1. Gedanken zur „Schreckhaftigkeit“ des Reitpferdes.
- Author
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May, Anna and Gesell-May, Stefan
- Subjects
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AUDITORY evoked response , *HORSE training , *HORSE sports , *EVOKED response audiometry , *OPTICAL information processing , *CEREBRAL hemispheres , *CEREBRAL dominance - Abstract
Horses that do not only spook from novel objects but are completely unpredictable in their behavior are often referred to as “problem horses”. There are different definitions for “flight reaction”, “spooking”, and “insecurity”. A flight reaction is a physiologic response when a horse is subjected to a sudden visual or auditory stressor and tries to get away from it. “Spooking” on the other hand is a reaction to discomfort and stress without a visible or audible stressor. Insecurities are due to medical issues such as visual impairment or ataxia which decrease the horses’ ability to assess the situation. Owners often associate “spooking” behavior with visual limitations, but in most cases the eyes are not the underlying problem. To rule out ophthalmologic conditions, horses should be subjected to ocular examination, but it is often difficult to draw conclusions from findings in the eye to noticeable visual disturbances. Refractive error has an unknown effect on horses. Partial or complete hearing loss can also be a cause for spooking which can be ruled out by brainstem auditory evoked responses. Impaired hearing is a rare condition in horses and is mostly accompanying medical conditions such as temporohyoid osteoarthropathy. Horses exhibiting “spooking” habits rather suffer from stress-associated conflict behavior or laterality influencing the control over their body and their ability to cope with novel situations. Studies have shown that the visual laterality makes a difference in how visual information is processed by the horse, and which brain hemisphere is used to react to situations. Whereas the right hemisphere is used for flight and sudden reactions, the left hemisphere is predominantly used for processing information and learning. New insights have been gained regarding motor laterality, also referred to as “crookedness” in the ridden horse. Unbalanced and very crooked horses have been shown to be less able to cope with novel objects than balanced horses. A very important factor in modern horse training has been the fact that horses often refrain into learned helplessness, a state where they accept a stimulus without showing adverse reactions, as experience has shown that they can not control it. Examples are pain through the use of whips, spurs, or draw reins which are used to short-cut or accelerate the training of the horses. Therefore, to uncover the reason for the uncontrollable and dangerous actions, veterinarians should include more differential diagnoses in their problem work-up. Horses should be evaluated at rest and while being ridden using the horse grimace scale (HGS) and the ridden horse pain ethogram (RHpE) to see whether they show signs associated with discomfort, stress, and pain. The awareness for signs of laterality and learned helplessness also need to be included in the examination. Veterinarians should look for lameness, signs of discomfort, and their underlying cause such as medical conditions, rider, tack, or training methods. If no explanation for the “spooking” behavior can be determined, other reasons such as the environment (e.g., stabling conditions, feeding, turnout time and space) should be considered. By including more than just medical issues into the list of differentials and making the rider aware of other underlying causes for horses’ flight reactions, welfare in equestrian sports can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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