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PloS one2019; 14(2); e0211852; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211852

Could posture reflect welfare state? A study using geometric morphometrics in riding school horses.

Abstract: Despite the fact that animal posture is known to reflect emotional state, the presence of chronic postures associated with poor welfare has not been investigated with an objective tool for measuring, quantifying and comparing postures. The use of morphometric geometrics (GM) to describe horse posture (profile of the dorsum) has shown to be an effective method of distinguishing populations that are known to differ in terms of welfare states. Here we investigated photographs of 85 riding school horses differing in terms of welfare state, in order to determine if a specific posture (modelled by GM) is associated with altered welfare. The welfare state was estimated with the prevalence of stereotypic or abnormal repetitive behaviours, depressed-like posture and the ear positions. ANOVA results show that horses with stereotypic or abnormal behaviour, and to a lesser degree horses with depressed-like postures, tend to have a flatter, or even hollow, dorsal profile, especially at the neck and croup levels. These altered profiles could represent an additional indicator of poor welfare, easy to use in the field or by owners.
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Publication Date: 2019-02-05 PubMed ID: 30721258PubMed Central: PMC6363216DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211852Google 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 study analyses whether the posture of a horse, specifically the profile of its back as measured by geometric morphometrics, could indicate impacts on its welfare. It identified that horses exhibiting depressed-like stances and abnormal repetitive behaviors, often associated with poor welfare, demonstrated a flatter back profile particularly around the neck and hindquarters.

Use of Geometric Morphometrics in Assessment of Animal Welfare

  • Geometric morphometrics (GM) is an objective tool used for quantifying and comparing shapes or physical structures.
  • It was used in this study to objectively measure and compare the postures of 85 different riding school horses.
  • Posture was represented by the profile or contour of the horse’s dorsum or back.

Association of Posture with Welfare State

  • Animal posture is known to reflect the animal’s emotional state, thus it is theorized that chronic postures might represent inherent welfare states of the animal.
  • The researchers looked at photos of riding school horses to see if there was a common “shape” or profile associated with horses that exhibited signs of poor welfare.
  • Poor welfare was mainly assessed in terms of the manifestation of stereotypic or abnormal repetitive behaviors, depressed-like postures, and the positions of the ears.

Findings and Implications

  • The results show that the horses exhibiting stereotypic behaviors or a depressed-like posture tend to have a specific dorsum profile – typically flatter or even hollow, particularly at the neck and hindquarters.
  • These altered profiles might represent chronic postures associated with poor welfare.
  • This finding provides an easy-to-use welfare indicator for horse owners and field practitioners, in addition to the behavioral signs used as traditional indicators of poor welfare.

Cite This Article

APA
Sénèque E, Lesimple C, Morisset S, Hausberger M. (2019). Could posture reflect welfare state? A study using geometric morphometrics in riding school horses. PLoS One, 14(2), e0211852. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211852

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Pages: e0211852
PII: e0211852

Researcher Affiliations

Sénèque, Emilie
  • Université de Rennes, UMR 6552 CNRS Ethologie Animale et Humaine,CNRS, Université de Caen-Normandie, Rennes, France.
Lesimple, Clémence
  • Université de Rennes, UMR 6552 CNRS Ethologie Animale et Humaine,CNRS, Université de Caen-Normandie, Rennes, France.
Morisset, Stéphane
  • Independent biostatistician, France.
Hausberger, Martine
  • CNRS, UMR 6552 Ethologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes, Université de Caen-Normandie, Caen, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Animal Husbandry
  • Animal Welfare
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Horses
  • Male
  • Posture

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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