The effects of handling at different ages on the subsequent learning ability of 2-year-old horses

Heird, J.C.; Whitaker, David Dean; Bell, Robert A.; Ramsey, C. B.; Lokey, C.E.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(86)90018-3

Cited by 72 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…While studies on direct handling (without feeding mediation) have led to mixed results (Heird, Whitaker, Bell, Ramsey, & Lokey, 1986;Mal, McCall, Cummins, & Newland, 1994;Hemsworth, Price, & Borgwardt, 1996), some experiments show that subtle human interactions such as a mere visual contact may have beneficial effects in cattle (Le Neindre et al, 1994), red deers (Pollard, Littlejohn, & Webster, 1994), pigs (Hemsworth, Barnett, & Hansen, 1986), goats (Lyons, Price, & Moberg, 1988), and horses (Henry, Hemery, Richard, & Hausberger, 2005;Sondergaard & Halekoh, 2003). Le Neindre et al (1994) and Pollard et al (1994) even reported that repeated visual contacts with humans were more effective than active handling procedures in cattle and red deers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Less intrusive procedures (gentle stroking, halter fitting, picking feet) seem to have more positive effects at least on a short term (Heird et al, 1986;Jezierski, Jaworski, & Gorecka, 1999;Mal & McCall, 1996) than active handling such as actively rubbing the foals' body (''imprinting procedure'') to which they seem to resist (Sigurjónsdóttir & Gunnarsson, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Influence of various early human–foal interferences on subsequent human–foal relationship

2006

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Whereas the way animals perceive human contact has been particularly examined in pet animals, a small amount of investigations has been done in domestic ungulates. It was nevertheless assumed that, as pet animals, non-aggressive forms of tactile contact were as well rewarding or positive for these species, even though the features of intraspecific relationships in pet animals and domestic ungulates may be to some extent different. We test here the hypothesis that horses may not consider physical handling by humans as a positive event. When comparing different early human-foal interactions, we found that early exposure to a motionless human enhanced slightly foals reactions to humans whereas forced stroking or handling in early life did not improve later human-foal relation. Foals that were assisted during their first suckling (e.g., brought to the dam's teat) even tended to avoid human approach at 2 weeks, and physical contact at 1 month of age. We argue that interspecies differences may exist in how tactile stimulation is perceived. It may be important for the establishment of a bond that a young animal is active in the process and able, through its behavioral responses, to help define what is positive for it. This way of investigation may have important general implications in how we consider the development of social relations, both within and between species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Influence of various early human–foal interferences on subsequent human–foal relationship

2006

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“…Furthermore, the behavior of the dam towards humans strongly influences the way their young respond to humans (horses: Henry et al, 2005;goats: Lyons et al, 1988) and consequently having a good relationship with the mother may simply improve the young' reactions to humans. Thus, Henry et al (2005) reported in horses that short periods of positive contacts with dams such as soft handling and hand-feeding during the first 5 days post-partum enhanced greatly foals' trainability at least until the age of 1 year, while direct handling of juveniles in the early postnatal period has either no effect or only short-term effects (Heird, Whitaker, Bell, Ramsey, & Lokey, 1986;Henry, Richard-Yris, & Hausberger, 2006;Lansade, Bertrand, & Bouissou, 2005;Simpson, 2002;Spier, Berger, Pusterla, Villarroel, & Pusterla, 2004;Williams et al, 2002Williams et al, , 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Are 6‐month‐old foals sensitive to dam's influence?

Henry

Briefer

Richard‐Yris

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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A recent study has shown that gently handling dams in front of their few days old foals may strongly influence the development of human-foal relationships. In the present study, we test whether 6-month-old foals remain sensitive to their dams' influence. The study was performed on 16 foal-mare dyads, with half of the mares receiving positive contacts from the experimenter in presence of their 6-month-old foals (n = 8) whereas the other mares were not handled (n = 8). All foals were tested 15 and 30-35 days later under various conditions (reaction to a motionless human, approach test, saddle-pad tolerance test). We observe a positive effect of mare' handling on foals' reactions to humans but with a high interindividual variability, suggesting a higher effect of the foals' own behavioral characteristics at this age than at earlier stages.

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“…Another reason is the efficiency in training of horses with balanced temperament and character. Heird et al (1986) found that horses with a calmer temperament learn faster. As a consequence, the training could be more effective, and the education of these horses would be more economical.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the interior characteristics of Slovak warmblood horses and Lipizzan horses

Horná¹,

Halo²,

Mlyneková³

et al. 2018

JCEA

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One of the important factors that significantly affects the intensity and content of training and determines the performance it the horse interior. Character and temperament traits are described in the breeding goals of each breed of horse. The aim of this study was to analyze the horse interior and comparison the interior characteristics of two studied horse breeds Slovak warmblood horses and Lipizzan horses. Into the analysis were included 65 horses from National Stud Farm Topoľčianky, Slovak warmblood horses (n1 = 33) and Lipizzan horses (n2 = 32).Interior was analyzed through a questionnaire with 13 indicators with 10 point system, where 10 being the highest rating. Slovak warmblood horses become the highest ratings (average 89.1 pt, 74.42%) and Lipizzan horses (86.1 pt, 66.2%), so both breeds of horses can be considered as the breeds with balanced characteristics of temperament and character. But Lipizzan horses are more balanced, because their results had lower variability. There were insignificant differences between the analyzed horses in the studied breeds. Nevertheless, a several analyzes of individual indicators showed that between the Slovak warmblood horses and Lipizzan horses there is a significant difference in a single indicator of interior -10 -Stress managing. In particular, it has been shown that Lipizzan horses manage stress significantly better than Slovak warmblood horses.Keywords: character, horse, interior, Lipizzan, Slovak warmblood, temperament Abstrakt Jedným z dôležitých faktorov, ktorý podstatne ovplyvňuje intenzitu a náplň tréningu a udáva výkonnosť koní je interiér. Vlastnosti charakteru a temperamentu sú popísané v chovných cieľoch jednotlivých plemien koní. Cieľom našej práce bolo analyzovať interiér koňa a porovnať interiérové vlastnosti dvoch skúmaných plemien koní, slovenského teplokrvníka a lipicana. Do analýzy bolo zahrnutých 65 koní z Národného žrebčína Topoľčianky, slovenský teplokrvník (n1 = 33) a lipican (n2 = 32). Interiér sme analyzovali prostredníctvom dotazníka s 13 ukazovateľmi 10 bodovým systémom, kde 10 bola najvyššia známka. Kone plemena slovenský teplokrvník získali najvyššie hodnotenie (priemerne 89,1 bodov, 74,42%) a kone plemena lipican (86,1 bodov, 66,2%), takže obe plemená môžeme považovať za plemená s vyrovnanými vlastnosťami charakteru a temperamentu. Avšak kone plemena lipican sú viac vyrovnané, pretože ich výsledky majú nižšiu variabilitu. Zaznamenali sme štatisticky nevýznamné rozdiely medzi analyzovanými plemenami koní. Avšak niekoľko analýz jednotlivých ukazovateľov ukázalo, že medzi koňmi slovenského teplokrvníka a lipicana je štatisticky významný rozdiel v jedinom ukazovateli interiéru -10 -Zvládanie stresu. Konkrétne sa ukázalo, že kone plemena lipican zvládajú stres významne lepšie ako kone plemena slovenský teplokrvník.

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The effects of handling at different ages on the subsequent learning ability of 2-year-old horses

Cited by 72 publications

References 12 publications

Influence of various early human–foal interferences on subsequent human–foal relationship

Influence of various early human–foal interferences on subsequent human–foal relationship

Are 6‐month‐old foals sensitive to dam's influence?

Comparison of the interior characteristics of Slovak warmblood horses and Lipizzan horses

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