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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Horse Behavior, Physiology and Emotions during Habituation t...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(6); 921; doi: 10.3390/ani10060921

Horse Behavior, Physiology and Emotions during Habituation to a Treadmill.

Abstract: A treadmill is an important tool in the equine analysis of gait, lameness, and hoof balance, as well as for the evaluation of horse rehabilitation or poor performance including dynamic endoscopy. Before all of these uses, horses have to be habituated to a treadmill locomotion. We used principal component analysis to evaluate the relationship between aspects of the horse's temperament and emotional response, and progress in the behavioral habituation to a treadmill. Fourteen horses were tested, by the same familiar handler, using the novel object test, the handling test, and both positive and negative emotional response tests. Then, four stages of gradual habituation of the first work on a treadmill were conducted. Each time, the horse's behavior was filmed. Data obtained from ethograms and heart rate measurements were tested. Four principal components were identified in examined horses: "Flightiness," "Freeziness," "Curiosity," and "Timidity." Flightiness was connected with nervousness, agitation by new objects, and easy excitability, and gradually decreased of features during habituation. Timidity was associated with a lack of courage and stress in new situations, and those features strongly increased when the treadmill was introduced. Freeziness and Curiosity features showed strong stability throughout the whole habituation. The results of this study provide evidence for a connection between temperament, emotional response, and habituation process in a horse.
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Publication Date: 2020-05-26 PubMed ID: 32466423PubMed Central: PMC7341274DOI: 10.3390/ani10060921Google 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.

This research investigated the relationship between a horse’s temperament, emotional response, and its progress during habituation (getting used to) to a treadmill, an important tool in equine analysis and performance evaluation. The study found that traits such as flightiness, timidity, freeziness, and curiosity influenced the horse’s adaptation process to the treadmill.

Methodology

  • Fourteen horses underwent the novel object test, the handling test, and both positive and negative emotional response tests. These tests were conducted by a handler familiar to the horses to lessen the impact of a new person on their emotional response.
  • These horses then went through four stages of gradual habituation to the treadmill.
  • During each stage, the horse’s behavior was filmed to gather observable data. Additionally, heart rate measurements were also taken as physiological markers for stress and emotional response.
  • Using principal component analysis, this observed and physiological data was analyzed with respect to the different temperamental traits.

Results

  • Four primary components or traits identifiable in the examined horses were flightiness, timidity, freeziness, and curiosity.
  • Flightiness indicated a nervous disposition and sensitivity to new objects. This trait gradually decreased as the horse adapted to the treadmill.
  • Timidity, representing lack of courage in new situations, seemed to increase when the horse was first introduced to the treadmill.
  • Freeziness and curiosity demonstrated strong stability throughout the treadmill habituation process, suggesting that these traits did not significantly influence the horse’s response to the treadmill.

Conclusions

  • The results of this study provide solid evidence for a relationship between a horse’s temperament and emotional response and its ability to habituate to a treadmill. Better understanding of this connection could help improve methods of introducing horses to unfamiliar situations or tools, such as treadmills, thereby supporting their well-being and performance.

Treating each horse according to its unique traits can result in more successful habituation processes, which in turn can lead to more effective treadmill use for analysis and performance evaluation. Future research could delve deeper into these findings to determine if specific training or introduction methods could be more effective for horses displaying different traits.

Cite This Article

APA
Masko M, Domino M, Lewczuk D, Jasinski T, Gajewski Z. (2020). Horse Behavior, Physiology and Emotions during Habituation to a Treadmill. Animals (Basel), 10(6), 921. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10060921

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
PII: 921

Researcher Affiliations

Masko, Malgorzata
  • Department of Animal Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
Domino, Malgorzata
  • Department of Large Animal Diseases and Clinic, Veterinary Research Centre and Center for Biomedical Research, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
Lewczuk, Dorota
  • Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Polish Academy of Sciences Jastrzębiec (PAS - PAN), 05-552 Magdalenka, Poland.
Jasinski, Tomasz
  • Department of Large Animal Diseases and Clinic, Veterinary Research Centre and Center for Biomedical Research, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
Gajewski, Zdzislaw
  • Department of Large Animal Diseases and Clinic, Veterinary Research Centre and Center for Biomedical Research, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Citations

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