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BEHAVIOR
SUE MCDONNELL, PHD, CERT. AAB
TheHorse.com/Behavior
Q
I've read several articles that sug-
gest watching your horse in the
pasture for a span of time to learn
more about the herd's social structure
and horse behavior in general. I'm excited
to try this, but I'm not sure where to start.
What are some specific things I should
watch for, and can I use these observa-
tions help improve my relationship with
my horse?
Kristen
Via e-mail
A
What a great subject! I think if
you sit by the pasture and watch,
it won't be long before you will
come up with lots of ideas about horse
behavior.
A few things to watch for include
the rhythm and duration of alternat-
ing periods of grazing and resting and
which horses like to stand by which when
resting.
One thing I encourage my students to
do is to take Equid Ethogram, A Practical
Field Guide to Horse Behavior, open it to
the chapter on maintenance behavior,
and tick off all the behaviors they see
while observing a herd. Get a feel for the
frequency of those behaviors. For ex-
ample, how often do horses drink, groom,
urinate, defecate; when do they yawn;
and how often and for how long do they
rest? If the herd is a mixed sex, breed, or
age group, it can be fun to compare ani-
mals or to compare one group to another.
It is also fun to compare behaviors during
different seasons and in various weather
conditions.
These observations often inspire man-
agement modifications to try to improve
your horse's quality of life. For example,
if you figure out your horse's preferred
companions, you can make sure they are
stalled where they can see one another
when inside. Or, if you notice one horse
seems intimidated by another, you can
keep them further apart in the stable.
Another aspect of behavior that many
people enjoy observing in their horses
is social interactive behavior. Most of
us that house our horses in groups have
some idea of the social dynamics in any
particular assemblage. For example, we
might think we recognize the leader of
the group, a horse's preferred buddies,
or which ones don't appear to enjoy each
other's companionship. So it is enlighten-
ing to see if this is really the case and how
often our hypotheses are correct in regard
to routine management (e.g., feeding,
turning horses in and out, etc.).
The sidebar on the next page lists
examples of behaviors to look for by
classification.
Behavior Changes Before Death
Q
Have horses been known to show
any significant behavior changes—
for example, becoming very agitat-
ed, wandering aimlessly, or doing things
completely out of character—right before
death? And if so, why does this happen?
Shirley
Via e-mail
TheHorse.com THE HORSE September 2016
ISTOCK.COM
PHOTOS
Watching the Herd
Observe your herd's behav-
ior so you can make man-
agement changes based on
social dynamics.