A new study shows that horses are more hesitant in new situations if they have multiple riders, have had several owners or the horse has been with its current owner only for a short period of time. It takes time to build a good relationship with a horse, according to the results of the international research group.
Humans and horses have been together for a long time. Horses are very good at understanding human demands and are very receptive to human emotions.
Horse welfare can be affected by the amount of time domestic horses spend with humans. The lead author of the study says that it is important to understand which factors can influence the horses' emotions during interactions with humans.
An international team of researchers studied interaction between horses and humans as well as how horses respond in new situations. Privately owned horses were recruited to perform two behavioral tests.
The horses' reactions to novel objects were analysed. The researchers looked at whether the horse reacted differently when faced with a familiar owner or a stranger.
The horses were led to walk on two surfaces that were new to them, a white tarp and a fluffy blanket. One of the surfaces was led to by their owner and the other by a researcher. The horses were given a stuffed toy by their owner or a researcher. A person tried to touch the horse's neck with a toy after the horse had one minute to interact with it.
The calmest horses when approaching novel surfaces were those with an exclusive relationship with their owner. Océane Liehrmann says that horses that are regularly ridden or trained by different people show more stress behaviors.
Horses that have been with their owner their whole life are more likely to agree to be touched with a toy than horses that have had many owners. The horses presented more stress and wouldn't touch the toy.
The ability to make a long-term bond with humans is limited by the fact that horses have to change ownership. We were interested in studying how the length of the relationship between the horse and the owner affects the horse's behavior.
When asked to interact with novel objects and surfaces, horses with shorter relationships with their owner presented more stress than horses with longer relationships. Horses that had at least 6 to 8 years of relationship with their owner were very calm when introduced to the surfaces.
When they were led by their owner, horses older than 17 refused to step on the tarp or blanket more often, but almost all agreed to do it.
Younger horses are less likely to suffer from poorer eyesight than geriatric horses. Older horses feel safer walking over an unknown material if they are led by a familiar person.
A positive horse-human relationship may take time to develop as it is shaped by the horse's previous interactions with humans, according to our findings. The results show that the relationship between animals and their caretakers should be considered in animal welfare and its research.
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