UNDERSTANDING EQUINE
BEHAVIOR
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Williams
Lesson Ten
Behavior Research
I am presenting information on behavior research in
Lesson 10. I’ll give you information about
the scientific method and different types of research. I’ll also summarize individual studies and
what they tell us about horse behavior.
I think keeping an eye on new research is important, even if you aren’t
planning to go into a research, teaching or an academic field because behavior
research helps us better understand how our horses think, why they behave the
way they do, and how to train them. If
you stay up to date on the most recent equine behavior research, you’ll have an
edge over other horse professionals and enthusiasts who ignore it.
Previous Lesson Summary
Before jumping into equine research, I
want to review the topics from Lesson 9:
Welfare, Ethics and Donkey and Mule Behavior and Training.
The topic of Equine Welfare covers the care and health of horses and other
equines. Horses should be healthy,
comfortable, well nourished, able to express normal behavior and free from pain
and fear. We looked at the American
Veterinary Medical Association’s guidelines for assessing welfare as well as
the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare.
These are both good guidelines to use when assessing the welfare of
horses in your care. The Five Freedoms
state that animals should have freedom (1) from hunger and thirst, (2) from
discomfort, (3) from pain, injury and disease, (4) to express normal behavior,
and (5) from fear and distress. When
running your own horse-related business or housing your own horses, consider
how you can apply these Five Freedoms to give your horse the best possible
welfare.
Additionally, countries,
states/provinces, and cities/towns may have laws governing animal welfare. It is your job as an animal owner or
care-taker to know and follow these laws.
Failure to do so can result in forfeiture of your animals, fines, criminal
charges and/or jail time.
We also discussed the difference
between animal rights and animal welfare. The basic differences are that the animal
rights movement believes that animals have the same rights as humans and should
not be used or exploited in any way.
They do not believe in eating meat or dairy products, using animal fur
or fiber in clothing, animal testing, or using animals for entertainment,
relaxation or competition. The animal
rights movement does not believe in keeping pets or working animals. The animal rights movement does not believe
you should own horses or use them for riding, driving, racing, breeding,
working or anything else. The animal
welfare movement, however, believes that animals can be used by humans as long
as we uphold our responsibility to treat them humanely and fairly. The animal welfare movement believes in
outlining laws for the humane care of animals and assisting with the
enforcement of those laws.
In Lesson 9, we also discussed Ethics in the horse industry. These are the moral principles that govern an
individual’s or group’s behavior. Ethics
are not written into the law, although different breed or show/competition
associations may have their own ethical guidelines that they expect their
members to uphold. There are several
things you can do to be an ethical horseman:
1.
Surround
yourself with ethical professionals.
2.
Continue your
education.
3.
Avoid gossip.
4.
Project a
professional appearance and attitude.
5.
Give back to
the horse industry.
6.
Do what you
say you will do.
7.
Be up front
about your expectations.
We also covered Donkey and Mule behavior and training in Lesson
9. A lot of horsemen and horsewomen
underestimate donkeys and mules. They
tend to think of them as stubborn, dumb horses with long ears. But the reality is that donkeys and mules can
do anything a horse can do, and they are even better than horses at some
jobs! There are shows for donkeys and
mules in which they’re shown in halter and showmanship, ridden in pleasure
classes, shown over jumps and driven.
There are pulling competitions and driving competitions, and both
donkeys and mules can make excellent pack animals. They’re sure-footed trail animals, too, and
many people prefer trail riding on a mule or donkey over riding a horse.
Both donkeys and mules come in many sizes from miniature (small) to
mammoth (very large, similar to a draft horse in size) and many colors.
Donkeys and mules have several characteristics that set them apart from
horses. They’re often more likely to
stand and fight something rather than flee (like a horse), and they’re very
contemplative: trying to work out
problems and find solutions on their own.
They also don’t move away from pressure like a horse: you can make a horse run circles in a round
pen by putting mental pressure on him from behind. A donkey or mule may run a
few laps and then stop, watch you and wonder what you are trying to do.
Finally, they both have a strong sense of self-preservation. They may refuse to move forward if they feel
a situation is unsafe. This makes them
awesome trail mounts as they’ll keep you and them safe, but it can make
training them a challenge.
When it comes to training, donkeys and mules both do best with positive
reinforcement: operant conditioning with
positive reinforcement, shaping, and clicker training. Most of them genuinely like to please their
handler and will work hard when they understand what you want from them.
Training a donkey or mule can be a challenge, but they’re fun animals
who really seem to love attention.
Equine Behavior Research
Research into equine behavior and
learning is conducted at universities around the world by veterinarians,
professors, researchers and students working on advanced degrees (Masters and
Doctorates). The research aims to
examine why horses behave the way they do or how they learn particular tasks. Even if you aren’t planning on going into a
research field, I think it is important to understand how research is
conducted. This means you’ll be able to
evaluate studies you read about and determine how (or if!) they apply to your
program. It is also important to stay up
to date on the newest in equine research, as it can help you improve your
training, housing and handling programs and make you a better horseman or
horsewoman.
Although we won’t discuss nutrition, lameness or disease research in
this class, understanding how research works in general can help you better
interpret those studies and understand how they affect the horses in your care.
There are two basic types of research
studies: observational studies and
designed experiments. In observational studies, also called
descriptive research, the researcher watches horses and notes their
behavior. For example, a researcher may
watch a group of feral horses and identify how much time the herd stallion
spends walking in one hour. These types
of studies don’t attempt to explain why
something happens, they only tell us what happen.
In the example above, the researcher won’t tell you that the stallion
was walking because he wanted to breed a mare.
He/she would only tell you how much time the stallion spent walking in
the hour he was observed. This type of
research is important because it helps us know what horses do in various
situations. You can use that information to help you determine whether behavior
in your own herd is normal or abnormal.
Designed
experiments are much more structured research in which many variables may
be controlled or manipulated, data is collected and cause and effect may be
demonstrated.
Researchers employ the scientific method in order to design
and conduct research. The scientific
method consists of several steps:
1)
Ask a
question
2)
Create a
hypothesis
3)
Make
predictions
4)
Test the
hypothesis
5)
Analyze your
data and make conclusions
6)
Tell others
about your results
I’m going to use a research project of mine to help explain how you use
the scientific method to conduct research.
I performed an experiment from 1999 to 2000 on imprint training in
foals.
1)
Ask a
question: My question was: Does imprint training a newborn foal result
in a foal that is easier to handle throughout life? I talked to horse owners and equine
professionals who were fans of imprint training and those who disliked it to
get their opinions and hear about their experiences. I also reviewed the imprint
training method promoted by Dr. Miller in his book Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal.
2)
Create a
hypothesis: Your hypothesis is your
theory. It describes what your research
is trying to prove. My hypothesis was: If I imprint trained foals at birth, 6 hours,
12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after birth, then they will be easier to
handle and train at six months of age than other foals.
The null
hypothesis says that there are no differences in your test groups. For my study, the null hypothesis is that
There is no difference in behavior for foals who were imprint trained at birth,
6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after birth and for foals who received no imprint
training.
3)
Make
predictions: My predictions were that
the foals who were imprint trained at birth, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, and
48 hours after birth would have lower heart rates and better behavior than
non-imprint trained foals when exposed to the same things they experienced
during imprint training at six months of age.
4)
Test the hypothesis: I designed and carried out an experiment to
test the hypothesis. Half the foals in
our group were assigned to a test group in which they received imprint training
at birth, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after birth and others were
assigned to a control group that did not receive imprint training.
The foals in the test group received imprint training, and those foals
as well as those in the control group were put out on pasture and were not
handled again until six months of age. At six months of age, all foals were caught,
removed from their dams, and put into individual pens. I and several assistants visited the
farm. We timed how long it took to catch
each foal. Next we attached a heart rate monitor to each foal. We then exposed the foals to the same things
they had been exposed to during imprint training (being touched all over,
having their feet picked up, etc.). We
measured their heart rate during each item as well as how long it took to
complete each item. We also exposed them
to one novel thing, an umbrella being opened, and recorded their heart rate.
5)
Analyze your
data and make conclusions: Once I was
done gathering data, I used statistical analysis to compare the heart rates and
length of time per item for the test group (foals who received imprint
training) and the control group (foals who did not receive imprint
training). I did get help on the
statistics as they can be tough to perform!
Based on the statistical analysis, I discovered that there was no
significant difference in the heart rates or length of time it took to complete
each item between the test and control groups.
In our study, imprint training did not appear to lead to foals that were
easier than non-imprint trained foals to handle at six months of age.
6)
Tell others
about your results: I took all of the
information we gathered and our conclusions and wrote a scientific article
which was published in the Equine Veterinary Journal.
If you aren’t conducting your own research, the part you’ll be most concerned
with is step six: the part where
researchers share their results with others.
Sometimes this is done at scientific conferences, but it is often done
in articles published in respected scientific journals. Those articles consist of five parts:
1)
Abstract: This is a brief summary of the research. It generally explains why the research was
done, how it was done, and outlines the general conclusions of the researchers.
2)
Introduction: This gives a more in-depth introduction to
the subject. It explains what the
researcher is studying and reviews related studies to describe what’s been
discovered in the past.
3)
Materials
(also called Materials and Methods): This
part of the article describes how the research was conducted. It includes a description of the treatment
group(s) and control group, describes any equipment that was used, gives a
detailed description of the steps performed during the research and how data
was collected, and discusses what statistics were used to analyze the data.
4)
Results: This part of the article describes what data
was collected, and it often includes tables or graphs. It then discusses the statistical tests
performed and their results.
5)
Discussion: This part of the article discusses the
results. In this part, the authors may
draw conclusions about what the statistics mean and will discuss whether or not
they proved or disproved their hypothesis.
The authors may include information on further research that’s
needed.
Several horse magazines include brief summaries of recent research in
behavior, health, training, but they don’t have the space to go into any great
detail, so it is best to look for the actual study so you can understand what
was done and evaluate why it is or isn’t applicable to your own horses or
program. There are a few internet sites
that give either partial or full access to journal articles:
·
Pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
·
Google
Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/
·
AGRICOLA: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/agricola
When looking at published research, you will likely first see a citation
somewhere. The citation tells who
conducted the study, when it was published, its title, the journal it is in,
and how to find it. For instance, using
my imprint training study:
J.L. Williams, T.H. Friend, M.N. Collins, M.J.
Toscano, A. Sisto-Burt, and C.H. Nevill.
2003. The effects of an imprint training
procedure conducted at birth on the reactions of foals at six months of
age. Equine Veterinary Journal. 35(2).
Translating the citation: The
study was conducted by J.L. Williams (me), T.H. Friend, M.N. Collins, M.J.
Toscano, A. Sisto-Burt, and C.H. Nevill
(many studies have a group of people working on them) and published in
2003. The title of the article is “The
effects of an imprint training procedure conducted at birth on the reactions of
foals at six months of age” and it was published in the Equine Veterinary
Journal.
Now, let’s look at some published research. We’ll discuss what the researchers found and
how you might use that to refine your own training/handling/horse keeping
program. We’ll start with the three
studies I’m the most familiar with – because I am the one who conducted them!
Citation: J.L.
Williams, T.H. Friend, M.N. Collins, M.J. Toscano, A. Sisto-Burt,
and C.H. Nevill. 2003. The effects of an imprint training procedure
conducted at birth on the reactions of foals at six months of age. Equine Veterinary Journal. 35(2).
We
discussed a part of this this study a bit above. When we conducted it, we used 131 foals born
at the same facility. The foals were
divided into several treatment groups that received standard imprint training:
1)
Not at all
2)
At birth, 12, 24, and 48 hours after birth
3)
At birth only
4)
At 12 hours after birth only
5)
At 24 hours after birth only
6)
At 48 hours after birth only
When the foals
were approximately 48 hours old, they were turned out on pasture with their
dams and were not handled again until they were six months old. At that time, they were brought in and weaned
and then tested. Testing included timing
how long it took to catch and halter each foal.
We then attached a heart rate monitor to each foal and recorded his/her
highest heart rate while being exposed to each item on the imprint training
procedure and one new item. We also
timed how long it took to do each thing.
I then used
statistical analysis to compare the heart rate and length of time for each
item. I found no difference in the heart
rate or length of time to conduct each item for any of the treatment groups,
and I concluded that imprint training did not create foals who were easier to
handle or less reactive at six months of age.
Since I
conducted the research, I know we did this study to see if horse owners could
invest some time imprint training early on in order to save time handling foals
later. Obviously, this didn’t work.
The practical aspect for horse owners/trainers: This doesn’t mean all
imprint training is bad or useless, but it does mean that you need to follow
imprint training up with good, consistent handling in order to have foals that
are easier to handle later in life.
Citation: J. L.
Williams, T. H. Friend, M. J. Toscano, M. N. Collins, A. Sisto-Burt
and C. H. Nevill.
2002. The effects of early training sessions on the reactions of foals
at 1, 2, and 3 months of age. Applied Animal Behaviour
Science. 77(2): 105-115.
In
this study, we used the same imprint training procedure as the above study, but
foals were either imprint trained at birth, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after birth
or not at all (only two treatment groups).
We then retested the foals when they were 1, 2, and 3 months of age by
measuring their heart rate, how long it took to conduct each item on the
imprint training procedure, and assessing their behavior. 47 foals were tested at 1 month of age, 20 at
two months, and nine at three months.
Imprint trained foals tended to have lower heart rates and require less
time to complete each item on the imprint training procedure at one and two
months of age, but there was no significant difference between control foals
(no imprint training) and imprint trained foals at three months of age.
The practical aspect for horse owners/trainers: This may indicate that
consistent handling is more important than an early imprint training
procedure. Again, it doesn’t mean
imprint training is bad or will have a bad effect on the foals, it simply means
you need to follow-up with good, consistent handling (and if you chose not to
imprint train, you aren’t harming your foals!).
Citation; J.L.
Williams, T.H. Friend, C.H. Nevill, and G. Archer.
2004. The efficacy of a secondary
reinforcer (clicker) during acquisition and extinction of an operant task in
horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
In this study, we divided the horses into six groups:
1)
Primary
reinforcer only, continuous schedule of reinforcement, no reinforce during
extinction
2)
Primary
reinforcer only, variable schedule of reinforcement, no reinforce during
extinction
3)
Secondary and
Primary reinforcers, continuous schedule of reinforcement, no reinforce during
extinction
4)
Secondary and
Primary reinforcers, continuous schedule of reinforcement, secondary reinforce
during extinction
5)
Secondary and
Primary reinforcers, variable schedule of reinforcement, no reinforce during
extinction
6)
Secondary and
Primary reinforcers, variable schedule of reinforcement, secondary reinforce
during extinction
We used several treatments so we could see if there were differences
between operant conditioning alone and clicker training (operant conditioning
with the use of a secondary reinforcer).
We also wanted to examine differences with a continuous versus variable
ratio schedule of reinforcement, and we wanted to know if extinction occurred
more quickly when the clicker was present at extinction than when it was not
present.
We then trained each horse to touch their nose to a cone attached to a
stand in front of them when given the command “touch”. Once the horse was consistently touching the
cone when we issued the command “touch”, we stopped administering a primary reinforcer
and stopped using a secondary reinforcer in some treatments and measured how
long it took the horse to stop responding to the touch command.
We found no differences in the number of times it took the horses to
learn to touch the cone consistently and the length of time for them to stop
touching the cone during extinction. I
concluded the clicker training was no more or less effective than training
using only a primary reinforce (in this case that was food) in the length of
time it took for a horse to learn an operant task or the length of time it took
him to stop performing it once he was no longer receiving primary
reinforcement.
The practical aspect for horse owners/trainers: Clicker training won’t train horses more
quickly, but it does make sense for some people. I have used clicker training myself to teach
a wild horse to allow me to approach, touch him, and halter him.
Citation: H. Caanitz, L. O’Leary, K. Houpt, K.
Petersson, and H. Hintz. 1991.
Effect of exercise on equine behavior.
Applied Animal Behaviour
Science. 31(1-2): 1-12.
This study compared the behavior of
six horses on days when they were exercised hard on a treadmill versus days
when they were not exercised. The
researchers observed the horses’ behavior in their stalls and found that horses
spent more time drinking and less time resting on days when they had
exercised. The amount of time spent
eating, urinating, defecating and walking was the same on days with exercise
and those without exercise.
The practical aspect for horse
owners/trainers: While this research
wouldn’t affect your training program, it is good to know what’s normal for
horses in different environments. That
will allow you to pick up on subtle differences that may indicate a horse is
stressed or ill. For example, if one of
your horses stops drinking and begins pacing after exercise, that is abnormal
and you should check to make sure he’s not suffering colic, is sick, or
stressed.
Citation: Y. Momozawa, T. Ono, F. Sato, T. Kikusui, Y. Takeuchi, Y.
Mori, R. Kusunose. 2003. Assessment of equine temperament by a
questionnaire survey to caretakers and evaluation of its reliability by
simultaneous behavior test. Applied Animal Behavior Science. 64(2):
127-138.
The researchers asked the caretakers
of 86 riding horses to rate the horses’ temperaments during ordinary care and
daily training. Then the researchers put
each horse, one at a time, in an unfamiliar indoor arena where there were two
balloons that slowly revolved. The
researchers measured the horses’ responses by noting changes in behavior and
heart rate.
Researchers then compared the results
of the surveys with the results of the balloon experiment. They found that horses who were rated as
anxious by their caretakers were more likely to have elevated heart rates and
defecate more frequently (both signs of stress) during the balloon test.
The practical aspect for horse
owners/trainers: This research
indicates that 1) caretakers can accurately assess the temperament of the
horse, and 2) that horses that are more anxious in daily handling and training
are also more likely to show signs of stress and fear in new settings.
Citation:
J.L. Kamm, D.A. Henderickson. 2007.
Clients’ perspectives on the effects of laparoscopic ovariectomy on
equine behavior and medical problems. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 27(10): 435-438.
35 mares with
behavioral or medical problems were treated with ovariectomies (their ovaries
were removed). Later, the researchers
contacted the mares’ owners with a series of questions regarding the mares’
behavior after the procedure.
Aggression improved for 86% of the
mares, grouchiness or disagreeable behavior improved for 81% of the mares,
excitability improved in 75% of the mares, kicking and biting improved in 73%
of the mares, training problems were reduced for 72% of the mares and problems
with other horses improved in 64% of the mares.
Frequent urination improved in 64% of the mares, but there was no
significant improvement in cycle-related laminitis.
The practical aspect for horse
owners/trainers: Some mares are very
difficult to deal with, especially when they cycle. If they are not good breeding candidates, you
may consider having their ovaries removed.
It does not improve behavior and training in all cases, but it does
appear to frequently improve several problems.
Citation: C.R. Heleski, A.C. Shelle, B.D.
Nielsen, A.J. Zanella. 2002.
Influence of housing on weanling horse behavior and subsequent
welfare. Applied Animal Behavior Science.
78(2-4): 291-302
Foals in this study were divided into
two groups: those weaned individually
and housed in box stalls and those weaned in small groups and housed in
paddocks. After being placed in the
stalls or paddocks, foals were observed two days a week for 56 days. Weanlings housed in paddocks in groups of
three behaved like feral horses:
spending their time moving around and attempting to graze. Those housed in stalls showed more abnormal
behaviors: kicking at the stall wall,
licking or chewing the stall wall, pawing and bucking.
The practical aspect for horse
owners/trainers: Horses who display
normal, natural behaviors appear to be horses that are experiencing less
stress. So weaning foals together and
keeping them outside where they can move around appears to be healthier for
foals.
Citation: J.W.
Christensen, M. Beekmans, M. van Dlum,
M. Vandierendonck.
2014. Effects of hyperflexion on
acute stress responses in ridden dressage horses. Physiology
& Behavior.
In
this study, fifteen dressage horses were ridden for 10 minutes in a competition
frame, hyperflexed frame, or loose frame. The researchers measured heart rate, heart
rate variability, behavior, rein tension, and cortisol levels.
They found that
there were no differences in heart rate or heart rate variability amongst the
three treatment groups. However,
cortisol levels (a measure of stress) were higher in horses ridden in the hpyerflexed frame than in the other two treatments. Behavior measurements, including head
movements, also indicated increased stress in horses ridden in a hyperflexed frame.
The practical aspect for horse owners/trainers: The use of hyperflexion when training
dressage horses has recently come under suspicion. Many opponents believe it leads to stress and
physical discomfort and should be abandoned.
However researchers have just now begun studying its effects on the
horses. This study did indicate that the
horse experiences additional stress and may experience discomfort, and I
believe more research should be done.
Citation: K.E.
Holcomb, C.B. Tucker, C.L. Stull.
2014. Preference of domestic
horses for shade in a hot, sunny environment.
Journal of Animal Science.
Researchers in this study observed 12
horses that were kept in individual pens.
Half of each pen was covered by a structure that provided shade. They then measured the horses’ rectal
temperatures, respiration rate, and skin temperatures. They also assigned a “sweat score” based on
the amount of observable sweating. They
also measured behavior: how far the
horse was from the shed, time spent walking, time spent foraging, and time
spent standing.
Researchers found that the horses were
more likely to be located in the shade right before and during the hottest
temperatures of the day.
The practical aspect for horse owners/trainers: This research supports the recommendation to
provide shade to horses, particularly in hot, sunny climates.
Assignment
Use one of the search methods
described in this lesson to locate two research articles about equine behavior
(these articles must be published in scientific journals, not horse
magazines). Provide the citation for
each article, the search method used to find it, describe what the researchers did
and their results, and describe the practical application for horse owners.
Please send essay to Dr. Williams at equinebehaviorinstructor@gmail.com
Be sure to include your full name and
email address on the document – not just in the email.