Mata Fernando, Boyton Georgina, Young Tamsin
Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial Nun'Alvares 34, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
School of Life Science, Wrexham Glyndŵr University Northope Campus, Holywell Road, Northop, Mold CH7 6AA, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Dec 20;14(24):3677. doi: 10.3390/ani14243677.
Anticipatory behaviour is increasingly being recognised as a measure of animal welfare. This behaviour is linked to reward sensitivity, which reflects the balance of positive and negative experiences. This study examined anticipatory behaviour in horses fed either ad libitum or rationed diets, aiming to identify differences in behaviour patterns during the periods of one hour immediately before and after feeding. Behavioural data were collected via video surveillance over five days, focusing on the pre- and post-feeding periods of stabled horses. The data were successfully fit to Poisson models. The results indicate that ration-fed horses exhibit more stereotypic and arousal behaviours, with anticipatory behaviour intensifying closer to feeding times. These findings suggest a potential link between feeding stress and anticipatory behaviour, especially in horses on rationed diets. This study underscores the importance of considering feeding practices in horse welfare management and highlights anticipatory behaviour as a valuable indicator for assessing animal well-being. Such assessments, rooted in circadian rhythms, offer a less resource-intensive means for ongoing welfare monitoring in animal care settings.
预期行为越来越被视为衡量动物福利的一项指标。这种行为与奖励敏感性相关，奖励敏感性反映了正负体验的平衡。本研究调查了自由采食或定量饲喂马匹的预期行为，旨在确定在喂食前一小时和喂食后一小时期间行为模式的差异。通过视频监控在五天内收集行为数据，重点关注圈养马匹的喂食前后阶段。数据成功拟合泊松模型。结果表明，定量饲喂的马匹表现出更多的刻板行为和兴奋行为，随着喂食时间临近，预期行为会加剧。这些发现表明喂食压力与预期行为之间存在潜在联系，尤其是在定量饲喂的马匹中。本研究强调了在马匹福利管理中考虑喂食方式的重要性，并突出了预期行为作为评估动物福祉的一个有价值指标。这种基于昼夜节律的评估为动物护理环境中的持续福利监测提供了一种资源消耗较少的方法。
