Equine welfare in clinical practice : how and why to incorporate equine behavior and welfare assessments into clinical practice /
Equine Welfare in Clinical Practice: How and Why Behavior and Welfare Assessments Belong in Your Practice reviews the current psychological, behavioral, and welfare knowledge equine veterinarians should have and discusses how such knowledge may be incorporated into clinical practices.
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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London ; San Diego, CA :
Academic Press,
[2025]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
Table of Contents:
- Intro
- Equine Welfare in Clinical Practice: How and Why to Incorporate Equine Behavior and Welfare Assessments into Clinical Practice
- Copyright
- Contents
- Contributors
- About the contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- References
- Chapter 1: Assessing equine welfare: Operationalizing the Five Domains Model for veterinary practitioners
- Introduction
- What is animal welfare and how can we assess it?
- The Five Domains Model for assessing animal welfare
- We cannot measure welfare states, but we can assess equine welfare using valid indicators
- Valid and practical welfare indicators are necessary for rigorous equine welfare assessments
- Understanding animal behavior is key to assessing welfare
- Key aspects of equine behavioral biology inform assessment of managed horse welfare
- An example of how understanding the behavioral biology of horses can help veterinarians during welfare assessments
- Equine veterinarians already include assessments of some aspects of welfare in everyday clinical practice, but they could a ...
- The role of veterinary welfare assessments during routine equine consultations
- Equine welfare indicators used during routine veterinary consultations: Case study of a routine vaccination visit
- Phase 1 welfare indicator data collection: Review veterinary record of previous visits
- Phase 2 welfare indicator data collection: History of presenting complaint from client's perspective
- Phase 3 welfare indicator data collection: Veterinary physical exam findings
- Post-assessment explaining and planning
- Summary
- References
- Chapter 2: Principles of learning for equine clinicians
- Introduction
- The laws of learning
- Focus on observable behavior
- Respondent and operant behavior
- Respondent behavior and non-associative learning
- Examples of respondent behavior.
- Habituation and sensitization
- Respondent behavior and associative learning
- Classical (respondent, Pavlovian) conditioning
- Operant behavior and associative learning
- Reinforcement
- Punishment
- Stimulus control of operant behavior
- Learning from others
- Behavior modification in horses
- Setting up conditions for learning
- Arranging antecedents
- Identifying effective reinforcers
- Capturing and keeping attention
- Reducing fear and anxiety
- Exposure techniques
- Conditioned inhibition and safety cues
- Establishing and maintaining desired behavior
- Reinforcement interventions
- Shaping new behavior
- Decreasing unwanted behaviors
- Punishment interventions
- Extinction of operant behavior
- Differential reinforcement
- Training for long-term success
- Chapter summary
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 3: Minimizing fear associated with veterinary procedures
- Introduction
- Sensory and neural factors
- Fear and memory
- Pain
- ``Fear Free´´
- Considerate Approach
- Touch Gradient
- Gentle Control
- Medical needs vs. medical wants
- Behavioral treatment plan
- Training for veterinary visits
- Cooperative care
- Pharmacology
- Pre-visit pharmaceuticals (PVPs)
- Supplements
- Pheromone
- Pre-appointment medications
- Tranquilizers or sedatives for medical needs during a veterinary visit
- Benzodiazepines
- Pain management
- Hospitalization or stall rest
- Summary
- References
- Chapter 4: Raising well-trained and sustainable foals
- Introduction
- Forage, Freedom, and Friends
- Handling and training
- The equine brain and how horses learn
- Well-managed exposure to novel stimuli and procedures is important
- The importance of predictability and controllability
- Foal handling around birth
- How foals learn
- What is imprint training?.
- Handling foals while they are still with the mare
- Safety in the workplace
- Checking out the work environment
- Handler clothing
- Equipment check
- Do your homework
- Don't forget about the mare
- Catching the foal
- Maintaining a hold on the foal
- An important note on undesirable foal behaviors
- Foal restraint methods to avoid altogether
- Ear twitching and ear holding
- Tail holding
- Putting a foal into a lying position
- Not quite ready for the halter yet-The use of foal controllers and butt ropes
- Fitting the halter for the first time
- Training the foal to lead
- How long and frequent should handling and training sessions be?
- Finalizing a foal handling session
- Weaning
- When does weaning occur naturally?
- Types of weaning: Natural vs artificial weaning
- Approaches to artificial weaning
- Abrupt or gradual separation?
- In company or in isolation?
- Where will the new weanling go?
- Weaning stress: Causes and effects
- Post-weaning handling
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 5: Equine training and behavior modification: The good, the bad and the ugly
- Introduction
- Training approaches
- A historical summary
- Some specifics on newer approaches
- Natural Horsemanship
- Clicker Training
- Learning principles
- Definition, explanation, and history of development of equitation science
- Learning theory
- Ethology
- Applications
- Applying learning theory to produce desired results
- Problem solving
- Arousal levels
- Law of Recency
- Inadvertent reinforcement of undesired behaviors
- Role of previous training in development of problem behaviors
- Relevant findings from research
- Applying learning theory to replace inappropriate training approaches with appropriate methods.
- Traditional but generally inappropriate approaches taken to prevent problem behaviors during veterinary procedures
- Recommended approaches to problem behaviors
- Habituation
- Systematic desensitization
- Counter-conditioning
- Approach conditioning
- Stimulus blending
- Overshadowing
- Response prevention (beware of flooding)
- Positive and negative reinforcement
- Shaping
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 6: Diet and behavior, including the effects of the gut microbiome
- Introduction
- Why horses eat
- Gastric fill
- Hormones
- Glucose
- Fatty acids
- Environmental temperature
- Taste
- Taste aversion learning
- Why horses drink
- Plasma volume/osmolarity
- Environmental temperature
- Diet and behavior
- The gut microbiome and behavior
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 7: How horses perceive their world-What can practitioners share with their clients to enhance safety and welfare?
- Introduction
- Sight/vision
- Field of vision
- Some mechanics of vision
- Clarity of vision
- Night vision
- Color vision
- Interocular transfer
- Genetic and coat color considerations
- In veterinary practice
- Hearing/audition
- Positive sound?
- Negative sound?
- In veterinary practice
- Smell/olfaction
- Olfaction in social communication
- Horse odor exploration behavior
- Pheromones or calming odors
- In veterinary practice
- Taste/gustation
- In veterinary practice
- Touch/tactile perception
- Tactile sensitivity
- Proprioception-Horse whiskers
- Unpleasant tactile stimulation and horse welfare
- Presumably pleasant tactile stimulation-Do horses like a good scratch?
- In veterinary practice
- Personality
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 8: Between the horses ears: Equine cognition, welfare implications, and why it matters for equine practitioners
- Introduction
- Cognition and Clever Hans.
- What do we know about equine cognition?
- Concepts and categories
- Social cognition
- Social cognition: Horse to horse
- Social cognition: Horse to human
- Memory
- Memory and positive reinforcement
- Memory, temperament, and environmental stress
- Cognition and environmental enrichment
- Curiosity
- Environment and cognitive bias
- Cognition, depression, and learned helplessness
- Theory of mind: Do horses understand human intentions?
- Reading referential gestures
- Performing referential gestures
- Unwilling vs. unable paradigm to test ToM
- The blanket studies
- Cognition and competition: What do horses understand about winning?
- Bringing the research to the stable
- Be the bearer of all things good
- Educate clients to train specific behaviors using sound learning principles
- Encourage clients to train equine self-control
- Applaud the benefits of environmental enrichment
- Dissuade anthropomorphic thinking
- Too stupid? Or too smart?
- References
- Chapter 9: Environmental enrichment
- Introduction
- Why is this an issue for veterinarians?
- Horse management and its consequences
- An overview
- Optimizing the equine environment
- Re-establishing an environment that fulfills the horse's needs
- Freedom versus housing
- Herd versus isolation
- Foraging versus meal/fasting cycle
- Housing systems for horses: Bringing it all together
- Friends, freedom, and foraging
- Enrichment that aims to compensate for environmental deprivation
- Surrogate companionship
- Sensory enrichment
- Cognitive enrichment
- Cognitive exploration: Playing and making choices
- Training the horse
- Cognitive enrichment?
- Novel human-horse `interactivities
- A note on training the human
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 10: Distinguishing physical vs psychological causes of behavior and performance problems
- Introduction.