EQUINE BEHAVIOUR BAG216

Develop your understanding of equine behaviour and your ability to apply that to the welfare and training of the horse

Behaviour is any externally observable activity of an animal. In general, it includes:
• Movement of parts of the body
• Stopping expected movement
• Secretions from the body
• Changes in body colour

  

Student Comment: "The course was more in depth than I thought it would be and it was information that I could apply with my own horses. The feedback was very helpful and it was information that could only have been gained from experience with horses. My tutor would always answer any questions that I have and always had something positive and helpful to say!" Paula Grima, Australia - Equine Behaviour course.

Australian Correspondence Schools, Home Studies Farming and Agriculture College

Learn about the Psychology of horses, to understand Equine Behaviour

Student Comment: "[The course] was more indepth than I thought it would be and it was information that I could apply with my own horses. The feedback was very helpful and it was information that could only have been gained from experience with horses. She [tutor] would always answer any questions that I have and always had something positive and helpful to say!" Paula Grima, Australia - Equine Behaviour course

 

Why Equine Behaviour?

It is assumed that all animal behaviour is an adaptation designed to support survival, either directly or indirectly. However, this is not always the case. Animals can behave self-destructively, out of habit, or out of boredom, just as humans can. To better understand the behaviour, we should also consider what motivates it.

Course Structure and Contents

This course is comprised of seven lessons, outlined below:

Lesson 1 - Introduction: Influences and Motivation
What is an equine?
Why study equine behaviouir?
Scope of equine behaviour
What motivates behaviour?
Categories of behaviour - reactive, active, cognitive
Species behavioural differences
Learned behaviour and learning ability
Other influences on behaviour
Behavioural differences between breeds
Related terminology

Lesson 2 - Genetics and Behaviour
Inborn, innate or inherited?
Understanding the basics of genetics
Effects of the environment
Heritability, epigenesis, interaction between species, survival
The importance of inborn behaviours

Lesson 3 - Perception and Behaviour
How do animals perceive things?
Imprinting
Types of stimuli
Stimulus filtering
Equine perception and behaviour
Sensory perception - horse verses human
Sight, taste, smell, touch, sound
The body language of horses
Fight or flight
Terminology

Lesson 4 - Communication and Social Behaviour
Animal societies
Social constraints and herd membership
Signals of communication - chemical, tactile, visual signals
Social organisation - home range
Maintenance behaviour
Play behaviour
Lack of equine company

Lesson 5 - Sexual and Reproductive Behaviour
Sexual strategies
Normal sexual behaviours - stallions, mares, mating, birthing
Foal imprinting
Normal maternal behaviour
Abnormal sexual behaviours - stallions, mares

Lesson 6 - Learning and Training
Conditioning and learning
Shaping, extinction, habituation, instrumental learning
Thorndyke's Law of Effect
Operant and respondent behaviour
More aspects of conditioning - pseudo-conditioning, interoceptive conditioning, temperol conditioning
Biological aspects of conditioning
Cognition and learning
Associative learning
Obedience, reinforcement, punishment
Reinforcement schedules
Flooding, systematic desensitisation, exhaustion, punishment, habituation, counter conditioning, join-up/follow-up

Lesson 7 - Behavioural Problems
Abnormal behaviour
Types of abnormal behaviour in horses
Diagnosing behavioural problems
Domestication
Stress
Stereotypes
Stable vices - crib biting, wind sucking, weaving etc
Prevention
Ridden vices - shying, tongue over bit, head tossing, rearing, bucking etc
Handling vices - leading, unwillingness to be caught, etc.
Transporting horses - problems during loading, horse trailer requirements

Duration: 100 hours


Aims

  • Identify factors affecting equine behaviour.
  • Describe the influence of genes on equine behaviour.
  • Explain how horses perceive and how they respond to various stimuli
  • Explain how horses communicate and the nature of their social organisation.
  • Explain the sexual and reproductive behaviour of the horse.
  • Describe the different ways that horses learn and how this can be applied to the training environment
  • Explain how and why behavioural problems occur and how they can be prevented

 

 

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