Topic:Behavior
Equine behavior encompasses the study of horses' actions, reactions, and interactions within their environment and with other living beings. It includes the examination of innate behaviors, such as grazing and herd dynamics, as well as learned behaviors influenced by training and human interaction. Understanding equine behavior is essential for improving horse welfare, training methods, and management practices. This topic covers a range of behaviors, from social structures and communication to stress responses and problem behaviors. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the various aspects of equine behavior, including factors that influence it and its implications for horse management and welfare.
Ocular Causes for Undesired Behaviors in the Horse. Numerous ocular diseases cause visual impairment and induce ocular pain that may be associated with undesired behaviors in horses. Horses with ocular pain, indicated by the presence of blepharospasm, blepharoedema, ocular discharge or rubbing the eye, should be rested from work to avoid worsening the ocular disease and to avoid undesired behaviors associated with pain or vision impairment. Horses with ocular disease are frequently head shy. Some stoic horses may not have obvious outward clinical signs despite significant visual impairment, and as such, undesired behaviors such as spooking, bal...
Feed intake, digestibility and passage kinetics in grazing horses. Feed intake and digestibility are important indicators for sufficient nutrient supply, but they can be assessed only to a limited extent in horses on pasture. In horses, feed intake is embedded in a complex behavioural pattern of searching, selecting, chewing and almost constant movement called foraging. The objectives of this study were to estimate organic matter intake (OMI) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) in six horses, 24 h/day on pasture, based on plant alkanes and synthetic n-hexatriacontane (C) excretion. A multi-compartmental model was fitted to the marker excretion and the C m...
Affiliative behaviours regulate allostasis development and shape biobehavioural trajectories in horses. Social interactions shape both the physiological and behavioural development of offspring, and poor care/early caregiver loss is known to promote adverse outcomes during infancy in both animals and humans. How affiliative behaviours impact the future development of offspring remains an open question. Here, we used Equus caballus (domestic horse) as a model to investigate this question. By coupling magnetic resonance imaging, longitudinal biobehavioural assessments and advanced multivariate statistical modelling, we found that prolonged maternal presence during infancy promotes the maturation o...
Parasympathetic tone, cardiovascular variables, and behavioral alterations in conscious horses before and after castration and during anesthesia: A pilot study. Parasympathetic tone activity (PTA) and its association with behavior in conscious versus anesthesia in horses are unknown. Objective: To study PTA, heart rate (HR), minimum alveolar concentration (MAC), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during castration under anesthesia. To study PTA, HR, Horse Grimace Scale (HGS), locomotor activity (LA), and behavior in conscious horses before and after castration. Methods: Pilot study including seven healthy adult horses. After habituation (days 1, 2, and 3), PTAm, HR, HGS, LA, and behavior were investigated during pre-surgery (days 4-, 5-, and one-hour pr...
Effects of Social Interactions and Foundational Training on Behavior, Temperament, and Hormone Levels in Weanling Horses. Horses are social animals, with early life experiences playing a crucial role in their physiological and behavioral development. This study explored the influence of herd dynamics and foundational training on behavioral and hormonal changes in weaned foals. We examined 13 six-month-old Quarter Horse foals over a three-month training period, performing behavioral observations, temperament assessments, and hormone analyses at the start, midpoint, and end of the training. The results indicated that affiliative behaviors decreased significantly, while agonistic behaviors first increased and then d...
First night effect alters occipital brain connectivity in horses. The First Night Effect is a phenomenon whereby sleep duration and quality are compromised in unfamiliar environments or situations. Horses are often transported to new locations, such as sporting events. We wanted to know if the First Night Effect is also detectable in horses in two different populations. To investigate this, we compared five horses from a professional sports horse barn that are regularly used in competitions, with six horses from a breeding barn, that are less frequently transferred to unfamiliar places. Despite the significant differences observed in electroencephalography (...
Do stereotypies help or harm? Exploring the link between cortisol level and abnormal behaviours in animals: a review. Stereotypical behaviours in animals, often linked to stress, are repetitive actions that may lack a clear purpose. This review examines the relationship between cortisol levels, a key stress hormone, and stereotypic behaviour across various animal species, including zoo mammals, horses, and dogs. A total of 99 studies were analysed to understand whether elevated cortisol levels are associated with stereotypies. While many studies report a positive correlation between cortisol and stereotypical behaviour, more detailed research suggests that these behaviours may also serve as coping mechanisms,...
The Use of Sound Recorders to Remotely Measure Grass Intake Behaviour in Horses. Visual observation to record grass intake is time-consuming and labour-intensive. Technological methods, such as activity monitors, have been used but only record head position. This study aimed to evaluate sound recorders attached to headcollars to acoustically measure grass intake behaviour in horses as a low-cost alternative method. Pilot Study 1 assessed 6 × 11 min periods comparing bites/min and chews/min between video footage (VD) and sound recorders (SR). Grazing was identified audibly (SR) and visually through soundwave pattern software (SR). Chew rates (SR: 47 ± 5 chews/min, VD: 43 ...
A Qualitative Exploration of the Lived Experiences and Perspectives of Equine-Assisted Services Practitioners in the UK and Ireland. Equine-Assisted Services (EAS), which incorporate horses in a variety of ways in an effort to improve human wellbeing, have grown in popularity in recent years. Although much research has been conducted regarding the benefits that horses may provide for human health and wellbeing, little attention has been paid to practitioners' experiences and perspectives of the field, despite the fact they are uniquely positioned to advance our understanding of this area. This study aimed to explore practitioners' lived experiences of EAS, focusing on the benefits they observed, possible underlying mechanis...
Risk factors associated with owner-reported sleep disturbances in Nordic horses. Very little is known about sleep disturbances in horses, although several management or animal-based factors may contribute to an increased risk of disturbances. Objective: To investigate factors related to rest and sleep behaviour of horses kept in stalls as perceived by Nordic horse owners or caretakers and their association with suspected sleep disturbances (SSD). Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: The 40 question online international survey included a convenience sample of horse owners or caretakers with horses over 4 years old kept in the same individual stalls for at least the l...
“But my horse is well cared for”: A qualitative exploration of cognitive dissonance and enculturation in equestrian attitudes toward performance horses and their welfare. There is concern amongst the public, equestrians, animal welfare organisations, and horse-sport governing bodies regarding the welfare of performance horses, but equestrian culture appears slow to change. The present study seeks to increase our understanding of human factors underlying the persistence of welfare-compromising management and training practices within the performance horse world. Individual, semi-structured interviews focused on equestrians' attitudes were conducted with 22 equestrians from classical equestrian disciplines in the US, Canada, and the UK. Interview transcripts were...
Horse Activity Participants’ Perceptions About Practices Undertaken at Activity Venues, and Horse Welfare and Wellbeing. Participation in horse-related activities frequently involves relocating horses from the home stable to an activity venue, which might require local, regional, or international travel. In these circumstances, horses are exposed to unfamiliar surroundings and experience changes to their daily routines, which could have negative welfare impacts. An online survey was conducted in 2021 to ask experienced horse sector participants about the horse management practices that they perceived worked well and provided for positive horse welfare when undertaken at venues. Qualitative analysis identified fo...
Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study. Many people seek health-related information online, not only for themselves but also on behalf of others who cannot articulate their symptoms. This proxy information-seeking behavior is particularly relevant for animal owners, who must interpret their animals' symptoms without direct verbal feedback. While online health information-seeking in the context of one's own health is well-studied, the specific challenges of searching by proxy, especially for animal health information, remain largely unexplored. Unassigned: This study aimed to determine the specific information needs and search behavi...
Tight nosebands apply high pressures on the horses’ face and alter stride kinematics. Noseband tightness has received increasing attention within equitation science, however, there is little research into how this effects equine behaviour or performance. Objective: 1) determine the peak pressures under noseband in vivo at three different tightness; 2) assess limb and back kinematics at different noseband tightness. Methods: Noseband tightness (n = 8 horses) was set using an International Society for Equine Science (ISES) taper gauge with the three settings being; "two fingers (2F)", "one finger (1F)" and "zero fingers (0F)". Peak pressure under noseband was determined using pre...
Equine-assisted interventions in Germany: animal welfare knowledge and practices among equine-assisted professionals. Numerous studies have shown the positive effects that horses in equine-assisted interventions can have on a variety of recipients. The importance of animal welfare and implementation of animal welfare practices in equine-assisted interventions has not yet been extensively researched. Objective: The aim of this exploratory study was therefore to investigate the understanding of animal welfare from the perspective of equine-assisted professionals and how it is ensured by them. Methods: 111 equine-assisted professionals in Germany were surveyed about their knowledge of animal welfare and the indi...
Lady and the champ: The shared career experiences and retirement transition of a champion jockey and his partner. Elite sporting careers are made up of a succession of transitions and adjustments across multiple layers. Part of the microenvironment is an athlete's romantic partner who moves through the transitions alongside them, being impacted along the way. Though researchers are yet to explore jockeys and their partners experiences within the horse racing context. Framed through the transition environment working model (Henriksen et al., 2024) and supported by the family systems theory (Broderick, 1993), this study aimed to explore the career experiences and retirement transition of a retired Champion ...
Artificial intelligence tools to assess different levels of activity performed by semi-wild horses in grassland ecosystems. In order to understand the role of horses in ecosystems and to effectively use their grazing in the protection of grasslands, it is important to assess where they primarily stay, followed by whether these habitats are used for grazing or resting. The main goal of the study was the model development based on artificial intelligence tools which allow to distinguish the basic levels of activity performed by horses using data from an accelerometer mounted in a collar worn by animals. The model calibration was based on direct observations of five randomly selected Polish primitive horse mares. In o...
Owner-Observed Behavioral Characteristics in Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds (OTTTBs) in Equestrian Second Careers. The off-the-track Thoroughbred's (OTTTB's) suitability for equestrian retraining and rehoming should always be subject to behavioral considerations. Certain attributes may be advantageous to a horse's racing performance but unfavorable to their prospects off the track. It is important to gain a non-biased understanding of how Thoroughbreds (TBs) in equestrian disciplines compare with other horses behaviorally, to minimize risks of poor welfare and safety outcomes. The current study used owner-reported information ( = 1633) from the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ)...
An iterative approach to identify key predictive features of fear reactivity and fearfulness in horses (Equus caballus). This study extends previous findings by applying artificial intelligence (AI) methods to a larger dataset to identify key features that predict fear reactivity (i.e., immediate reaction to fear inducing stimuli) and fearfulness (i.e., a stable personality trait) in 101 Lipizzan horses. The analysis included 221 morphological, kinematic, behavioral and management measurements per horse. Previous findings were confirmed, as body and head size were identified as promising predictors of aspects of fear-related trait. Using an iterative AI approach, six key features for fear reactivity and nine for...
Neanderthal coasteering and the first Portuguese hominin tracksites. Multiple sources of evidence for the systematic use of coastal ecosystems and resources by Neanderthals are known. Fossil hominin footprints offer direct portraits of individual or social group presence and locomotor behavior, and interspecific interactions, in the coastal ecospace. Here we describe the first two hominin tracksites found in the southwestern most region of Europe. At Monte Clérigo, dated to 78 ± 5 ka, trackways of three individuals demonstrate how Neanderthals navigated dune landscapes. These behaviors suggest route planning, with dune systems serving as advantageous set...
International Survey Exploring Rider-Perceived Sidedness of the Horse. Laterality or sidedness in the horse is commonly addressed as part of the horse's training. An international online survey regarding horse and rider sidedness and asymmetry was conducted, with 2304 useable responses. Confidence intervals (95%) were used to evaluate if some response options were chosen more frequently. Discounting answers of 'not sure' or 'not applicable', the right fore hoof was more often perceived to be more upright (22%) than the left (15%), and the left shoulder was more prominent (24%) more often than the right (17%), whilst most respondents reported no difference. Both l...
Regulatory Integrity and Welfare in Horse Sport: A Constructively Critical Perspective. This commentary evaluates contemporary equestrian sport governance through the lens of equine welfare science. Drawing on evidence from the FEI Sport Forum 2025 debates, the IFHA Racing Integrity Handbook, media coverage of horse sport, recent scientific presentations, regulatory texts, and published research, we identify systemic shortcomings in how horse welfare is assessed, prioritised, and protected. Key issues include reliance on performance as a proxy for welfare, inadequate "fit-to-compete" protocols, neglect of horses' mental states, coercive tack and equipment practices (e.g., double ...
Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus). Modern horse husbandry involves significant time spent indoors, often in suboptimal lighting conditions and with frequent night-time disturbances by humans for management purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a customised light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system and a standard fluorescent lighting fixture on equine sleep behaviours, circadian rhythmicity and spontaneous blink rates in horses. Ten riding school horses experienced two stable lighting conditions for four weeks each in a cross-over study running from January to March, 2023. The treatment lighting co...
Impact of feeding strategies on the welfare and behaviour of horses in groups: An experimental study. Finding feeding strategies that meet horses' needs without compromising health is essential for optimising welfare, particularly in group housing, where limited hay availability increases aggression and injury risks. Recently, two strategies have emerged: portioning daily intake into smaller, frequent meals using time-controlled hay racks, or slowing intake with "slow-feeders." However, the effects of such management practices on horse behaviour remain underexplored. We conducted a cross-over study with 18 mares divided into four groups to compare three feeding strategies: "traditional" (3 of ...
A Pilot Study on Blood Concentration of β-Amyloid (40 and 42) and Phospho-Tau 181 in Horses. In humans, aging is often accompanied by cognitive decline, as seen in Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, the aging process in horses remains poorly characterized. This study aims to explore the presence of blood-based biomarkers associated with cognitive degeneration in this species. Twenty-three Arabian horses were enrolled, and 5 mL of blood was collected from each to measure serum levels of β-amyloid peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) and phosphorylated tau protein (pTau181), both considered reliable indicators of cognitive impairment in other species. Aβ42 was undetectable in all samples, while ...
Influences of Double Versus Snaffle Bridles on Equine Behaviour at Dressage Competitions and Factors That Interact with Their Effect. Despite welfare concerns, conflict behaviours (indicative of momentary states of acute stress) are common in horses during dressage competitions. Identifying factors that affect conflict behaviours during competition therefore has the potential to improve equine welfare. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the effect of bridle type (double versus snaffle) in relation to other potential affecting factors (e.g., average head angle, competition level and type, tack variation) on conflict behaviours during dressage competition. An ethogram was created to analyse the conflict behaviour ...
Group housing increases alertness and social interaction compared to traditional single stabling in two-year-old sport horse stallions during pretraining. Horses in training are often stabled individually, but this is increasingly questioned. We have investigated the effects of different stabling systems in Warmblood stallions during a 12-week pretraining programme. Stallions were 24 months old and housed either in a group stable (Group 24, n = 9) or in individual boxes (Box 24, n = 10), or they were 30 months of age and housed in individual boxes (Box 30, n = 10). Cortisol, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), body development, injuries and selected behaviour patterns were analysed (1) at transfer from pasture to stable and (2) the...
Overnight dexamethasone suppression and cortisol index tests in clinically healthy horses and with crib-biting. The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) has been used in humans for the diagnosis of psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety and Cushing's syndrome, and in horses for the ante mortem diagnosis of dysfunction of the intermediate part of the pituitary. Objective: This study aimed to examine the functionality of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis through the DST and the cortisol index (CI), to evaluate the rhythmicity of the circadian cycle of cortisol in healthy horses with crib-biting or windsucking. Methods: A total of 20 Colombian Creole horses of both sexes, under similar mana...
Social Isolation of Horses vs. Support Provided by a Human. It is assumed that horses have a strong herd instinct that cannot be suppressed by any form of social support from humans. The aim of this study was to assess the behaviour and heart rate parameters of horses that received various forms of human support during short-term social isolation. The research material consisted of 12 clinically healthy recreational warmblood mares and geldings. The test was carried out four times. The research test consisted of two parts, which began in the presence of accompanying horses and under conditions of social isolation, with and without support provided by a...