Flight distance and avoidance score in thoroughbred foals and yearlings and the relationship with handling frequency in the young ages.
Abstract: Flight and avoidance reactions from human were examined using 168 postweaning Thoroughbred foals in 22 breeding farms. Further 114 yearlings of 168 foals were tested in the following summer. The foal handlings by the stabler were asked in questionnaire. The relationship between the behavioural reactions and the foal handling frequencies was analyzed. The flight reaction was estimated as the distance from the animal to a stranger when the animal began to flight away from his approach. The avoidance scores were set up from (1) (not resistant) to (5) (touch rejection) from human touching. In the stabler questionnaire, handling frequencies of "body brushing", "rectal temperature measurement", "hoof cleaning", and "stall cleaning" in the early nursing period were asked. The handling frequencies were scored from (1) (not done) to (5) (every day). In the preliminary test, a measurement reliability of the flight distance and the avoidance score was confirmed. The mean flight distances were 0.56 m and 0.27 m in the postweaning foals and the yearlings, respectively. Touch-avoidance scores of the highest frequency were (3) and (2) in the postweaning foals and the yearlings, respectively. As the results of Spearman's rank-correlation analysis, "body brushing" showed highly negative relationships with "flight distance" (ρ=-0.31, P<0.001) and "avoidance score" (ρ=-0.37, P<0.001) in the postweaning foals. In the yearlings, "hoof cleaning" also showed significantly negative relationships with these behavioural indices (ρ=-0.24, P<0.01; ρ=-0.22, P<0.01, respectively).
Publication Date: 2008-04-08 PubMed ID: 24833951PubMed Central: PMC4019203DOI: 10.1294/jes.19.19Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This study analyses the relationship between the frequency of handling thoroughbred foals and yearlings and their reactions to humans, specifically their flight and avoidance reactions. It finds that more frequent handling, such as “body brushing” and “hoof cleaning”, reduces these reactions.
Understanding the Research
- This research focuses on thoroughbred foals (the young offspring of a mare) and yearlings (horses aged between one and two years). It considers their “flight and avoidance reactions” from humans, which refer to their instinctive responses to danger or perceived threats.
- A total of 168 postweaning Thoroughbred foals from 22 breeding farms were the main subjects of this study. The researchers further tested 114 of those 168 foals in the following summer when they had become yearlings.
- The flight reaction of the animals was determined by approaching a stranger and measuring the distance they began to move away. The researchers categorized this reaction as the ‘flight distance’.
- The researchers provided an ‘avoidance score’, which ranked their resistances to human touch on a scale from 1 (not resistant at all) to 5 (completely resistant to touch). The behaviors were recorded by observing the animals when humans engaged them in activities such as body brushing, rectal temperature measurement, hoof cleaning, and stall cleaning.
Key Findings
- The mean flight distances for the postweaning foals and the yearlings were 0.56 meters and 0.27 meters respectively, suggesting a decrease in flight distance as the animals aged.
- The most commonly observed touch-avoidance scores were 3 and 2 for postweaning foals and yearlings, respectively.
- The frequency of handling by the stabler was found to influence these behaviors significantly. Body brushing had a strong negative relationship with flight distance and avoidance score in the postweaning foals, meaning more frequent brushing led to lower flight distances and avoidance scores.
- In the yearlings, frequently cleaning the hoofs correlated with low flight distances and avoidance scores, implying their flight and avoidance reactions diminished due to the regular handling.
Conclusion
- The major takeaway from this study is that frequency and type of handling in these young horses can have a significant effect on their behavioral responses to humans, including their instinctive flight and avoidance reactions.
- This information could be very useful for horse breeders and trainers, as they can alter their routines to accommodate this understanding and potentially build a stronger bond with the horses from a young age, leading to less resistance and fear behavior in the future.
Cite This Article
APA
Masuda T, Takakura A, Kobayashi S.
(2008).
Flight distance and avoidance score in thoroughbred foals and yearlings and the relationship with handling frequency in the young ages.
J Equine Sci, 19(1), 19-24.
https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.19.19 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Laboratory of Animal Managemennt Caring Environment, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Higashimita 1-1-1, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan.
- Laboratory of Animal Managemennt Caring Environment, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Higashimita 1-1-1, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan.
- Laboratory of Animal Managemennt Caring Environment, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Higashimita 1-1-1, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan.
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