Equine

How should one design and position straw feeders in group-housed horses? A case study on occupancy and agonistic interactions at straw feeders in a large group of horses

As group housing of horses can be associated with increased injury risk especially when there are limited resources, the aim of this study was to allow initial, scientifically based recommendations regarding the positioning and design of straw feeders. Data collection...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Puttkammer, N., Hildebrandt, F., Krieter, J. et al. 2024. How should one design and position straw feeders in group-housed horses? A case study on occupancy and agonistic interactions at straw feeders in a large group of horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 280, 106423.

Horses can learn to identify joy and sadness against other basic emotions from human facial expressions

Recently, horses and other domestic mammals have been shown to perceive and react to human emotional signals, with most studies focusing on joy and anger. In this study, we tested whether horses can learn to identify human joyful and sad...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Jardat, P., Menard--Peroy, Z., Parias, C. et al. 2024. Horses can learn to identify joy and sadness against other basic emotions from human facial expressions. Behavioural Processes 220, 105081.

The effect of repeated blood harvesting from pregnant mares on haematological variables

Studies have been carried out on the effect of large-volume blood harvesting from horses, but they were performed on nonpregnant horses of various breeds other than Icelandic horses. This study aimed to investigate the effect on the haematological variables indicating...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Oddsdóttir, C., Jónsdóttir, H. K., Sturludóttir, E. et al. 2024. The effect of repeated blood harvesting from pregnant mares on haematological variables. Animals 14(5), 745.

Noncontact infrared thermometer measurements offer a reasonable alternative to rectal temperature measurement in afebrile horses

OBJECTIVE To assess the repeatability of infrared thermometer temperature readings and evaluate the correlation between digital rectal temperature and infrared thermometer temperatures taken at different locations in healthy afebrile horses. ANIMALS 101 afebrile horses ≥ 1 year old. METHODS Digital...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Zobrist, C. N., Bishop, R. C., McCoy, A. M. 2024. Noncontact infrared thermometer measurements offer a reasonable alternative to rectal temperature measurement in afebrile horses. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 262(6), 791–797.

Differences in behaviour, facial expressions and locomotion between positive anticipation and frustration in horses

Animal welfare is a result of accumulated negative and positive emotions. Therefore, it is important to limit the former and promote the latter. Doing so requires a precise identification of these emotions. The aim of this study was to characterize...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Phelipon, R., Ascione, A., Ruet, A. et al. 2024. Differences in behaviour, facial expressions and locomotion between positive anticipation and frustration in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 274, 106262.

An effective environmental enrichment framework for the continual improvement of production animal welfare

Substrates and objects are provided to farm animals on the assumption that they improve animal welfare by enriching the environment, but these often fail to consider the extent to which an environmental enrichment (EE) improves animal welfare, if at all....

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Taylor, P. S., Schrobback, P., Verdon, M. et al. 2023. An effective environmental enrichment framework for the continual improvement of production animal welfare. Animal Welfare 32, e14.

Predictive modeling toward refinement of behavior-based pain assessment in horses

After 25 years of studies on methodologies for behavioral assessment of equine pain, the Unesp-Botucatu Horse Acute Pain Scale (UHAPS) and the Orthopedic Composite Pain Scale (CPS) were recently considered suboptimal instruments to assess pain in hospitalized horses. However, the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Trindade, P. H. E., Barreto da Rocha, P., Driessen, B. et al. 2023. Predictive modeling toward refinement of behavior-based pain assessment in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 267, 106059.

An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): A pilot study

Social buffering occurs when a companion helps to reduce a subject's stress response during a stressful event and/or to recover more quickly from a stressful event. The aim of this study was to determine if any social buffering function of...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ricci-Bonot, C., Romero, T., Nicol, C. et al. 2023. An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 67, 8–16.

Monitoring blinks and eyelid twitches in horses to assess stress during the samples collection process

To assess stress in horses, a method of monitoring eye blinks (full and half) and eyelid twitches while collecting saliva and blood samples before and after annual intensive police training was carried out. This noninvasive monitoring method was used to...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lelláková, M., Pavľak, A., Lešková, L. et al. 2023. Monitoring blinks and eyelid twitches in horses to assess stress during the samples collection process. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(4), 530–539.

The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.)

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals delivers an up-to-date...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Relocation & Transport, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Amphibian, Bird, Capuchin, Cat, Cattle, Cephalopod, Crustacean, Dog, Equine, Ferret, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Gerbil, Goat, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Invertebrate, Lizard, Macaque, Marmoset, Mole Rat, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Bird, Other Fish, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Reptile, Rodent, Sheep, Snake, Tree Shrew, Turtle & Tortoise, Vervet (African Green Monkey), Zebrafish

Citation: Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.