Dominance and Leadership: Useful Concepts in Human–Horse Interactions?

Exploring the relationship between horse-owner attributes and their approach to horse training

The way horses are trained has implications for equine welfare and training success, yet little is known about the factors that influence horse-owners' choice of training approach (TA). Limited understanding in this area will hinder the development and dissemination of evidence-based training advice to owners. Consequently, this study aims to identify demographic and attitudinal factors that influence horse-owner TA selection. A 22-question online survey collected information from 1,593 horse-owners about their demographics, equestrian activities, goals and beliefs. Participants rated how likely they were to use six different horse TAs on a five-point scale. Multinomial regression analysis and Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to identify factors associated with their likelihood of using each TA. Several factors were associated with reported TA use, including age, gender identity, goals, activities, industry role and whether they had training in animal behavior. Beliefs about equine sentience, cognitive ability and whether science should inform horse training correlated with likelihood of applying aversives. This study provides insight for further research and development of educational strategies to reduce the use of training approaches that may compromise equine welfare.

Foraging efficiency, social status and body condition in group-living horses and ponies

Individual animals experience different costs and benefits associated with group living, which may impact on their foraging efficiency in ways not yet well specified. This study investigated associations between social dominance, body condition and interruptions to foraging behaviour in a cross-sectional study of 116 domestic horses and ponies, kept in 20 discrete herds. Social dominance was measured for each individual alongside observations of winter foraging behaviour. During bouts of foraging, the duration, frequency and category (vigilance, movement, social displacements given and received, scratching and startle responses) of interruptions were recorded, with total interruption time taken as a proxy measure of foraging efficiency. Total foraging time was not influenced by body condition or social dominance. Body condition was associated with social dominance, but more strongly associated with foraging efficiency. Specifically, lower body condition was associated with greater vigilance. This demonstrates that factors other than social dominance can result in stable differences in winter body condition.

Evaluation of companion animal behavior knowledge among first-year veterinary students before and after an introductory animal behavior course

OBJECTIVE

To survey first-year veterinary students' knowledge of companion animal (dog, cat, and horse) behavior and popular-culture (ie, pop-culture) behavior myths related to animal body language, motivations, and learning prior to participation in an introductory animal behavior course; evaluate potential associations between sources of prior behavior knowledge and knowledge on the preclass survey; and determine whether postclass scores on the same survey were predictive of final examination score for the behavior class.

SAMPLE

156 first-year veterinary students.

PROCEDURES

Students were invited to participate in an anonymous electronic survey before and after a semester-long, 2-credit introductory animal behavior course. Demographic features, self-assessed animal behavior knowledge, and sources of prior behavior knowledge were evaluated as predictors of preclass survey knowledge scores. Postclass survey knowledge scores were evaluated for association with final examination scores as a measure of validity.

RESULTS

Preclass knowledge scores were low (mean ± SD, 49 ± 12.7%; n = 152). Reporting peer-reviewed journal articles as a source of incoming knowledge predicted 9% higher scores, whereas reporting magazines or online pop-culture articles as a source of incoming knowledge predicted 7.6% lower scores for preclass behavior knowledge, compared with scores for students not citing those respective sources. Companion animal ownership was not associated with preclass survey knowledge scores. Postclass knowledge scores were substantially improved (mean ± SD, 84.3 ± 8%) and predictive of final examination scores.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Results indicated a profound deficit of behavior knowledge among veterinary students at the start of their curriculum. Students graduating from veterinary institutions without a comprehensive behavior course may be at a disadvantage for day 1 competency in addressing animal behavior problems.

Identifying Sources of Potential Bias When Using Online Survey Data to Explore Horse Training, Management, and Behaviour: A Systematic Literature Review

Owner-reported behavioural observations form an essential part of the veterinarians’ diagnosis and treatment plan. The way we train and manage horses affects their behaviour and, in turn, their health and welfare. Current horse training and management practices are largely driven by traditional techniques and longstanding methodologies. These approaches generally lack an evidence base for evaluation purposes. The absence of evidence and evaluation contributes to the persistent use of risky practices and this, in turn, increases risk of potential harms for both horse and rider, and fuels questioning of the equine industry’s current social license to operate. Objective evidence is required to make training and management decisions based on demonstrable best practice. Large-scale experimental or intervention studies using horses are generally not practical because of the associated costs and logistics of gaining ethical approval. Small studies generally lack statistical power and are subject to the effects of many forms of bias that demand caution in the interpretation of any observed effects. An alternative to collecting large amounts of empirical data is the use of owner-reported observations via online survey. Horse owners are ideally placed to report on the domestic equine triad of training, management, and behaviour. The current article highlights three sources of potential bias in a systematic review of literature on large-scale online studies of horse owners’ observational reports that met the following selection criteria: English-language, published, peer-reviewed articles reporting on studies with over 1000 respondents and open access to the survey instrument. The online surveys were evaluated for three common forms of bias: recall, confirmation, and sampling bias. This review reveals that online surveys are useful for gathering data on the triad of horse training, management, and behaviour. However, current use of online surveys to collect data on equitation science (including horse training, management, and behaviour) could be improved by using a standardised and validated tool. Such a tool would facilitate comparisons among equine and equitation science studies, thus advancing our understanding of the impacts of training and management on horse behaviour. The authors of the current review suggest the use of a standardised behavioural and management assessment tool for horses. Such a tool would help define what constitutes normal behaviour within geographically disparate populations of horses, leading to improvements in rider safety and horse welfare.

The Potential of Human-Horse Attachment in Creating Favorable Settings for Professional Care: A Study of Adolescents' Visit to a Farm

Simple Summary

Although previous research has shown that the features of an attachment bond are fulfilled in human–dog dyads, it is still unclear if people may have horses as attachment figures. This paper examines whether adolescents’ contact with horses can result in attachment bonds and whether these forms of attachment hold any potential for motivating adolescents in professional care. The paper is based on a time-limited session where six girls and three boys, aged 16–17, were observing and interacting with free-roaming horses at a farm. The results suggest that the presence of horses may activate the development of attachment in adolescents in the same way people do. The four criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—may be fulfilled in the interaction between a human and a horse. This promotes a therapeutically favorable environment for professional care that is appealing, unique, and accurate. The study provides insights into horses’ therapeutic potential in dealing with adolescents in need of professional therapy or care.

Abstract

Previous research has shown features of an attachment bond to be fulfilled in, for instance, human–dog dyads; however, there is a considerable lack of research on the potential attachment in human–horse relationships. Employing Bowlby’s criteria of an attachment bond and Pierce’s model of therapeutically powerful activity, this article studies whether short-term exposure to horses brings about elements of emerging attachment for adolescents and if this interaction holds potential in creating a favorable early-stage setting for professional care. It draws from group discussions carried out with nine 16–17-year-old adolescents who participated in an EASEL (Equine-Assisted Social and Emotional Learning) session when visiting a farm with a youth worker. A qualitative content analysis of the discussions revealed that some characteristics of the four principal criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—were identifiable in the adolescents’ expressed experiences of observing and interacting with horses. Moreover, the three main sources of therapeutic power—appeal, accuracy, and intactness—intersected with the emerging development of the adolescents’ attachment to horses. Additionally, space for self-reflection was enhanced by the presence of the horses. The study offers insights into the potential of human–horse attachment in dealing with adolescents with and without special needs for various therapy and care purposes.

The Contribution of Mutual Grooming to Affiliative Relationships in a Feral Misaki Horse Herd

Simple Summary

Social grooming strengthens affiliative relationships between participants in many social primates. Three hypotheses regarding the function of mutual grooming in feral horses were tested: the affiliative relationship strengthening hypothesis, the worsened relationship restoring hypothesis, and the parasite removal hypothesis. All the nine horses in the “6m” herd in a Misaki feral horse (Equus caballus) herd in Cape Toi, Japan, were investigated in terms of kinship, grooming, aggression, proximity, social rank, and social network. The correlations between mutual grooming and proximity and between aggression and proximity were established mathematically. Controlling for kinship, there were significant positive partial correlations between mutual grooming and proximity and between aggression and proximity. No correlation was observed between aggression and mutual grooming. Individuals that spent less time on self-grooming invested longer times receiving grooming from other individuals. In a feral horse population, mutual grooming maintains hygiene by controlling ectoparasites and forges affiliative interactions between herd members.

Abstract

Although herd size, structure, stability, and social rank among Misaki feral horses have been reported, no studies have been conducted on the affiliative relationships and interactions among members in a Misaki horse herd. The validity of three hypotheses regarding the function of social grooming, the affiliative relationship strengthening hypothesis, the worsened relationship restoring hypothesis, and the grooming parasite removal hypothesis, were tested in a Misaki feral horse (Equus caballus) herd in Cape Toi, Japan. All the nine horses in the “6m” herd were investigated in terms of kinship, grooming, aggression, proximity, social rank, and social network. Mutual grooming occurred only in pairs and was almost perfectly symmetrical. For each member, there was a significant negative correlation between total grooming received from other individuals and self-grooming. Controlling for kinship, there were significant positive partial correlations between mutual grooming and proximity and between aggression and proximity. No correlation was observed between aggression and mutual grooming. The results suggest that mutual grooming symmetry may contribute that both participants simultaneously benefit from parasite removal and strengthen affiliative relationships between seasonally changing herd members; however, mutual grooming did not foster restoring the worsened relationship following aggression promoted by physical proximity. The findings of this study may elucidate the mechanisms by which interactions between herd members are maintained or strengthened.

Goats' Performance in Unsolvable Tasks Is Predicted by Their Reactivity Toward Humans, but Not Social Rank

In order to clarify the ability of animals to communicate with humans, it is necessary to examine the behaviors of animals directed at humans, taking into account individual differences. This study investigated whether the behaviors of goats (Capra hircus) can be predicted when given an unsolvable task. Two experiments were performed in a paddock using 16 domesticated goats. In Experiment 1, behavioral tests were conducted to determine the goats' social rank and reactivity toward a stranger. In Experiment 2, the goats' behaviors in an unsolvable task and two control conditions in which either only a human or bucket was presented were examined. The behaviors of the goats were video-recorded and compared between the conditions. Then, we examined whether the behaviors of goats in the presence of both the human and unsolvable task can be predicted from the scores for social rank and reactivity toward humans. Compared with the control conditions, the goats increased physical contact with the human, but did not increase gazing. It is possible that differences in individual characteristics and long-term experiences with humans can lead to differences in human-directed behaviors of animals. Although the social rank order of the goats was clearly linear, there was no correlation between their behaviors in the unsolvable task and their social rank. The goats that tended to interact with the stranger in Experiment 1 were more likely to approach and establish contact with the human in the unsolvable task than goats that reacted more averse toward humans. There was no association between the level of reactivity toward the stranger and the goats' involvements in the unsolvable task. Therefore, it is possible that the goats which increased interactions with humans did not necessarily have low motivation to engage in unsolvable tasks, but relied on humans as a means of communication. In conclusion, the behavioral changes and its diversity as the responses toward short-term changes in the environment, such as the presence or absence of humans and unsolvable tasks, were related to differences in individual behavioral characteristics (i.e., reactivity toward humans).

It's all about the sex, or is it? Humans, horses and temperament

We propose that the anthropomorphic application of gender stereotypes to animals influences human-animal interactions and human expectations, often with negative consequences for female animals. An online survey was conducted to explore riders’ perceptions of horse temperament and suitability for ridden work, based on horse sex. The questionnaire asked respondents to allocate three hypothetical horses (a mare, gelding and stallion) to four riders compromising a woman, man, girl and boy. Riders were described as equally capable of riding each horse and each horse was described as suitable for all riders. Participants were also asked which horses (mares, geldings or stallions) were most suitable for the three equestrian disciplines of show-jumping, dressage and trail-riding. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate people’s perceptions about suitability of horse types for particular riders, to evaluate if age, strength or gender were important in rider choice and to investigate riders’ allocation of various descriptors to a gelding, stallion or mare. There were 1,233 survey respondents, 94% of whom were female and 75% of whom were riders with at least eight years of experience. Binomial logistic regression revealed the girl had 2.5 times the odds of being allocated the gelding compared to the boy (p < 0.001). Respondents were significantly more likely to allocate the stallion to the man and nearly 50% of respondents did not allocate a horse to the boy, even though they ranked rider gender as least important to their choice (p < 0.001). In a forced choice selection of a positive or negative descriptor from a series of nine paired terms to describe horse temperament, a greater proportion of respondents assigned geldings positive ratings on terms such as calm, trainable, reliable and predictable. In terms of suitability for the three equestrian disciplines of show-jumping, dressage and trail-riding, participants overwhelmingly chose geldings for trail-riding, with mares being least preferred for both dressage and show-jumping disciplines. The results suggest that female riders are entering the horse-human dyad with gendered ideas about horse temperament and view horse-riding as an activity primarily for women and girls. This could have far-reaching implications for equine training and welfare.