A brief note on some possible factors involved in the reactions of horses to humans

Hausberger, Martine; Müller, Christine

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00016-3

Cited by 100 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…However, we refrained from testing the horses with other persons as a control, as the results would have been influenced by habituation effects (Mal et al 1993). Differences in response to the test person could also have been caused by kin or by breed specific temperament (Hausberger and Muller 2002;Hayes 1998;Houpt and Kusunose 2000). Even though the horse's breed did not significantly affect our results, the sample size of this study does not allow for clear conclusions concerning kin and breed specific temperament effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Heart rate in cats varied according to whether they were petted by familiar or unfamiliar persons (Slingerland et al 2008). Generally, horses show similar reactions towards familiar and unfamiliar humans (Henry et al 2005;Lansade and Bouissou 2008), and they discriminate familiar and unfamiliar persons at the same speed (Stone 2010), which may be caused by the horse's generalization of positive and negative experiences from familiar to unfamiliar persons (Hausberger and Muller 2002;Hausberger et al 2008;Krueger 2007). Some authors propose that early contact with foals can lead to positive or negative associations with humans (Henry et al 2005(Henry et al , 2006Landsade et al 2004Landsade et al , 2005.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

et al. 2010

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This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object choice task when confronted with a) an unfamiliar or b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: 1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse, and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses' performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source, and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

et al. 2010

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“…Taking into account the general welfare considerations, the friendly reaction of the horse towards people is the one most desired. By the other hand, the relationship between the horse and a human can be one of the most important factors for the safe usage of the animal (Hausberger and Muller, 2002). Sankey et al (2010) show that a direct correlation exists between repeated positive horse-human interactions and the positive reactions and attitudes of the horses towards humans.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-Animal Relationship: A Comparative Study in Working and Breeding Horses

Popescu¹,

Borda²,

Oros³

et al. 2016

BUASVMCN-VM

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The importance of a good human-horse relationship in every equestrian discipline is recognized by the specialists all over the world. The aim of the study was to comparatively assess the behavioural response towards humans in different horse categories, in two seasons. The human-animal relationship was investigated during a year, in two different seasons in working horses (171 in the winter, 168 in the summer), stallions (62 in the winter, 66 in the summer) and broodmares and young horses (137 in the winter, 146 in the summer). Using specific methods, the general attitude of the horses was evaluated (apathetic or alert) and their reactions (aggressiveness, fear/avoidance, indifference, friendliness) to the: (1) assessors' approach (2) walking besides and (3) the attempt of touching the animal. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. The value of minimal significance was considered at P < 0.05. The proportion of the apathetic horses recorded in this study varied from 0% to 3.23% depending on the assessed category and season, without statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). For the behavioural responses (aggressiveness, fear, indifference or friendly response), statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) were found among the assessed horse categories. The season had no significant influence on the variability of responses in the behavioural tests in none of the horse categories. The results indicate an inadequate human-animal relationship in all the studied horse categories, with negative implications on the welfare of the animals. This problem has low remedial possibilities, because it needs human mentality change of those working with horses.

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“…Horses may display tail movements when in herd (for review of social organisation, see Linklater et al, 1999;Linklater, 2000) or in the presence of a human, body postures being influenced by the person present (Hausberger and Muller, 2002). Humans, in particular horse workers, must thus be particularly attentive to the movements of the various parts of the horse, which gives precise information on their perception of the situation, including the horse workers' actions.…”

Section: Tail and Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tail docking in horses: a review of the issues

Lefebvre¹,

Lips

Ödberg

et al. 2007

Animal

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Routinely performed painful procedures are of increasing interest and, in 2001 (Royal Order, May 17), Belgium prohibited docking in several vertebrates including horses. In 2004, opponents to this decision submitted a Bill (Doc51 0969/001) to Parliament, intending to obtain derogation for Belgian draught horses, which were traditionally docked. The Animal Welfare Council of Belgium, an official body advising the Minister of Public Health, was asked to evaluate this complex question, including biological, ethical and socio-economic aspects, on the basis of the available peer-reviewed studies. In this context, this study reviews legal aspects (overview of the European legislation), zootechnic aspects (uses of the Belgian draught horse) and biological aspects (pain potentially related to docking; horses’ welfare linked to insect harassment and hygiene, communication and reproduction) of tail docking in draught horses. We conclude that (1) there is no benefit for horses in tail docking, including Belgian draught horses, (2) potential advantages of docking are essentially in favour of humans and these advantages could be scrupulously re-evaluated, taking into account practices of other countries. Therefore, there is no need to dock any horse other than for veterinary reasons.

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A brief note on some possible factors involved in the reactions of horses to humans

Cited by 100 publications

References 13 publications

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

Human-Animal Relationship: A Comparative Study in Working and Breeding Horses

Tail docking in horses: a review of the issues

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