Do active stables affect the response to novelty and attitude towards humans in horses? A pilot study.

Overview

• This study investigates whether housing horses in “active stables,” which provide more natural living conditions, affects their reactions to new stimuli and attitudes toward humans compared to traditional stables.
• The research compares behavioral responses related to fear, curiosity, and interaction with humans between horses kept in active and traditional stables.

Introduction and Background

• There is increasing demand for horse housing that allows social interaction, free movement, and constant access to forage, mimicking more natural conditions.
• Active stables are designed with automatic feeders and environmental enrichment that promote these natural behaviors.
• However, it was previously unknown how active stabling influences horses’ fear responses and their behavior when interacting with humans.

Research Objectives

• To compare horses housed in active stables versus traditional stables in terms of their response to novelty and sudden stimuli.
• To assess differences in horse behavior towards humans in both housing conditions.
• To evaluate the effects of breed, age, and weekly riding workload on these behavioral responses.

Methodology

• Total of 46 horses participated: 24 in active stables and 22 in traditional stables.
• Conducted fear tests involving novel surfaces and startling objects, along with handling tests involving interactions with humans.
• Measured behavioral responses, including:
• Latency to place a leg on a novel surface, cross it, and touch a new object.
• Latency to hide behind a handler following a startling object.
• Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) to score emotional and behavioral states.
• Analyzed correlations between fear responses and startle intensity.
• Assessed influence of age, breed, and weekly riding hours on these behaviors.

Key Findings

• Horses in active stables:
• Approached and interacted with novel stimuli faster, including placing a leg on and crossing the novel surface, touching startling objects, and hiding behind the handler.
• Displayed higher scores on both ‘Relaxed and friendly’ and ‘Fearful’ QBA factors, suggesting complex emotional states.
• Showed no difference in the intensity of the startle reaction compared to horses in traditional stables.
• Horses in traditional stables were generally slower to explore novel stimuli and exhibit hiding behavior.
• Age Effects:
• Older horses took longer to cross novel surfaces and interact with novel objects.
• Older horses also delayed hiding behind the handler after exposure to novel stimuli.
• Riding Workload Effects:
• Horses that had more weekly riding hours were less willing to approach the static novel object.
• No horses avoided the approaching human experimenter, indicating general habituation or low fear toward humans.

Interpretation and Implications

• Active stable housing appears to foster greater willingness and faster response to engage with novelty and handler following movement, which may indicate better coping or reduced avoidance behavior.
• Despite increased scores in both ‘Relaxed and friendly’ and ‘Fearful’ factors, the startle intensity itself was unaffected by housing, suggesting that active stables do not increase fearfulness.
• Increased interaction and reduced avoidance behavior toward humans in active stable horses may imply a positive effect on horse welfare and human-animal cooperation.
• The negative effect of increased riding hours on novelty approach could suggest workload influences horses’ curiosity or motivation, which might be an important factor when interpreting behavioral tests.

Conclusions

• Active stable systems do not impact the initial startle reactions but improve horses’ willingness to engage with new objects and handlers after movement, possibly indicating more positive emotional states and better welfare.
• Housing conditions should be considered a vital aspect of managing horses’ behavior and welfare, with active stables offering potential benefits over traditional stabling.
• Further research with larger samples is suggested to confirm and expand upon these pilot results.