does cribbing behavior in horses vary with dietary taste or direct gastric stimuli?

Concentrated feed diets have been shown to drastically increase the rate of the cribbing, an oral stereotypy in horses, but the specific component causing the rise has not been identified. Furthermore, the mechanism through which feed affects cribbing has not...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Albright, J., Sun, X., Houpt, K. 2017. Does cribbing behavior in horses vary with dietary taste or direct gastric stimuli? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 189, 36-40.

Acceptance of novel food by horses: The influence of food cues and nutrient composition

Compared to ruminants little is known about how horses modulate food intake and learn about flavour-to-post-ingestive consequences. While it has been suggested that due to hindgut fermentation horses' foraging preferences may be largely influenced by sensory input (e.g. volatiles), it...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van den Berg, M., Giagos, V., Lee, C. et al. 2016. Acceptance of novel food by horses: The influence of food cues and nutrient composition. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 59-67.

The influence of odour, taste and nutrients on feeding behaviour and food preferences in horses

While it has been established that nutrients and flavours (odour, taste) play an important role in diet selection by horses, previous studies have not always clarified what type of flavouring (e.g. non-nutritive or nutritive) was used. Therefore, the objective of...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van den Berg, M., Giagos, V., Lee, C. et al. 2016. The influence of odour, taste and nutrients on feeding behaviour and food preferences in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 41-50.

Injury incidence, reactivity and ease of handling of horses kept in groups: A matched case control study in four Nordic countries

There is increasing interest in keeping horses in groups, but progress is hampered by a lack of knowledge about which horses can and should be kept together. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the effect of group composition on the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Keeling, L. J., Bøe, K. E., Christensen, J. W. et al. 2016. Injury incidence, reactivity and ease of handling of horses kept in groups: A matched case control study in four Nordic countries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 185, 59-65.

Assessing equine emotional state

The scientific study of animal emotion has recently become an important focus for animal behaviour and welfare researchers. For horses used by humans for work, recreation or sport, the question of the significance of their life experiences in terms of...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Hall, C., Randle, H., Pearson, G. 2018. Assessing equine emotional state. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 205, 183-193.

Recovery of horses from general anesthesia after induction with propofol and ketamine versus midazolam and ketamine

OBJECTIVE To evaluate quality of recovery from general anesthesia in horses after induction with propofol and ketamine versus midazolam and ketamine. DESIGN Prospective randomized crossover study. ANIMALS 6 healthy adult horses. PROCEDURES Horses were premedicated with xylazine (1.0 mg/kg [0.45...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Jarrett, M. A., Bailey, K. M., Messenger, K. M. et al. 2018. Recovery of horses from general anesthesia after induction with propofol and ketamine versus midazolam and ketamine. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253(1), 101-107.