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Home / Equine Research Bank / PLoS One / Competition and stereotypic behavior in Thoroughbred horses:...
PloS one2024; 19(10); e0311697; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311697

Competition and stereotypic behavior in Thoroughbred horses: The value of saliva as a diagnostic marker of stress.

Abstract: Many horses exhibit stereotypies, especially when living in human controlled environments that may prevent horses from satisfying natural needs in terms of feeding, drinking, moving, and socializing. In human medicine, obsessive compulsive disorder and other severe psychiatric disturbances are associated with stereotypic behaviors; salivary biomarkers evaluation is considered a reliable tool for diagnosis of common mental health disorders because saliva collection easy to obtain and noninvasive. In this study, we hypothesized that salivary cortisol concentrations, in addition to alpha-amylase (sAA) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities, are considered stress biomarkers that may be influenced in horses trained for racing competition with stereotypic behaviors. Saliva at rest condition was obtained from ten non-stereotypic Thoroughbreds horses involved in high-level competition; eleven Thoroughbreds high-level competition horses showing stereotypic behaviors, and five Thoroughbreds leisure non-competition horses. Cortisol was found to be higher in high-level competition non-stereotypic horses and sAA was significantly higher in non-stereotypic leisure horses when compared to horses involved in competition, while BChE did not change between groups. These results may represent the basis for further behavioural evaluation to elucidate how stereotypic horses and horses involved in competition overcome stressful situations.
Copyright: © 2024 Bazzano et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Publication Date: 2024-10-07 PubMed ID: 39374248PubMed Central: PMC11458048DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311697Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article studies the correlation between stress-induced behaviors in Thoroughbred horses and the biomarkers present in their saliva. The focus of the study is to assess whether specific biomarker concentrations are influenced by competitive training and stereotypic behaviors commonly seen in race horses.

Objective of the Study

  • The goal of the study is to investigate whether salivary cortisol concentrations, alpha-amylase (sAA) activities, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities are useful stress indicators in Thoroughbred horses exhibiting stereotypic behaviors while being trained for high-level competition.

Methodology and Participants

  • For this study, three groups of Thoroughbreds were compiled: ten involved in high-level competition but with no stereotypies, eleven involved in high-level competition with stereotypic behaviors, and five that were non-competitive leisure horses.
  • At a resting condition, the horses’ saliva was collected and analyzed for salivary cortisol, sAA and BChE.

Findings of the Study

  • The horses used in high-level competition without stereotypies had higher cortisol levels compared to their counterparts.
  • Non-competitive leisure horses, which did not exhibit stereotypic behaviors, were found to have significantly higher sAA levels compared to the horses used in high-level competition.
  • No significant changes were recorded in the BChE levels among the different groups of horses.

Implications of the Findings

  • The findings from this study lay the groundwork for further behavioral evaluations that may help in understanding how horses with stereotypic behaviors and race horses cope with stress.
  • Furthermore, these results indicate the potential utility of salivary biomarkers as noninvasive diagnostic tools in evaluating stress levels in horses, similar to the application in human medicine for diagnosing mental health disorders.

Cite This Article

APA
Bazzano M, Marchegiani A, La Gualana F, Petriti B, Petrucelli M, Accorroni L, Laus F. (2024). Competition and stereotypic behavior in Thoroughbred horses: The value of saliva as a diagnostic marker of stress. PLoS One, 19(10), e0311697. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311697

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 19
Issue: 10
Pages: e0311697
PII: e0311697

Researcher Affiliations

Bazzano, Marilena
  • School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Matelica, Italy.
Marchegiani, Andrea
  • School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Matelica, Italy.
La Gualana, Francesca
  • Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Petriti, Begi
  • Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Petrucelli, Marina
  • School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Matelica, Italy.
Accorroni, Lucrezia
  • School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Matelica, Italy.
Laus, Fulvio
  • School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Matelica, Italy.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Saliva / chemistry
  • Saliva / metabolism
  • Hydrocortisone / analysis
  • Hydrocortisone / metabolism
  • Stereotyped Behavior / physiology
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology
  • Male
  • Butyrylcholinesterase / metabolism
  • Female
  • Stress, Psychological / metabolism
  • alpha-Amylases / metabolism
  • Competitive Behavior / physiology

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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