Equine

Horse Behavior – The Behavioral Traits and Adaptations of Domestic and Wild Horses, Including Ponies

Clear description of species-typical behavior.

Year Published: 1983Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Waring, G. 1983. Horse Behavior - The Behavioral Traits and Adaptations of Domestic and Wild Horses, Including Ponies. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ.

Head partitions facilitate feeding by subordinate horses in the presence of dominant pen-mates

Six pairs of mares, each with established dominant-subordinate relationships, were allowed to compete for feed in a 112-cm trough following 24 h of deprivations. .. Differences in feeding times between dominant and subordinate mares were greatest in the absence of...

Year Published: 1987Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Holmes, L. N., Song, G. K., Price, E. O. 1987. Head partitions facilitate feeding by subordinate horses in the presence of dominant pen-mates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 19, 179-182.

Social and illumination preferences of mares*

When allowed to control their own environment, horses spent the majority of their time (88 to 95%) outside a stall and half of their time in contact with other horses. ... When alone, the horses ate less and walked more....

Year Published: 1988Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Houpt, K. A., Houpt, T. R. 1988. Social and illumination preferences of mares*. Journal of Animal Science 66, 2159-2164.

Bedding material preferences of ponies

The ponies spent more time (66%) on the bedded area and were never observed lying on the unbedded area. .. Some ponies had a relatively strong preference for bedding, but the type of bedding preferred [wood shavings or straw] varied...

Year Published: 1991Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Hunter, L., Houpt, K. A. 1989. Bedding material preferences of ponies. Journal of Animal Science 67, 1986-1991.

Physiological responses of mares to short term confinement and social isolation

Social isolation is a distressing experiences for horses.

Year Published: 1991Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Mal, M. E., Friend, T. H., Lay, D. C. et al. 1991. Physiological responses of mares to short term confinement and social isolation. Equine Veterinary Science 11, 96-102.

Behavioral responses of mares to short-term confinement and social isolation

Separation from other horses is a stressful experience.

Year Published: 1991Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Mal, M. E., Friend, T. H., Lay, D. C. et al. 1991. Behavioral responses of mares to short-term confinement and social isolation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 31, 13-24.

The Behaviour of the Horse

Excellent description of species-typical behavior.

Year Published: 1992Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Fraser, A. F. 1992. The Behaviour of the Horse. CAB International , Wallingford, UK.

Grooming at a preferred grooming site reduces heart rate in the horses

Being groomed has a calming effect as reflected in heart rate reduction.It is commonly suggested that the principal function of allogrooming is to reduce social tension between group members, but direct evidence of the physiological consequences of grooming at particular...

Year Published: 1993Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Feh, C., de Mazieres, J. 1993. Grooming at a preferred grooming site reduces heart rate in the horses. Animal Behaviour 46, 1191-1194.

The effect of diet on cribbing behavior and plasma beta-endorphin in horses

Feeding grain was found to cause a significant increase in cribbing frequency. Beta-endorphin levels in cribbing horses were half those of non-cribbing controls.

Year Published: 1994Animal Type: Equine

Citation: Board-Gillham, S., Dodman, N. H., Shuster, L. et al. 1994. The effect of diet on cribbing behavior and plasma beta-endorphin in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 41, 147-153.

Farm animal welfare

The goal of this paper is to expand upon the general principle of environmental enrichment for farm animals and to present some ideas for enrichment based on current research.

Year Published: 1994Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Newberry, R. C. 1994. Farm animal welfare. In: CCAC 1994 Western Regional Workshop. Canadian Council on Animal Care [CCAC] 21-28. Canadian Council on Animal Care, Ottawa, Canada.