Application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment to horses during an endurance ride
Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns r...
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| Published in: | Applied animal behaviour science 2013-02, Vol.144 (1-2), p.80-88 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns regarding the capacity of horses to cope with the exercise demands placed on them, with high elimination rates for lameness and metabolic reasons. Veterinary inspections during these rides are important for assessing physiological measures, but the inclusion of behavioural assessments is also warranted. We investigated the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) as a method for assessing demeanour in horses engaged in a 160-km endurance ride. We used a Free Choice Profiling (FCP) methodology to analyse footage of 10 horses collected during veterinary inspection (1) pre-ride, (2) midway through and (3) at the end of the ride. FCP allows each individual observer to develop his/her own unique set of descriptive terms for scoring the behavioural expression of animals. Observers (n=22) reached consensus in their assessment of the behavioural expression of the 10 horses (P |
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| ISSN: | 0168-1591 1872-9045 |