A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses
In stabled horses, several behaviours are considered to be important indicators of the state of welfare at the individual level: stereotypies, aggressive behaviours towards humans and the “withdrawn”, alert, sternal, lateral and observation postures. Until now, these behaviours have been extensively...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Animal |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175173112400051X |
| _version_ | 1797247972813045760 |
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| author | A. Ruet J. Lemarchand C. Briant C. Arnould L. Lansade |
| author_facet | A. Ruet J. Lemarchand C. Briant C. Arnould L. Lansade |
| author_sort | A. Ruet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In stabled horses, several behaviours are considered to be important indicators of the state of welfare at the individual level: stereotypies, aggressive behaviours towards humans and the “withdrawn”, alert, sternal, lateral and observation postures. Until now, these behaviours have been extensively studied in relation to different horse management practices. However, little is known about their changes or consistency over time. This study aimed to investigate differences in the expression of these behaviours assessed on 44 stabled horses during an initial 3-month period and then again on the same individuals 2 years later. Out of the six behaviours studied, two showed significant differences between the 2 years with medium effect sizes: the levels of aggressiveness towards humans increased (Wilcoxon signed-rank test: V = 65, P = 0.005) and those of recumbent rest during the day decreased (V = 416, P < 0.001) over time. The results also suggested limited evidence of major changes over time in the expression of stereotypies, the “withdrawn”, alert and observation postures. However, the principal component analyses carried out on all the behaviours showed that alert and observation postures may slightly decrease over time for some individuals. Regarding stereotypies and the “withdrawn” posture, the results mainly suggested a change at the individual level in the expression of these behaviours over time. This study provided new insights into the dynamic nature of several behaviours when the horses' living conditions are not fundamentally altered and raised hypotheses about the state of welfare of stabled individuals over a 2-year period. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:07:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dc78f4e61b014989916367f9c173c50b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-7311 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:07:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal |
| spelling | doaj.art-dc78f4e61b014989916367f9c173c50b2024-03-24T06:56:51ZengElsevierAnimal1751-73112024-04-01184101120A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horsesA. Ruet0J. Lemarchand1C. Briant2C. Arnould3L. Lansade4Corresponding author.; INRAE, CNRS, University of Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, FranceINRAE, CNRS, University of Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, FranceINRAE, CNRS, University of Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, FranceINRAE, CNRS, University of Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, FranceINRAE, CNRS, University of Tours, PRC, 37380, Nouzilly, FranceIn stabled horses, several behaviours are considered to be important indicators of the state of welfare at the individual level: stereotypies, aggressive behaviours towards humans and the “withdrawn”, alert, sternal, lateral and observation postures. Until now, these behaviours have been extensively studied in relation to different horse management practices. However, little is known about their changes or consistency over time. This study aimed to investigate differences in the expression of these behaviours assessed on 44 stabled horses during an initial 3-month period and then again on the same individuals 2 years later. Out of the six behaviours studied, two showed significant differences between the 2 years with medium effect sizes: the levels of aggressiveness towards humans increased (Wilcoxon signed-rank test: V = 65, P = 0.005) and those of recumbent rest during the day decreased (V = 416, P < 0.001) over time. The results also suggested limited evidence of major changes over time in the expression of stereotypies, the “withdrawn”, alert and observation postures. However, the principal component analyses carried out on all the behaviours showed that alert and observation postures may slightly decrease over time for some individuals. Regarding stereotypies and the “withdrawn” posture, the results mainly suggested a change at the individual level in the expression of these behaviours over time. This study provided new insights into the dynamic nature of several behaviours when the horses' living conditions are not fundamentally altered and raised hypotheses about the state of welfare of stabled individuals over a 2-year period.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175173112400051XAggressivenessConsistencyEquidLongitudinalLying |
| spellingShingle | A. Ruet J. Lemarchand C. Briant C. Arnould L. Lansade A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses Animal Aggressiveness Consistency Equid Longitudinal Lying |
| title | A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| title_full | A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| title_fullStr | A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| title_full_unstemmed | A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| title_short | A field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| title_sort | field approach to observing changes in behavioural welfare indicators over 2 years in stabled horses |
| topic | Aggressiveness Consistency Equid Longitudinal Lying |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175173112400051X |
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