Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230, Domžale, Slovenia.
Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 23;12(1):12618. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-16627-z.
We tested 35 Lipizzan horses older than 5 years, ridden and healthy in three behavioural tests (handling, fear-reaction, and target training test). Physiological (heart rate and heart rate variability) and anatomical measurements (120 head and body distances and angles) were collected to validate parameters that reliably inform on handling/cooperation, fear/exploration and trainability in horses. Utilizing a standard clustering methodology on the behavioural data, we identified four general types of responses and categorised an individual as intermediate, low fearful, horses with low cooperation or low trainability. We additionally analysed the head morphology following Tellington-Jones and Taylor recommendations and correlated the measurements with data from a horse personality questionnaire. Although allocation to a particular personality group was not associated with these two methods, these groups differed in six anatomical characteristics of head and body. Regardless of the group, our results indicated that shorter horses (<75.9 cm) with a wider muzzle (>10.5 cm) are trustworthy, less fearful and easier to handle and train. We also demonstrated that horses with stronger legs and a wider base of the head have a lower heart rate when exposed to the second trial of the handling test.
我们测试了 35 匹年龄大于 5 岁、经过训练且健康的利比扎马，在三个行为测试（处理、恐惧反应和目标训练测试）中进行了测试。收集了生理（心率和心率变异性）和解剖学测量（120 个头和身体距离和角度），以验证能够可靠地反映马匹处理/合作、恐惧/探索和可训练性的参数。我们利用行为数据的标准聚类方法，确定了四种一般的反应类型，并将个体分类为中等、低恐惧、合作性低或可训练性低的马。我们还按照 Tellington-Jones 和 Taylor 的建议分析了头部形态，并将测量结果与马个性问卷的数据相关联。虽然将马匹分配到特定的个性群体与这两种方法无关，但这些群体在头部和身体的六个解剖特征上存在差异。无论属于哪个群体，我们的结果表明，较短的马（<75.9cm）、口鼻较宽（>10.5cm）的马更值得信赖、恐惧程度更低、更易于处理和训练。我们还表明，在处理测试的第二轮中，腿部力量更强、头部基础更宽的马的心率较低。
