Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Horses to Wither Scratching and Patting the Neck When Under Saddle

Abstract

Riding is considered to be an arousing activity for horses. It has been suggested that wither scratching may be a more useful tool for relaxation compared with the common practice of neck patting. In the current study, 18 horses were exposed to 3 treatments, including control or no interaction, neck patting, and wither scratching, for 1 min each following a short obstacle course. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and a variety of behaviors were measured in the horses. Wither scratching produced a significantly longer duration of relaxed-type behaviors. Wither scratching could be a useful tool to help a horse relax while under saddle. Additionally, the study identified 2 ear positions that may be useful for future research in horse behavior.

FAILURE TO FIND REINFORCEMENT EFFECT OF NECK PATTING IN HORSES (<i>EQUUS CABALLUS</i>)

“…Then, does neck patting have no significance to horses? Thorbergson, Nielsen, Beaulieu, and Doyle (2016) explored whether neck patting and wither scratching have any effects on changing heart rate and other various horse behaviors related with relaxation. They reported that wither scratching may produce behavior related to relaxation for significantly longer than neck patting and the control procedure.…”

The effect of tongue-tie application on stress responses in resting horses

“…Behavioural responses to a discrete challenge can offer an immediate, easily identifiable and non-invasive means of assessing an animal’s affective state (17). Changes in the behaviours involving the head, ears and mouth have been reported to reflect horses in relaxed or agitated states (30).…”

“…Gaping or opening of the mouth has been categorised as an agitated behaviour, where increases in this behaviour may reflect a negative affective state in horses (17). Gaping has been suggested be a reflection of horses showing escape or avoidance type behaviours in response to the presence of a bit (40, 43).…”

“…Recording commenced at the start of Phase 1 and ceased after completion of Phase 3. The behaviours recorded from the video record included oral (gaping, lip-licking) and head-related behaviours (head-tossing, ear positioning), that have previously categorised as either positive/relaxed or negative/agitated (Table 1) (17). Behaviours were measured as a duration (% of time), apart from lip-licking which was measured as a frequency (n).…”

“…Changes in behaviour can provide a useful and immediate means of assessing the response of an animal to its environment, and shifts in demeanour, posture, gait and interactive behaviour may be associated with presence of pain or stress (16). Head behaviours (such as head-shaking/-tossing and ear positioning) as well as oral behaviours (gaping and lip-licking), have been used to estimate an animal’s affective state (17). To date, the physiological assessment of stress in horses has been based primarily on changes in endocrine function (18), as well as parameters that reflect changes in autonomic functioning including heart rate and eye temperature (ET) (18–20).…”