Assessment of horse behavior using an activity monitoring device used for cats and dogs.
Abstract: Including Internet of Things (IoT) technology in horse-rearing management can potentially mitigate problems such as human resource shortages and time limitations in performing daily behavior monitoring. In this study, a small and inexpensive activity meter used to monitor dogs and cats (PLUS CYCLE, JARMeC, Kanagawa, Japan) was used to monitor the daily behavior of horses. A study was performed to examine the suitability of the PLUS CYCLE device for monitoring horses and to determine whether it could estimate horse behavior. The device was equipped with an accelerometer and was used to monitor Kiso horses in horse stalls and pastures after installing the devices at specific locations on headcollars and girths. The amount of activity from the accelerometer showed differences among the horses' behavioral types (lying, standing, walking, and feeding) in the stall, suggesting that it functions in horses. In the pasture, the amount of activity was correlated with GPS movement speed. Then, we tried to establish restricted cubic spline regression models to predict the locomotion speed in the pasture based on the amount of activity, but the prediction accuracy was low. This study showed that PLUS CYCLE can be used to monitor horse activity amount during the daily management of individual horses. However, to achieve higher precision in monitoring detailed behaviors, additional investigation and data pertaining to the amount of activity for each horse during rearing in different environments are needed.
©2024 The Japanese Society of Equine Science.
Publication Date: 2024-12-12 PubMed ID: 39670208PubMed Central: PMC11634534DOI: 10.1294/jes.35.47Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article investigates the usefulness of an inexpensive activity monitor, designed for cats and dogs, to assess and monitor horse behavior in an attempt to address issues such as the scarcity of human resources and time constraints in daily horse monitoring.
Objective and Methodology
- The goal of the research was to assess whether the device, PLUS CYCLE, can accurately monitor horse behavior and if it can estimate different types of horse behaviors.
- The study involved attaching the device, equipped with an accelerometer, at specific places on horse headcollars and girths.
- The horses monitored in the study were Kiso horses, a native Japanese breed, observed both in stalls and pastures.
Findings
- Based on accelerometer readings, the PLUS CYCLE device was able to distinguish between the horses’ different behavioral types (lying, standing, walking, and feeding) in the stall.
- In outdoor pasture settings, the device’s activity readings correlated to the GPS movement speed of the horses, indicating that it may be effective in tracking horse movements outside stalls.
- The researchers attempted to establish models to predict horse locomotion speed in the pasture based on the accelerometer readings from the device. However, the predictions were less accurate, indicating room for improvement in this particular part of the study.
Conclusions
- The study concluded that the PLUS CYCLE device could potentially be used to monitor the daily activity levels of individual horses as part of their management.
- To achieve greater precision in monitoring more specific behaviors, however, the researchers suggest that more data is needed from various horses and different environmental settings.
Cite This Article
APA
Matsubara T, Fukatsu R, Yamamoto M, Moriya M, Hano K, Nakamura K, Ohba Y, Takasu M.
(2024).
Assessment of horse behavior using an activity monitoring device used for cats and dogs.
J Equine Sci, 35(4), 47-55.
https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.35.47 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Japan Animal Referral Medical Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
- Japan Animal Referral Medical Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
- Gifu University Institute for Advanced Study, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Gifu University Institute for Advanced Study, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
- Center for One Medicine Innovative Translational Research (COMIT), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
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