Understanding and treating equine behavioural problems

Carroll, Sharon L.; Sykes, B. W.; Mills, Paul C.

doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2023.105985

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 141 publications

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“…The narrative description of undesirable behaviours within E-BARQ was brief but it is possible, that in doing so, we left some behaviours open to interpretation. Many owners are poor at recognising subtle signs of pain, confusion, or fear [4,[35][36][37][38][39][40], so the numbers reported here probably represent a lower limit to the proportion of horses displaying agonistic behaviours. The current data probably reflect the observations of amateurs more than professionals, and thus reflect the proportion of both communities in the equestrian population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Reported Agonistic Behaviours in Domestic Horses Cluster According to Context

Fenner,

Wilson,

Ermers

et al. 2024

Animals

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Agonistic behaviours are often directed at other animals for self-defence or to increase distance from valued resources, such as food. Examples include aggression and counter-predator behaviours. Contemporary diets may boost the value of food as a resource and create unanticipated associations with the humans who deliver it. At the same time the domestic horse is asked to carry the weight of riders and perform manoeuvres that, ethologically, are out-of-context and may be associated with instances of pain, confusion, or fear. Agonistic responses can endanger personnel and conspecifics. They are traditionally grouped along with so-called vices as being undesirable and worthy of punishment; a response that can often make horses more dangerous. The current study used data from the validated online Equine Behavioural and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) to explore the agonistic behaviours (as reported by the owners) of 2734 horses. With a focus on ridden horses, the behaviours of interest in the current study ranged from biting and bite threats and kicking and kick threats to tail swishing as an accompaniment to signs of escalating irritation when horses are approached, prepared for ridden work, ridden, and hosed down (e.g., after work). Analysis of the responses according to the context in which they arise included a dendrographic analysis that identified five clusters of agonistic behaviours among certain groups of horses and a principal component analysis that revealed six components, strongly related to the five clusters. Taken together, these results highlight the prospect that the motivation to show these responses differs with context. The clusters with common characteristics were those observed in the context of: locomotion under saddle; saddling; reactions in a familiar environment, inter-specific threats, and intra-specific threats. These findings highlight the potential roles of fear and pain in such unwelcome responses and challenge the simplistic view that the problems lie with the nature of the horses themselves rather than historic or current management practices. Improved understanding of agonistic responses in horses will reduce the inclination of owners to label horses that show such context-specific responses as being generally aggressive.

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