Effects of individual versus group stabling on social behaviour in domestic stallions

Christensen, Janne Winther; Ladewig, Jan; Søndergaard, E.; Malmkvist, Jens

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(01)00196-4

Cited by 110 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Groups of males do occur in natural conditions and grouping of stallions does not lead to increased injuries (e.g. Christensen et al, 2002a;Christensen et al, 2002b). Unfortunately in the domestic situation, stallions are generally kept in single boxes, which may impair their social skills (see further).…”

Section: Group Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bourjade et al, 2009a). Christensen et al (2002a) have showed that young stallions deprived of social contact during their development exhibited more agonistic behaviours towards other young stallions when regrouped at the age of two years than peers raised in a group all along. They may need to learn not only to produce appropriate social signals but also to produce them in an appropriate context.…”

Section: The Importance Of Social Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…kept in stable social groups in appropriately spacious fields with foraging opportunities and watering sites), even if there are less quantitative data in these populations. For instance, McDonnell and Haviland (1995) kept together in pasture groups of 3 to 20 mature pony stallions and reported remarkably few and generally minor injuries despite sometime "spectacular" inter-male interactions (see also Christensen et al, 2002a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballus

Fureix

Bourjade²,

Henry

et al. 2012

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms 1 Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballusAbstract. Horses are highly social animals that have evolved to live in social groups.However, in modern husbandry systems, single housing prevails where horses experience social isolation, a challenge-to-welfare factor. One major reason for this single housing is the owners' concerns that horses may injure each other during aggressive encounters. However, in natural conditions, serious injuries due to aggressive encounters are rare. What could therefore explain the claimed risks of group living for domestic horses? Basing our questioning on the current knowledge of the social life of horses in natural conditions, we review different practices that may lead to higher levels of aggression in horses and propose practical solutions.Observations of natural and feral horses mostly indicate a predominance of low frequencies and mild forms of aggression, based on subtle communication signals and ritualized displays and made possible by group stability (i.e. stable composition), dominance hierarchy and learning of appropriate social skills by young horses. Obviously, adults play a major role here in canalizing undesirable behaviours, and social experience during development, associated with a diversity of social partners, seems to be a prerequisite for the young horse to become socially skilled.Given the natural propensity of horses to have a regulation of aggression in groups, the tendency to display more aggression in groups of domestic horses under some management practices seems clearly related to the conditions offered. We therefore review the managing practices that could trigger aggressiveness in horses. Non social practices (space, resource availability) and social practices (group size, stability of membership, composition and opportunities for social experiences during development) in groups of domestic horses are discussed here.2 Finally, we propose simple practical solutions leading to more peaceful interactions in groups of domestic horses, based on the knowledge of horses' natural social life which therefore should be enhanced (e.g. ensuring roughage availability, favouring group stability,, introducing socially experienced adults in groups of young horses;…). The state of the art indicates that many questions still need to be answered. Given the importance of the associated welfare issues and the consequences on the use of horses, further research is required, which could benefit horses… and humans.

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Section: Group Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Importance Of Social Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring aggression regulation in managed groups of horses Equus caballus

Fureix

Bourjade²,

Henry

et al. 2012

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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show abstract

“…Dieser besteht aus einer arttypischen komplexen Verhaltenskette und beinhaltet zu Beginn eine visuelle, olfaktorische und taktile Überprüfung des Bodens. Danach legt sich das Pferd ab, wälzt sich einseitig, meist jedoch mit Über-schlag, steht wieder auf und schüttelt sich (McDonnell 2003, Zeitler-Feicht 2004a Pferdeheilkunde 32 (2016) 504 et al 2002, McDonnell 2003, Wasilewski 2003, Benhajali et al 2007 …”

Section: Grundvoraussetzung Für Wohlbefinden Ist Die Abwesenheit Von unclassified

“…Hierzu zählen die Indikatoren aus dem Bereich des Verhaltens und der Gesundheit (Boissy et al 2007, Knierim und Winkler 2009a, von Borell et al 2012). Boissy et al (2007) Christensen et al 2002, Wasilewski 2003, Meyer 2005, Benhajali et al 2007, Boissy et al 2007, Burla 2008, KTBL 2014 (Goslar 2011, Zeitler-Feicht 2016.…”

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