Temperament in preweanling horses: Development of reactions to humans and novelty, and startle responses

Lansade, Léa; Bouissou, Marie‐France; Boivin, Xavier

doi:10.1002/dev.20233

Cited by 33 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…This array of tests is standardised and has been designed to measure specific personality parameters. The stability and reliability of these parameters have been proven by the work of Lansade and collaborators [15–18,20,21]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses

et al. 2017

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The present study investigated how stress affects instrumental learning performance in horses (Equus caballus) depending on the type of reinforcement. Horses were assigned to four groups (N = 15 per group); each group received training with negative or positive reinforcement in the presence or absence of stressors unrelated to the learning task. The instrumental learning task consisted of the horse entering one of two compartments at the appearance of a visual signal given by the experimenter. In the absence of stressors unrelated to the task, learning performance did not differ between negative and positive reinforcements. The presence of stressors unrelated to the task (exposure to novel and sudden stimuli) impaired learning performance. Interestingly, this learning deficit was smaller when the negative reinforcement was used. The negative reinforcement, considered as a stressor related to the task, could have counterbalanced the impact of the extrinsic stressor by focusing attention toward the learning task. In addition, learning performance appears to differ between certain dimensions of personality depending on the presence of stressors and the type of reinforcement. These results suggest that when negative reinforcement is used (i.e. stressor related to the task), the most fearful horses may be the best performers in the absence of stressors but the worst performers when stressors are present. On the contrary, when positive reinforcement is used, the most fearful horses appear to be consistently the worst performers, with and without exposure to stressors unrelated to the learning task. This study is the first to demonstrate in ungulates that stress affects learning performance differentially according to the type of reinforcement and in interaction with personality. It provides fundamental and applied perspectives in the understanding of the relationships between personality and training abilities.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses

et al. 2017

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“…Of course, many factors can in luence the development of certain behaviours in foals and these might be different depending on the studied farm. As Lansade et al (2007) states, early handling could be used to familiarize foals with management procedures.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative assessment of the young foals’ human related behaviour

Diugan¹,

Popescu²,

Spînu³

2014

BUASVMCN-VM

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This study's aim was to assess comparatively the human related behaviour of young, unweaned foals at different ages, in order to discover if signi icant differences can be found.In a horse breeding farm a total number of 28 young, unweaned foals were tested in the presence of a human person, using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with ixed terms (FT). The irst assessment was made during the irst week of life of each foal, than it was repeated at the ages of six weeks and 20 weeks. Four terms were used to describe the behaviour of the foal toward the assessor (friendly, indifferent, timid or scared). The prevalence of each response was calculated for each behaviour and comparisons were made.After comparing the results, statistically signi icant differences were found in the human related behaviour of the young foals at different ages. During their irst week of life more foals were friendly towards humans than at the age of six weeks, but less than at the age of 20 weeks. Indifference was practically not found in any of the foals. The majority of the scared foals tended to keep this behaviour as they grew older.The human related behaviour of the young, unweaned foals can improve (i.e. become more friendly) during their development. More research is needed to reveal the possible factors that can lead to a better relationship between foals, young and adult horses and humans.

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“…In one instance, a transporter specifically said that the differences between sheep that he did not understand were due to differing temperament. The concept of temperament in livestock is not new, and is generally understood to be an animal's inherent potential to respond in a particular way to stimuli, consistent from early in life across various situations and over the course of time (Lansade et al, 2007;Dodd et al, 2012). French cattle farmers described temperament as the first trait considered when culling , illustrating the importance of the individual animal's temperament for ease of handling.…”

Section: Sheep Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilities, breed and experience affect ease of sheep handling: the livestock transporter’s perspective

Burnard

Pitchford

Edwards

et al. 2015

Animal

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An understanding of the perceived importance of a variety of factors affecting the ease of handling of sheep and the interactions between these factors is valuable in improving profitability and welfare of the livestock. Many factors may contribute to animal behaviour during handling, and traditionally these factors have been assessed in isolation under experimental conditions. A human social component to this phenomenon also exists. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of a variety of factors affecting ease of handling, and the interactions between these from the perspective of the livestock transporter. Qualitative interviews were used to investigate the factors affecting sheep behaviour during handling. Interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis. Livestock transporters discussed the effects of attitudes and behaviours towards sheep, helpers, facilities, distractions, environment, dogs and a variety of sheep factors including breed, preparation, experience and sex on sheep behaviour during handling. Transporters demonstrated care and empathy and stated that patience and experience were key factors determining how a person might deal with difficult sheep. Livestock transporters strongly believed facilities (ramps and yards) had the greatest impact, followed by sheep experience (naivety of the sheep to handling and transport) and breed. Transporters also discussed the effects of distractions, time of day, weather, dogs, other people, sheep preparation, body condition and sheep sex on ease of handling. The concept of individual sheep temperament was indirectly expressed. Keywords: ovine, husbandry, qualitative, interview, behaviour ImplicationsThis study explored the factors believed by livestock transporters to impact on ease of sheep handling, offering an improved understanding of stockmen's perceptions of sheep behaviour. In addition, a number of areas for further research and development were identified, including a need for improvement of facilities, particularly on farms.

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Temperament in preweanling horses: Development of reactions to humans and novelty, and startle responses

Cited by 33 publications

References 44 publications

Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses

Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses

Qualitative assessment of the young foals’ human related behaviour

Facilities, breed and experience affect ease of sheep handling: the livestock transporter’s perspective

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