Effects of Early Experience on the Learning Ability of Yearling Horses

Heird, J.C.; Lennon, A. M.; Bell, Robert A.

doi:10.2527/jas1981.5351204x

Cited by 46 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The level of fearful reactions develops especially in juvenile life on the basis of interaction between genetic fond and factors of environment (Boissy 1995). It was also found that handling during ontogenesis and before testing accelerates learning (Heird et al 1983). Hart (1985) describes an experiment in which animals were exposed to negative (electric shock) and positive handling.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Rearing Methods of Heifers during Milk Replacement Period on their Postweaning Behaviour in the Maze

Brouček¹,

Uhrinčať²,

Arawe³

et al. 2002

Acta Vet. Brno

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fifty-eight Holstein heifer calves were assigned to one out of three treatment groups after having nursed by their mothers for the first week: BN) individual hutch, bucket with nipple n=25; DF) loose housing pen, machine milk feeder, n=16; NC) loose housing pen, nursing cow, n=17. After weaning at 8 weeks, all calves were kept in group pens. At 15 weeks of age, the behaviour in the 6-unit maze (16.4 × 4.5 m) was determined. On the first observation day, the calves were tested five times (the first one for training); on the second day there were four runs. The calves had to solve two tasks. In task A, the passage was open on the left side, and on the right side (task B) on the next day. We were testing the following hypothesis: the speed of traversing the maze is affected by the rearing system. The slowest were NC calves. On the first day (task A), the average time to traverse the maze among treatments DF (43.9 s), BN (53 s) and NC (111.3 s) was different (F = 8.26***, P = 0.0007). On the second day (task B), the averages were: BN 77.1 s, DF 83.8 s and DC 166.6 s (F=8.17***, P = 0.0008). The results indicate that the feeding method and housing used to rear calves may have a significant impact on their maze behaviour. Heifers, behaviour, maze, feeding, housingDuring the period from birth to weaning, the calf is exposed to several environmental factors that can affect its behaviour in the maze. It is necessary to create an adequate environment that will ensure the welfare of animals during rearing. That means we should apply such systems of rearing which correspond to the physiological and behavioural needs of animals. This is most markedly illustrated with regard to formulas of behaviour and production efficiency of an organism (Friend 1989;Baranyiová and Holub 1993). The period of liquid feeding represents a critical period of life for calves. This period decides about their health, resistance to diseases and later efficiency. If we ignore nutrition, animals can be influenced by three main factors: manner of housing, method of liquid feeding and time of weaning from mother. The situation at the time of weaning is similar in all countries with advanced agriculture. The majority of calves are removed from mother immediately after birth and fed with milk replacer from the fourth day of life. Only about 10% of calves, particularly from small herds, are fed native milk until weaning, and so one of the basic demands on rearing calves in sustainable agriculture can be fulfilled (Krohn et al. 1999). For animals used to a social way of life, isolation poses significant psychological stress with an extensive scope of behavioural and physiological responses (Albright and Arave 1997). Early separation of the calf from the cow is popular in the dairy industry, and is deemed by some to be essential to maximum production. Others consider this practice to be against nature. It is probable that very early weaning from mother reduces adaptive abilities of calves and decreases their resistance to stress during some methods of manip...

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Rearing Methods of Heifers during Milk Replacement Period on their Postweaning Behaviour in the Maze

Brouček¹,

Uhrinčať²,

Arawe³

et al. 2002

Acta Vet. Brno

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nervous horses exhibit specific behavioural patterns and higher overall activity index levels, and are typically less trainable than more docile horses (Heird et al 1981;McCann et al 1988). More highly reactive horses may also pose greater risks to humans involved in equestrian activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of oral tetrachlorvinphos fly control (Equitrol®) administration in horses: Physiological and behavioural findings

Berger

Valdéz²,

Puschner

et al. 2007

Vet Res Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highly reactive horses may pose risks to humans involved in equestrian activities. Among the factors that may affect horses' reactivity to external stimuli are pesticides used for fly control in equine facilities. The organophosphorus (OP) insecticide tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) is used as a feed-through larvicide to prevent completion of the fly larval life cycle in horse manure. TCVP exerts its effect by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase (ChE) leading to the accumulation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (AChE) in synapses of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The aim of the present study was to investigate alterations of whole-blood ChE levels associated with feeding a commercially available product (Equitrol, Farnam Companies, Inc.) to horses for fly control. A second aim was to report neurological, physiological and behavioural findings in addition to profiles of selected immune markers (IFN-gamma, IL-12p40 and COX-2) and serum thyroid hormones during and after a 30-day treatment period of TCVP feeding. The results indicated significant decreases in whole-blood ChE activity and concomitant behavioural alterations, manifested as increased reactivity and decreased controllability in treated horses. No changes were detected in physiological or neurological parameters, immune markers or thyroid hormones in treated (n=6) or control (n=4) horses during the course of the study.

show abstract

“…T-maze tasks have been used extensively to investigate various aspects of brain function, including spatial working memory (Zimmerberg, Sukel & Stekler, 1991; Wan, Pang & Olton, 1994; Nagahara & Handa, 1997), long-term reference memory (Olton & Papas, 1979), perseveration (Riley, Lochry, Shapiro & Baldwin, 1979), and foraging strategy such as the use of “win-shift” versus “win-stay” strategies in response to different reinforcement contingencies (Szelest & Cohen, 2006). Much of this work has been done in rodents, but when scaled appropriately, the T-maze can also be suitable for non-rodent species as well, including the ferret (Park & Baum, 1999), cat (Burgess, Villablanca, Levine, 1986), squirrel monkey (Peretti & Baird, 1976), horse (Heird, Lennon & Bell, 1981), goat and sheep (Hosoi, Swift, Rittenhouse & Richards, 1995). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

T‐maze learning in weanling lambs

Johnson

Stanton

Goodlett

et al. 2011

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A major advantage of sheep models in experimental studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., with prenatal neurotoxicant exposure) is that the equivalent of all three trimesters of human brain development occurs in sheep entirely in utero. However, studies of learning and memory in sheep are limited. The goal of this study was to extend the analysis of spatial learning and memory in adolescent sheep using several traditional T-maze tasks. Both 9- and 14-week-old lambs acquired a delayed non-matching to place task, but the older lambs learned the task significantly faster. In contrast, acquisition of a matching to place task was significantly more difficult. Lambs, like rodents, appear to have a predisposition toward learning “win-shift” spatial problems in a T-maze under appetitive motivation. Lambs also rapidly acquired a position habit and showed typical reversal learning curves. These findings support the use of T-maze tasks to assess behavioral outcomes in various sheep models.

show abstract

Effects of Early Experience on the Learning Ability of Yearling Horses

Cited by 46 publications

References 7 publications

Effects of Rearing Methods of Heifers during Milk Replacement Period on their Postweaning Behaviour in the Maze

Effects of Rearing Methods of Heifers during Milk Replacement Period on their Postweaning Behaviour in the Maze

Effects of oral tetrachlorvinphos fly control (Equitrol®) administration in horses: Physiological and behavioural findings

T‐maze learning in weanling lambs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About