Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The welfare of horses participating in equine assisted services, further mentioned to as EAI, has gained attention in both research and society. Several potential welfare risks have been pinpointed. Horses that experience negative welfare can display agonistic behaviour which also can risk safety for participants in EAI. The turnover-rate of EAI horses is high due to horse health and behavioural issues. This raises the question regarding selection and ensuring welfare of EAI horses. Both physiological and character traits play a large role in selection of EAI horses, but subjective assessment of character can easily be misjudged and biased. An objective measurement method, such as an aptitude test, could predict horses’ compatibility to EAI and possibly reduce welfare risks and safety risks regarding EAI.

The aim of this study was to find out what kind of environmental tests an aptitude test should include to be optimal to evaluate horse behaviour and reaction to different stimuli, to predict their compatibility to EAI. This study also aimed to try out an aptitude test on a sample of EAI horses to analyse their behavioural and physiological reactions to the different stimulus included in the aptitude test. The final aim was to compare the objective behavioural measurement of the aptitude test with a subjective behavioural assessment performed by the horses’ caretakers.

A pilot study was conducted to asses which environmental tests that were most appropriate for an aptitude test. Five chosen environmental tests together with two handling tests were then put together for an aptitude test. The aptitude test was executed on seven EAI-horses. The heart rate and behavioural reactions of the horses were measured while they carried out the aptitude test. A survey was also conducted for horse caretakers to answer for the subjective behavioural assessment

The results of this study show that it is important to include a variety of stimuli in aptitude tests in order to reflect the wide range of situations encountered in real-life settings and to obtain a broader understanding of horses’ reactivity. It is also important to include environmental tests where horses are able to display positive emotions in order to exclude learned helplessness and promote positive horse welfare.

Horses that underwent the aptitude test showed in general positive emotions, such as curiosity, sociability and relaxation. This implies that the horses did not react negatively to the stimuli, nor were they in a state of learned helplessness. The subjective behavioural assessment that was carried out by horse managers overall agreed with the result of the aptitude test.

The small sample size and some shortcomings in the execution of the aptitude test could have affected the result. Further studies with larger sample size and a refined method could benefit the trustworthiness of an aptitude test as an objective measure of horse behaviour and prediction of welfare of horses in EAI.