Caution urged over use of negative reinforcement
A Danish researcher is urging Equus caballus owners to role caution when using negative reinforcement to popular off horses used to unfamiliar objects.
Janne Winther Christensen, from the Department of Animal Science at Aarhus University inward Tjele, carried out her inquiry on habituation using 22 two- to three-year-old Danish warmblood geldings.
Christensen said that the mightiness of horses to popular off used to new objects influenced security inward the horse–human relationship. However, the effectiveness of dissimilar techniques to accomplish this aim had non been investigated inward detail, she noted.
Christensen prepare virtually investigating whether horses showed increased stress responses when negatively reinforced to approach new objects, compared alongside horses allowed to voluntarily explore the objects, as well as whether a negatively reinforced approach aided object habituation.
Half of the horses were negatively reinforced past times a familiar human handler to approach a collection of new objects inward a exam arena. The other one-half were individually released inward the arena as well as were gratuitous to explore the objects voluntarily.
The adjacent day, the horses were exposed to the objects in 1 lawsuit again without a human handler, to investigate the charge per unit of measurement of habituation.
Behavioural as well as heart-rate responses were recorded.
All horses inward the grouping that was allowed to voluntarily investigate the objects the 24-hour interval earlier initially avoided the unknown objects, whereas the handler was able to popular off all negatively reinforced horses to approach as well as stand upwards adjacent to the objects inside the get-go two-minute session.
The negatively reinforced horses had a significantly longer duration of alertness as well as a higher maximum optic charge per unit of measurement inward the get-go session.
On the adjacent day, however, the negatively reinforced horses spent significantly less fourth dimension investigating the objects as well as had a shorter latency to approach a feed container, placed adjacent to the objects, indicating increased habituation.
Christensen flora that a negatively reinforced approach to new objects increased stress responses during the initial exposure, only aided habituation inward immature horses.
“Although a negatively reinforced approach appears beneficial for habituation, the physical care for should endure carefully managed due to increased stress responses inward the horse, which may constitute a security risk,” she said.
“Further experiments should aim to investigate differences inward stimulus intensity.”
Her study, entitled “Object habituation inward horses: The lawsuit of voluntary versus negatively reinforced approach to frightening stimuli”, has been published inward the Equine Veterinary Journal.
The abstract tin endure flora online here.
Christensen, J. W. (2013), Object habituation inward horses: The lawsuit of voluntary versus negatively reinforced approach to frightening stimuli. Equine Veterinary Journal, 45: 298–301. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2012.00629.x
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