Embedded Files
What is Behavior?
What is Behavior?
Merriam Webster:
the way in which someone conducts oneself or behaves
anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulation
the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment
Behavior evolved as a way for animals to survive and reproduce(1). Behaviorists and ethologists have been working to better understand horse behavior, so we can identify the issues causing unwanted behavior(2-6). The expression of natural behavior is essential for an animal's psychological well-being. That being said, it is important to understand what are normal and abnormal (not normal) behaviors, so we can assess the animal's welfare. Horses showing more abnormal behaviors are exhibiting signs of decreased welfare, and they must be addressed (7).
Horses do not have the same brain development as humans do that allow us to plan and prepare for future events in a detailed manner (24, 25). This means that horses react to stimulus in the moment, and they do not plan or plot attacks or "blow ups". Understanding this is key when handling horses showing dangerous or problematic behaviors as you can better react to these situations and actively work to prevent them in the first place by being aware of the surroundings and your own actions.
How Can We Use Our Observations of Behavior to Assess Welfare?
How Can We Use Our Observations of Behavior to Assess Welfare?
First, we must discuss the importance of natural behavior. In both of the common methods of animal welfare assessment, the Five Freedoms and the Five Domains, behavior is included along with nutrition, disease, and injury. As noted above, behavior is a means of communication or a reaction to a stimulus or environment. An abnormal or odd behavior would then be a sign of a potential problem. As you progress through the lessons here, you will learn the effects that traditional methods of handling and care have on a horse's welfare and how the effects manifest through behavior.
Ethical Standards of Animal Care
Ethical Standards of Animal Care
With the ability to reason, plan, and assess comes the responsibility to care for animals humanely and appropriately. Many institutions such as zoos and research labs have established humane care policies, in which handlers are encouraged and in some cases required to handle and care for animals with species-specific measures to maintain optimal health. In response to criticisms of poor animal welfare in the institutions, scientists have studied the effects of stress in animals and how to optimize psychological well-being (7-11). Zoos and labs follow this attitude to minimize the stress that an animal experiences in our care (12, 13). The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has developed a similar set of guidelines to follow when handling and managing horses, which you can read below.
The American Association for Equine Practitioners (AAEP), 2016 (14)
The American Association for Equine Practitioners (AAEP), 2016 (14)
The AAEP believes:
The responsible use of animals for human purposes, such as companionship, food, fiber, recreation, work, education, exhibition, and research conducted for the benefit of both humans and animals, is consistent with the Veterinarian's Oath.¹
Equids must be provided water, food, proper handling, health care and an environment appropriate to their use, with thoughtful consideration for their species-typical biology and behavior.¹
Equids should be cared for in ways that minimize fear, pain, distress and suffering.¹
Equids should be protected from injurious heat or cold and severe weather conditions.
Competitions, events, and activities involving equids should continually strive to put the safety and welfare of the horse first.
Equine industry organizations should identify areas where equids are being subjected to harmful procedures or training methods and work to eliminate any inhumane acts.
Equids should be transported in a manner which minimizes the potential for illness, injury, fatigue or other undue suffering during the transportation process.
Equids shall be treated with respect and dignity throughout their lives and, when necessary and at the appropriate time, be provided a humane death.¹
The veterinary profession shall continually strive to improve equine health and welfare through scientific research, education, collaboration, advocacy and the proposal or support of legislation and regulations that promote the humane existence of equids.¹
¹Adapted from AVMA Animal Welfare Principles, 2006.
How Can We Make Their Lives Better?
How Can We Make Their Lives Better?
With the existing framework of assessing welfare combined with the available research, we are able to develop welfare plans specifically for horses, and the solutions are quite simple! The 3 F's (Forage, Friends, Freedom) provide a good framework of how to care for and house horses. More often than one might think, behavioral issues have underlying medical causes. A veterinarian can be called to rule out any pain or illness, and routine farrier visits are necessary. Once all basic needs are met, and pain, discomfort, and other medical issues are ruled out, then we can move on to our training methods and how we affect them in handling and training (11, 15-23).
Sources:
Sources:
Seeley, T. D., & Sherman, P. W. (1998, August 23). History and basic concepts. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/animal-behavior/History-and-basic-concepts
Torcivia, C., & McDonnell, S. (2021). Equine Discomfort Ethogram. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 11(2), 580. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020580
Romness, N., Fenner, K., McKenzie, J., Anzulewicz, A., Burattini, B., Wilson, B., & McGreevy, P. (2020, December 18). Associations between owners’ reports of unwanted ridden behaviour and in-hand behaviour in horses. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7766975/
Gleerup, K. B., Forkman, B., Lindegaard, C., & Andersen, P. H. (2015). An equine pain face. Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia, 42(1), 103–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/vaa.12212
Dalla Costa, E., Minero, M., Lebelt, D., Stucke, D., Canali, E., & Leach, M. C. (2014). Development of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) as a pain assessment tool in horses undergoing routine castration. PloS one, 9(3), e92281. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092281
Lansade, L., Nowak, R., Lainé, A.-L., Leterrier, C., Bonneau, C., Parias, C., & Bertin, A. (2018, October 2). Facial expression and oxytocin as possible markers of positive emotions in horses. Scientific reports. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168541/
Moberg, G., & Mench, J. (2000). Biology of animal stress : Basic principles and implications for animal welfare. CABI.
Foa, E. B., Zinbarg, R., & Rothbaum, B. O. (1992). Uncontrollability and unpredictability in post-traumatic stress disorder: An animal model. Psychological Bulletin, 112(2), 218–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.218
Grandin, T. (2015, December 22). Behavioral principles of livestock handling. The Professional Animal Scientist. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1080744615323044
Grandin, T. (1980). The effect of stress on livestock and meat quality prior to and during slaughter. WBI Studies Repository. https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/acwp_faafp/20/
Sandi, C., & Pinelo-Nava, M. T. (2007, April 15). Stress and memory: Behavioral effects and neurobiological mechanisms. Neural plasticity. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950232/
Code of professional ethics. Code of Ethics: Association of Zoos & Aquariums. (2017, March). https://www.aza.org/code-of-ethics
National Research Council 2011. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: Eighth Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12910.
AAEP principles of Equine Welfare (2016). AAEP. (2016). https://aaep.org/aaep-principles-equine-welfare-2016
Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M.-A., Henry, S., Fureix, C., Nassur, F., & Hausberger, M. (2010, May 21). Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by Horses (Equus caballus) - animal cognition. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-010-0326-9
Smith, A. V., Proops, L., Grounds, K., Wathan, J., & McComb, K. (2016, February). Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion ... Royal Society Publishing. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907
Stone, S. M. (2009, June 17). Human facial discrimination in horses: Can they tell us apart? - animal cognition. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-009-0244-x
Rhodin, M., Egenvall, A., Andersen, P. H., & Pfau, T. (2017, April 27). Head and pelvic movement asymmetries at trot in riding horses in training and perceived as free from lameness by the owner. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0176253
Greve, L., & Dyson, S. (2012, November 20). The horse–saddle–rider interaction. The Veterinary Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023312004558?via%3Dihub
Mellor, D. J. (2020, March 29). Mouth pain in horses: Physiological foundations, behavioural indices, welfare implications, and a suggested solution. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7222381/?report=reader
Mata, F., Johnson, C., & Bishop, C. (2015). A cross-sectional epidemiological study of prevalence and severity of bit-induced oral trauma in polo ponies and race horses. Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS, 18(3), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2015.1004407
Larssen, R., & Roth, L. S. V. (2022, May 6). Regular positive reinforcement training increases contact-seeking behaviour in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159122001095
Valenchon, M., Lévy, F., Moussu, C., & Lansade, L. (2017). Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0170783
Goyal, N., Siddiqui, S., Chatterjee, U., Kumar, D., & Siddiqui, A. (2008). Neuropsychology of prefrontal cortex. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(3), 202. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.43634
Schmidt, M. J., Knemeyer, C., & Heinsen, H. (2019). Neuroanatomy of the equine brain as revealed by high-field (3tesla) magnetic-resonance-imaging. PLOS ONE, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213814
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse