Frustration in horses: Investigating expert opinion on behavioural indicators and causes using a delphi consultation

Pannewitz, Laura; Loftus, Loni

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105818

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Due to the experimental conditions of our study where a carrot was placed out of reach but in sight of the horses, we couldn’t exclude some frustration. The literature on equine frustration is limited so far 68 . Body displacements have been identified as behavioural cues of frustration in calves 69 and dogs 70 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information

Tomberg,

Petagna,

de Selliers de Moranville

2023

Sci Rep

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Facial micro-expressions are facial expressions expressed briefly (less than 500 ms) and involuntarily. Described only in humans, we investigated whether micro-expressions could also be expressed by non-human animal species. Using the Equine Facial action coding system (EquiFACS), an objective tool based on facial muscles actions, we demonstrated that a non-human species, Equus caballus, is expressing facial micro-expressions in a social context. The AU17, AD38 and AD1 were selectively modulated as micro-expression—but not as standard facial expression (all durations included)—in presence of a human experimenter. As standard facial expressions, they have been associated with pain or stress but our results didn’t support this association for micro-expressions which may convey other information. Like in humans, neural mechanisms underlying the exhibit of micro-expressions may differ from those of standard facial expressions. We found that some micro-expressions could be related to attention and involved in the multisensory processing of the ‘fixed attention’ observed in horses’ high attentional state. The micro-expressions could be used by horses as social information in an interspecies relationship. We hypothesize that facial micro-expressions could be a window on transient internal states of the animal and may provide subtle and discreet social signals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information

Tomberg,

Petagna,

de Selliers de Moranville

2023

Sci Rep

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“…We observed a shorter duration of P + trips (median [IQ1; IQ3]: 17 [17,19]) than N-trips (median [IQ1, IQ3]: 19 [18, 21]) (Wilcoxon test: V = 17; P = 0.002; N = 21).…”

Section: Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Frustration can be expressed by animals differently, such as stereotypical behaviors in rats 13,14 , increased walking in broilers 15 , or even sni ng and vocalizations in dogs 16 . In horses, the literature on frustration is very limited 17 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in behavior, facial expressions and locomotion between positive anticipation and frustration in horses

Boichot

Lansade

2023

Preprint

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Animal welfare is a result of accumulated negative and positive emotions. Therefore, it is important to limit the former and promote the latter. Doing so requires a precise identification of these emotions. The aim of this study was to characterize the behaviors, facial expressions and locomotor parameters of 21 horses in two conditions with opposite valence, presumed to induce positive anticipation and frustration. In the positive anticipation situation, the horse was led to a bucket of food, knowing that they would be allowed to eat it. In the frustration situation, experimenters indicated to the horse that food was available without allowing them to eat it. In the positive anticipation situation, horses exhibited a lower neck position with the ears forward and upper lip advanced and went faster by increasing their stride frequency accompanied by increased global locomotor activity. In the frustration situation, horses exhibited a higher neck position with the ears backward or to the side, accompanied by ear movements and eye blinks, and interacted more with the experimenters. This study describes new indicators of positive anticipations and frustration in horses.

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“…A fourfold increase in aggression was also reported between pairs of trained rats following unreinforced runs in parallel straight alleys compared to food reinforced runs (Gallup, 1965). Although horses have been overlooked in this research context, experienced wranglers report that they become accustomed to feeding and exercise routines and when these are delayed or disrupted they express frustration by a particular rotational head-toss, as well as by pawing the ground, biting other horses and people, and kicking, including kicking their stalls (Pannewitz & Loftus, 2023; Torcivia & McDonnell, 2021).…”

Section: Behavioral Aspects Of Anger and Fnrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are reactions to frustrative nonreward in other animals a model for human anger? Neurobehavioral implications and therapeutic applications.

Potegal

2023

Behavioral Neuroscience

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Anger is a powerful and mostly deleterious emotion that can impair an individual’s health and social relationships and that imposes considerable costs on society at large. It is a constituent of multiple psychopathologies, most notably intermittent explosive disorder. Excessive anger can drive injurious and even lethal reactive aggression. To understand its biobehavioral origins and develop appropriate therapeutic interventions, an animal model of human anger would be quite useful. The phenomena of aggression provoked by frustrative nonreward (FNR) in other animals, including species of fish, birds, and mammals, resemble those in people in whom it elicits subjectively experienced anger. The brief history presented here traces the original, overgeneralized frustration–aggression hypothesis for humans through to the discovery of operant schedule-induced attack in birds, rodents, and ourselves to the current status of FNR as a cross-species, transdiagnostic construct within the National Institute of Health Research Domain Criteria. Brain circuitry that is activated by frustration, generates felt anger and motivates reactive aggression includes discomfort reactions likely instantiated in the insula and cingulate gyrus of the salience network and reward expectancy/prediction error mediated by the ventral striatum and other structures. Caveats in establishing a paradigm for other animals that most closely matches FNR-induced anger in people include avoiding confounds with other aggression-provoking stimuli and situations, providing evidence for aggressive motivation, as well as behavior, and demonstrating activation of homologous brain structures. With appropriate regard for these caveats, developing such paradigms appears to be the best route to advancing psychopharmacological and deep brain stimulation treatments for excessive anger.

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Frustration in horses: Investigating expert opinion on behavioural indicators and causes using a delphi consultation

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information

Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information

Differences in behavior, facial expressions and locomotion between positive anticipation and frustration in horses

Are reactions to frustrative nonreward in other animals a model for human anger? Neurobehavioral implications and therapeutic applications.

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