The correlation between some physiological and anatomical parameters and personality in Lipizzan horses

Debeljak, Nataša (author), Zupan, Manja (mentor), Altimiras, Jordi (comentor)

Personality assessment of horses can be used to select suitable training and weaning methods, choose or breed horses for police work or therapeutic riding, investigate underlying reasons for the development of behavioural problems or assess how an unknown horse might react to new or aversive situations or stimuli. In our study with Lipizzan horses, we were interested in verifying the reliability of personality assessment methods by comparing questionnaires, personality descriptions following Tellington-Jones and Taylor anatomical recommendations, heart rate measurements and behavioural tests, namely two fear tests and a handling test. Thirty-five Lipizzan horses older than five years, ridden and healthy, were tested. In the global scale, we were the first to conduct a study by utilizing a battery of methods to investigate the personality of Lipizanner horses and found a clear connection between behaviour, heart rate and anatomical characteristics (head and body) of horses. After a statistical analysis, our main results showed four different modes of responses to fear and learning situations in horses. None of the four modes correlated with the results of the head and body anatomy described by Tellington-Jones and Taylor nor the questionnaire. However, we found that some individual anatomical measurements of the horse’s body (measured with the sartorial meter or program) could be indicative of the behavioural and heart rate responses in behavioural tests. Consequently, we suggest that anatomical characteristics in Lipizzan horses provide us with a reliable and an objective, or at least less subjective measure to define personality traits such as exploration/fearfulness and intelligence (related to trainability).

• Language: English
• Keywords: horses, personality, physiological parameters, anatomical parameters, correlation, methods
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Year: 2018
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-101776
• COBISS.SI-ID: 4106632
• Publication date in RUL: 05.07.2018

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Povezava nekaterih fizioloških in anatomskih lastnosti z osebnostjo lipicanskega konja

Abstract

Ocenjevanje osebnosti konj je pomembno področje raziskav, ki lahko omogoči, da lažje izberemo primerno metodo treninga ali odstavitve, izberemo primernega konja za delo v policiji ali v terapevtskih programih. Ocena osebnosti nam je lahko v pomoč pri iskanju vzrokov za razvoj neželenih oblik obnašanja ali v predvidevanju, kako bo konj reagiral na nove ali negativne situacije oz. dražljaje. V naši pilotni študiji opravljeni na lipicancih, smo preverili zanesljivost metod ocenjevanja osebnosti; primerjali smo vprašalnike, opise osebnosti, ki so temeljili na podlagi anatomskih priporočil Tellington-Jones in Taylor, meritve srčnega utripa in odzive obnašanja v dveh testih plašnosti in testu rokovanja. Vprašalnike smo uporabili kot najbolj razširjeno metodo. Lastnosti osebnosti živali so bile ocenjene s subjektivnimi ocenami, ki so temeljile na opisnih pridevnikih osebnosti. Testiranih je bilo 35 slovenskih konj pasme lipicanec, starih vsaj pet let, ujahanih in zdravih. Naša študija je prva v svetovnem merilu, ki dokazuje uporabnost večjega števila metod za proučevanje osebnosti pri lipicanskih konjih. Ugotovili smo jasno povezavo med obnašanjem konj, njihovo srčno frekvenco in anatomskimi značilnostmi (glavo in telesom). Po uporabi standardne metode razvrščanja konj glede na podatke obnašanja in s statističnim vrednotenjem pomembnosti razlik med odkritimi podskupinami smo pokazali štiri različne odzive na radovednost/plašnost in učljivost. Noben od različnih odzivov ni bil odvisen od anatomije glave ali telesa, opisane po metodi Tellington-Jones in Taylor, niti od rezultatov vprašalnikov. Nasprotno pa nam anatomske značilnosti lipicancev, pridobljene s pomočjo metode merjenja s krojaškim metrom ali programom, dajejo zanesljiv in manj subjektiven ali celo objektiven način za določanje značilnosti osebnosti, kot sta radovednost/plašnost in inteligenca (povezana z učljivostjo).

• Keywords: konji, osebnost, fiziološke lastnosti, anatomske lastnosti, povezava, ocenjevanje, metode