Behavior Genetics of the Horse (Equus caballus) - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 243

stable-reared horses at about 10 months of age and were 1 2 years old at

the time of the experiment. In the methods sections of the paper, Sankey
et al. (2011) state, “No additional contact with humans took place except for
daily tethering for feeding.”
We argue that the way tactile contact was perceived may have been influ-
enced by early forced contact for haltering, even if force was kept to a mini-
mum. Very few young horses (or none at all) freely accept being caught,
handled, and fitted with halters without prior habituation to this procedure.
In the Sankey, et al. (2011) experiment, the horses were tethered facing the
wall and trained to remain immobile for 5

60 seconds in response to a vocal
command “reste!” (French for “stay!”). Training was performed 5 minutes
per day for 6 days. The two groups received either tactile contact (scratching
the withers), or a food reward (a small piece of carrot) when they responded
to the command. After 6 days, the experimenters performed a “motionless
human approach” test to assess the human animal relationship. The results

showed that the food reward group approached a stationary human sooner,
and spent more time with the human. We do not argue the fact that food is a
strong positive reinforcement. However, food motivation may override any
reluctance to approach in the food reward group, compared to the group that
only received scratching on the withers.
Horses raised by the first author actively seek tactile contact by humans.
The second author, Temple Grandin, has noticed that they walk up to people
on the pasture and present their belly or rear end for scratching, even towards
unfamiliar people. What animals don't like a good belly rub? It is our
hypothesis that any forced contact at an early age may possibly influence a
horse's perception of humans as potentially threatening. In reactive/fearful
animals, this perception may last a lifetime and be resistant to change.
Without knowing the entire history a horse from the day it was born makes
it impossible to know how a horse views people and will respond to any
type of positive or negative reinforcement. Studying how horses view people,
Fureix et al. (2009) found that perception of humans by horses may be based
on experience. Handling and training can affect horses' memories of human
actions either positively or negatively ( Henry et al., 2006 ).

Mare Behavior and Human Behavior Influence Foal Behavior
Both mares and humans can influence foal behavior and their perception of
humans during this early period. Henry et al. (2005) provided empirical evi-
dence of this in a study of human mare relationships and the behavior of

their foals toward humans. Forty-one French Saddlebreds, Trotters, Arabian,
and Anglo-Arab mares and foals were used in this study. The study included
horses at two different sites. On site number 1, the mares and foals were
kept in 3-m

4-m box stalls. On site number 2, the mares and foals were

3

also kept in 3-m 3 4-m box stalls, but spent several hours each day on