Stability over situations in temperamental traits of horses as revealed by experimental and scoring approaches.
Abstract: Individual behavioural reactions of adult horses in a variety of experimental tests were compared with ratings by riding teachers. The tests were made in a non working situation, with the animals being released in an arena, a box (arena test, new object test, learning tests) or handled (new object/handling situation). The traits rated by teachers were fearfulness, nervousness, gregariousness and learning abilities at work (ridden or handled). Despite a great homogeneity in the reactions exhibited by the horses in the different situations, large individual differences were present. Correlations appeared between the reactivity in the arena test and the score of gregariousness, between the reactivity in the novel object test and the rating of nervousness when ridden, between the results in the handling test and the rating of general fearfulness and between the ability to memorise an instrumental task and the score of general learning ability. Such results strengthen the idea that there are underlying behavioural dispositions that are stable across situations and that the experimental tests may be good predictors of the temperament in untrained animals.
Publication Date: 1997-12-01 PubMed ID: 24896858DOI: 10.1016/s0376-6357(97)00052-1Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article evaluates the consistency of temperamental traits in horses across different situations, comparing experimental tests with scores given by riding instructors on qualities such as fearfulness, nervousness, sociability, and learning abilities.
Research Methodology
- The researchers conducted individual behavioural experiments with adult horses in various situations. Some of these included non-working conditions where the horses were released into an arena, presented with new objects, or put through learning tests. Additionally, the horses were rated by riding instructors on traits such as fearfulness, nervousness, social behavior (gregariousness), and learning capabilities while working (either when ridden or handled).
Findings
- The study observed a considerable amount of consistency in the horses’ reactions to the different situations, but also noted significant individual differences.
- Positive correlations emerged between a horse’s reactivity in the arena test and its gregariousness rating, as well as between its reactivity to novel objects and its rating of nervousness when ridden.
- Furthermore, parallels were drawn between the horse’s performance in the handling test and its general fearfulness rating, and between its ability to memorise a task and its overall learning ability score.
Implications
- The consistent correlations between the horses’ behaviors in experimental situations and their ratings by instructors suggest that there may be stable underlying behavioural dispositions in horses that persist across different circumstances.
- This finding reinforces the idea that experimental tests could serve as effective predictors of a horse’s temperament, particularly in animals that have not undergone training.
Cite This Article
APA
Le Scolan N, Hausberger M, Wolff A.
(1997).
Stability over situations in temperamental traits of horses as revealed by experimental and scoring approaches.
Behav Processes, 41(3), 257-266.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0376-6357(97)00052-1 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Ethologie Evolution Ecologie, Université de Rennes I, UMR CNRS 6552, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France.
Citations
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