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Neigh-bours: Why every young horse needs good friends. A pilot study during the breaking-in period

Flamand, Anna ; Zellenka, Cheyenne ; Mos, Juliette ; Starczan, Audrey ; Polak, Aurélien ; Petit, Odile

Applied animal behaviour science, 2024-03, Vol.272, Article 106190 [Periódico revisado por pares]

Elsevier B.V

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  • Título:
    Neigh-bours: Why every young horse needs good friends. A pilot study during the breaking-in period
  • Autor: Flamand, Anna ; Zellenka, Cheyenne ; Mos, Juliette ; Starczan, Audrey ; Polak, Aurélien ; Petit, Odile
  • Assuntos: Animal biology ; Cognitive science ; Equus caballus ; Horse-human relationship ; Housing ; Life Sciences ; Psychology ; Social ; Training ; Vertebrate Zoology ; Welfare
  • É parte de: Applied animal behaviour science, 2024-03, Vol.272, Article 106190
  • Descrição: In natural conditions, horses (Equus caballus) are social animals that live in stable groups. However, horses are often housed in individual stalls from the moment they begin their initial training, also called breaking-in. Individual stabling induces social isolation and confinement, and is a source of particularly stressful events for the young horse alongside the breaking-in process. These experiences can lead to behavioural disorders in individual stalls and dangerous defensive behaviours in human-horse interactions. This study aimed to evaluate how the maintenance of social contacts impacts the behaviour of young horses during breaking-in. The comparison involved 12 young horses all housed in individual stalls for one month: six individuals had the opportunity to interact socially in pairs for two hours a day (hereafter called “Social Condition”) in a “social box”, and six individuals had no access to a social partner (hereafter called “Isolated Condition”). We collected data for various behavioural variables during training sessions (body tension, conflict behaviours, cooperation and ear positions used as an indicator of the emotional state) and activities in the individual stalls. We found that horses in the Social Condition expressed fewer abnormal behaviours (p<0.001) and stayed still more often (p<0.01) in the individual stall compared to horses in the Isolated Condition. During training, we did not find any difference in ear positions (p=0.068) and cooperation (p=0.766) between the two groups of horses. However, horses in the Social Condition adopted a more relaxed attitude (p<0.01) than those that were isolated. Although more stress-related behaviours like defecation (p<0.001) and a tense attitude were observed in isolated horses (p<0.001), these horses reacted less to the discomfort associated with training by head-tossing behaviour (p=0.026) and tail switching (p=0.033) than horses in the Social Condition. The latter would remain capable of reacting during the sessions. Our results indicate a possible beneficial impact of this socially enriched context on the first training experience of horses in the Social Condition. Finally, the device we used will promote the welfare of horses in equestrian facilities and will be in line with changes in society regarding respect for our domestic companions. •Isolated horses express more stress-related behaviours during breaking-in sessions.•During training, horses with social contacts had a more relaxed attitude.•Horses with social contacts can still react to the discomfort of training.•Horses with social contact expressed fewer abnormal behaviours in individual stalls.•Social interactions had a positive impact on the welfare of young stabled horses.
  • Editor: Elsevier B.V
  • Idioma: Inglês
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  • Realização: ABCD-USP USP   Logos de Redes Sociais: Freepik

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