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Equine Social Behaviour: Love, War and Tolerance.
Laura Torres Borda1, Ulrike Auer2, Florien Jenner1
1Equine Surgery Unit, University Equine Hospital, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI
|May 13, 2023
Summary
Equine ethograms predominantly focus on negative social interactions, neglecting the importance of affiliative behaviors for horse welfare. Refined ethograms are needed to better assess social tolerance and improve overall equine well-being.
Area of Science:
- Ethology
- Animal Welfare Science
- Equine Science
Background:
- Sociality is a fundamental ethological need in horses, persisting despite domestication.
- Incorporating social behavioral requirements and affiliative bond formation is crucial for equine management and welfare assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a systematic review and analysis of current equine intraspecific social ethograms.
- To identify the focus of existing ethograms regarding social behaviors in horses.
Main Methods:
- A literature review identified 27 studies on adult equine social behavior using defined ethograms.
- Data were collected from 851 horses across (semi-)feral and domesticated groups.
- Analysis focused on the types and proportions of social behaviors documented in the ethograms.
Main Results:
- The reviewed ethograms documented an average of 12.8 social behaviors per study, with 60% being agonistic and 30% affiliative.
- Methodologies in the 27 publications predominantly focused on agonistic behaviors (67.7%), with significantly less attention to affiliative (26%), investigative, and neutral interactions.
- This focus on negative interactions contrasts with the lower occurrence of agonistic behaviors in stable groups and the known importance of affiliative behaviors for welfare.
Conclusions:
- Current equine ethology research and assessment tools overemphasize agonistic behaviors.
- There is a need to refine equine ethograms to include a greater focus on affiliative, ambivalent, and indifferent interactions.
- Incorporating social tolerance is essential for advancing equine welfare assessment and management systems.
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