Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29 (2019) 11e17 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Veterinary Behavior journal homepage: www.journalvetbehavior.com Equine Research Behavioral, demographic, and management influences on equine responses to negative reinforcement Kate Fenner a,*, Rafael Freire b, Andrew McLean c, Paul McGreevy a a Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia b School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia c Equitation Science International, Tuerong, Victoria, Australia article info abstract Article history: Understanding the factors that influence horse learning is critical to ensure horse welfare and rider Received 2 June 2018 safety. In this study, data were obtained from horses (n ¼ 96) training to step backward through a Received in revised form corridor in response to bit pressure. After training, learning ability was determined by the latency to step 24 August 2018 backward through the corridor when handled on the left and right reins. In addition, horse owners were Accepted 30 August 2018 questioned about each horse’s management, training, behavior, and signalment (such as horse breed, Available online 5 September 2018 age, and sex). Factors from these 4 broad domains were examined using a multiple logistic regression (MLR) model, following an information theoretic approach, for associations between horses’ behavioral Keywords: ’ learning attributes and their ability to learn the task. The MLR also included estimates of the rider s ability and ’ ’ horse management experience as well as owner s perceptions of their horse s trainability and temperament. Results revealed training several variables including explanatory variables that correlated significantly with rate of learning. temperament Horses were faster at backing, a behavioral trait, when handled on the right side (t ¼ 3.65; degrees of negative reinforcement freedom ¼ 94; P < 0.001) than the left side. Thoroughbred horses were slower at completing the tests than other breeds of horses when handled on the left side [linear model (LM), F1,48 ¼ 4.5; P ¼ 0.04] and right side (LM, F1,45 ¼ 6.0; P ¼ 0.02). Those in regular work, a training factor, did not learn faster than their unworked counterparts on the right rein but completed the task faster on the left rein (F1,44 ¼ 5.47; P ¼ 0.02). This may reflect differences in laterality and habituation effects. In contrast, more anxious horses were faster at completing the test when handled from the right rein (Spearman r ¼0.22; P ¼ 0.04). It is possible that these horses have an increased arousal level when interacting with handlers, resulting in more engagement with the lesson, accounting for the improved performance results. The findings of this study will help clarify how horse behavior, training, and management may influence learning and how their application may optimize learning outcomes. Future equine behavior assessment and research questionnaires should include items that assess these qualities. Ó 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction time, training and management practices have changed enor- mously and, although equitation science has revealed how equine Equestrianism is growing as a sport around the world, and today learning differs with environments (Thomas, 2010), how individual horses are trained for activities, such as show-jumping, dressage, horses process information (Baragli et al., 2017), temperament and trail-riding, and to provide safe mounts for children to take to (Lansade & Simon, 2010; Valenchon et al., 2013b), stress (Olczak Pony Club or other structured equestrian events. In the developed et al., 2016; Valenchon et al., 2017), fearfulness (Christensen et al., world, horses have, during the past century, effectively transitioned 2012), personality (Lansade et al., 2017), perceived social rank from being primarily work animals to leisure animals. During this (Krueger et al., 2014), and breed (Janczarek et al., 2014; McGreevy & Thomson, 2006), little published research has investigated how management and training practices are reflected in the horse’s * Address for reprint requests and correspondence: Kate Fenner, Sydney School of ability to learn novel behaviors. Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Tel: þ61 458 298 338. In a fast-moving world, emphasis is often placed on how quickly E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Fenner). a horse learns (Christensen et al., 2012; Lansade & Simon, 2010; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2018.08.007 1558-7878/Ó 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 12 K. Fenner et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29 (2019) 11e17 Lansade et al., 2017; Valenchon et al., 2013a). This has also been might be more suitable for particular types of owners. Matching reflected in the popular “Road to the Horse” (Bland, 2007) and “The horses to owners, using a combination of breed, temperament, and Way of the Horse” (Events, 2016) so-called colt-starting competi- learning ability, should help reduce the high wastage rates seen in tions, where largely untouched horses are started under saddle and certain sectors of the industry (O’Brien et al., 2005; Thomson et al., ridden through an obstacle course in a very short period (usually 2014). between 5 and 8 hours) during a 2- or 3-day period (Fenner et al., Many common handling procedures are based on tradition or 2018; Henshall & McGreevy, 2014). More generally, speed and ef- practicality rather than necessarily being in the best interest of the ficiency of training are valued by many sectors of the equestrian animal. In the Western world, in some disciplines such as horse industry, with the average horse spending a mere 4-6 weeks for the racing, horses may be started under saddle before the age of 2 years initial foundation training when owners employ a professional to be ready for 2-year-old races. The horses’ mental, physical, and horse trainer (McLean & McLean, 2008). Although this may repre- emotional capacity for learning may also be wanting at such a sent ample training time for some horses, it is unlikely to meet the young age, and comparing how horses of different ages acquire new needs of the population as a whole. behaviors may help us discover the optimal age to start a horse It is probable that demographic and management variables under saddle. This may differ among breeds (Strand et al., 2007) affect horses’ behavior, cognition, and learning ability. Responding and riding disciplines (Gorecka-Bruzda et al., 2015). to rein tension is a core element of foundation training, and several Management practices applied to horses vary widely from studies have focused on comparing the horses’ responses to such country to country, and these differences are reflected in horse contact, using various techniques (Clayton et al., 2010; Egenvall welfare (Lesimple et al., 2016), handling behavior (Hockenhull & et al., 2016; Warren-Smith et al., 2007). The horse’s response to Creighton, 2014), and active locomotory patterns (Lesimple et al., rein signals is important for rider safety and, in turn, horse welfare. 2011). Competition horses are often housed in individual stables, Once riders have established a balanced riding position and are and the type of turnout such horses receive appears to influence not fully aware of the consequences of all intentional and inadvertent only their behavior during exercise and training but also the level of pressure cues, the more responsive the horse is to the slow, stop, stress they encounter and their willingness to perform (Werhahn and turn cues from the bit, the safer the rider. It would be advanta- et al., 2012). Discovering which management practices assist with geous to understand the demographic, training, and management equine learning would be very helpful. A few studies have inves- factors that optimize learning such fundamental lessons. Knowledge tigated how housing affects behavior (Freire et al., 2009; of how the individual horse has been trained is also important because Hockenhull & Creighton, 2014; Werhahn et al., 2012), but, to date, some training methods, such as those that include Rollkur or hyper- nothing has been published on how housing might influence flexion, seem to increase the risk of fear in some horses and thus learning directly. It seems evident that behavior must influence threaten their welfare (Nestadt et al., 2015; Von Borstel et al., 2009). learning, but there are currently few published data on how Horses’ behavior and temperament affect horse-rider coopera- behavior (Fenner et al., 2017a) and temperament (Valenchon et al., tion, with riders preferring to ride horses that are assessed as being 2013a,b)arereflected in the horse’s ability to learn. Discovering attentive to the rider’s aids (Visser et al., 2008). We know that how training and management influence behavior and learning certain potentially dangerous behaviors, such as the flight response, should lead to strategies that reduce wastage while optimizing are difficult to extinguish once established (McLean et al., 2017; rider safety and horse welfare. Starling et al., 2018), but we are less clear about how current training, riding, and management practices might promote the Materials and methods development of such behaviors in the future. Problem behavior may be a major cause of wastage (Odberg & Bouissou, 1999) where Participants horses are sold on or euthanized, in the equestrian industry. This study opens the door to investigating wastage reasons by surveying Participants were recruited through a Facebook post asking for owners about their current training and management practices and experienced horse riders and owners, with 2 or more horses of examining how they influence learning. various breeds (between 94.5 cm/9.3 hh and 174.8 cm/17.2 hh with Even today, horses are mostly handled and mounted from the a mean height of 14.3 Æ 1.2 hh and were aged from 2 to 25 years left side, a tradition that began with the cavalry and a result of the with a mean age of 9.8 Æ 6.1 years) in the greater Canberra region, positioning of the cavalryman’s sword (Kelekna, 2009).