Satisfied horse behaviour

Satisfied horse behaviour A dozing horse has eaten enough, according to recent research. What behavioural signs do horses show when they have eaten enough? A Japanese study has been observing the behaviour of stabled horses to identify indicators of eating satisfaction. Shigeru Ninomiya and colleagues trained six horses to press a button, which then dispensed a food reward.  It didn't do this every time, but was programmed to do so after being pressed either three or twelve times. The study ran for four days. Each horse spent an hour in an experimental stall, which contained the button and food dispenser. On two days, the horses received food after pressing the button three times. On the other days the horses had to press the button twelve times before food was dispensed. As well as recording the number of rewards each horse obtained during the experimental period, the researchers recorded and monitored horses behaviour and heart rate. Horses that were rewarded after only three presses received more food than those that had to press the button twelve times.

As it took more time and effort for the horses to receive food when they had to activate the button twelve times, it is likely that under those conditions they were still hungry. In contrast, the horses that had pressed the button only three times were more likely to feel satisfied.

The scientists compared the horse behaviour under the two conditions. They found that when horses had to press the button twelve times to receive the reward they tended to spend more time investigating the bedding.  In contrast, when they had to press only three times they spent more time dozing in standing sleep.  The scientists did notice that age affected the time spent dozing.  Older horses spent less time dozing than did younger ones.

The researchers conclude that standing-sleep is a behavioural indicator of eating satisfaction. They suggest that it may be a useful indicator that the welfare conditions of the horse are satisfactory. However, they advise that it is necessary to consider the horse's age when using standing-sleep behaviour as an indicator of satisfaction.

For more details see:
A note on a behavioural indicator of satisfaction in stabled horses.
S Ninomiya, S Sato, R Kusunose, T Mitumasu, Y Obara.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2007) 106, 184 - 189.

Reproduced with kind permission of Mark Andrews BVM&S CertEP MRCVS
© Copyright Mark Andrews  - Equine Science Update 2008

Photograph supplied by Voices for Horses

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