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. 2020 May 26;10(6):921.
doi: 10.3390/ani10060921.

Horse Behavior, Physiology and Emotions during Habituation to a Treadmill

Malgorzata Masko  1 , Malgorzata Domino  2 , Dorota Lewczuk  3 , Tomasz Jasinski  2 , Zdzislaw Gajewski  2
Affiliations

Horse Behavior, Physiology and Emotions during Habituation to a Treadmill

Malgorzata Masko et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

A treadmill is an important tool in the equine analysis of gait, lameness, and hoof balance, as well as for the evaluation of horse rehabilitation or poor performance including dynamic endoscopy. Before all of these uses, horses have to be habituated to a treadmill locomotion. We used principal component analysis to evaluate the relationship between aspects of the horse's temperament and emotional response, and progress in the behavioral habituation to a treadmill. Fourteen horses were tested, by the same familiar handler, using the novel object test, the handling test, and both positive and negative emotional response tests. Then, four stages of gradual habituation of the first work on a treadmill were conducted. Each time, the horse's behavior was filmed. Data obtained from ethograms and heart rate measurements were tested. Four principal components were identified in examined horses: "Flightiness," "Freeziness," "Curiosity," and "Timidity." Flightiness was connected with nervousness, agitation by new objects, and easy excitability, and gradually decreased of features during habituation. Timidity was associated with a lack of courage and stress in new situations, and those features strongly increased when the treadmill was introduced. Freeziness and Curiosity features showed strong stability throughout the whole habituation. The results of this study provide evidence for a connection between temperament, emotional response, and habituation process in a horse.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The timeline with marked stages of the experiment subsequent experiment procedures. (A) the novel object test; (B) the emotional response tests; (C) the handling test; (D) the first-stage test; (E) the second-stage test; (F) the third-stage test; (G) the fourth-stage test and the test session. Visual drawing is not to scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Classification of behavior-related features. (A) percent variance of four factors account for approximately 67% of the variance based on the principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis (FA); (B) behavior-related features loadings across each of the four identified factors. Items with an absolute value more than 1.5 describe the given principal component; (C) the ultimate features included in the analysis of relationships between horse’s temperament, emotional response, and habituation; (a) behaviors analyzed during evaluation of horse’s temperament; (b) behaviors analyzed during evaluation of horse’s habituation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Behavioral differences between consecutive days of habituation in the “Flightiness” PCA. (A) Focused on the novel object (FNO); (B) Defecating (DF); (C) Stepping (ST); (D) Flared nostril; (E) Heart rate before work—relative values (HR I); (F) Heart rate before work—absolute values (HR I). The dashed lines marked a change of stage of the habituation tests. 1st, 2nd, 3rd marked the next repeat within the test. Different lowercase letters indicated significant differences between for p < 0.05. All values were scaled to 1–9 scale and reported as mean + SD.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Behavioral differences between consecutive days of habituation in the “Freeziness” PCA. (A) Reluctance behavior (RB); (B) Standing still obstacle (SSO); (C) Whinnying (WH). The dashed lines marked a change of stage of the habituation tests. 1st, 2nd, 3rd marked the next repeat within the test. Different lowercase letters indicated significant differences between for p < 0.05. All values were scaled to 1–9 scale and reported as mean + SD.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Behavioral differences between consecutive days of habituation in the “Curiosity” PCA. (A) Snorting (SN); (B) Tail up or coved (TUC). The dashed lines marked a change of stage of the habituation tests. 1st, 2nd, 3rd marked the next repeat within the test. Different lowercase letters indicated significant differences between for p < 0.05. All values were scaled to 1–9 scale and reported as mean + SD.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Behavioral differences between consecutive days of habituation in the “Timidity” PCA. (A) Shaking (SH); (B) Chewing (CH); (C) Heart rate during work—relative values (HR II); (D) Heart rate during work—absolute values (HR II); (E) Heart rate after work—relative values (HR III); (F) Heart rate after work—relative values (HR III). The dashed lines marked a change of stage of the habituation tests. 1st, 2nd, 3rd marked the next repeat within the test. Different lowercase letters indicated significant differences between for p < 0.05. All values were scaled to 1–9 scale and reported as mean + SD.
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