Variability of Heart Rate in Primitive Horses and Their Relatives as an Indicator of Stress Level, Behavioural Conduct Towards Humans and Adaptation to Living in Wild

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of using heart rate (HR) as a metric parameter that can be used for the characterisation of behaviour of primitive horses and their relatives, related to reactions to the stress resulting from the contact with humans and adaptation to living in various conditions, including natural environment. This characterisation served the authors to expand the knowledge of such behaviour of primitive horses, and to assess the impact of the environmental and genetic factors. Studies were conducted in three populations of horses: two herds of Polish Konik and one herd of Biłgoraj horses. The studies were performed between 1993 and 2010. They concerned the behaviour of horses during grooming -breeding procedures (hooves clearing, body measurements) performed cyclically and the daily observations when HR was monitored continuously. HR results for the respective age categories, during particular grooming -breeding procedures and reserve observations indicate that Polish Konik horses, closely related to the primitive Tarpan breed, are genetically better adapted to living in conditions similar to the natural (reserve) than the Biłgoraj horses. They show less stress symptoms, which are evidenced by HR values noted during inhabiting the natural environment.

Behavioural and physiological reactivity of Konik polski horses during stable handling activities

“…1), which suggests that these procedures are much less comfortable for the horse. Pluta and Osiński [2014] also claimed that hooves cleaning may be more stressful for the horses than other grooming procedures. Present study shows a significant influence of horse sex on the heart rate level during bridling and legs raising.…”

“…1990, Jezierski et al 1999, Pluta and Osiński 2014, Topczewska 2014. The research carried out by Budzyński et al [1990] analysed the nervous excitability of Konik polski horses and Hucul horses during fearfulness test and sound test.…”

“…This is an extremely important issue in the context of safe horse handling and the friendly cooperation between the animal and the handler, as well as aiding in the assessment of the work and psychological predisposition of the horse [Budzyński et al 1999]. With increasing frequency researchers are searching for reliable methods to objectively assess the level of nervous reactivity of horses of various breeds [Budzyński et al 1999, Pluta and Osiński 2014.…”

The Effect of Human–Horse Interactions on Equine Behaviour, Physiology, and Welfare: A Scoping Review

“…A total of 1934 horses were used across all 45 studies, with a mean of 44 and median of 20, ranging from 3 to 339. One study, which observed three herds of undomesticated horses [37], did not report the number of equine participants.…”

A Wearable System for the Evaluation of the Human-Horse Interaction: A Preliminary Study

“…A nervous mood can be transmitted from humans to horses under handling and riding conditions [9]. Voice [10][11][12], posture [13,14], facial expression [15,16], autonomic signals [17][18][19], hormones [20][21][22][23] and pheromones [24] might be used to fruitfully describe and characterize the emotional content [25]. Non-verbal communication between human and horse was also investigated in [26,27].…”