The Challenges of Using Horses for Practical Teaching Purposes in Veterinary Programmes
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Equine Handling Classes
3. Is a Naive Handler at a Higher Risk of Injury?
4. The Welfare of Animals Used in Teaching
5. Does an Inability of a Naive Handler to Read Behaviour Have Implications for Equine Welfare?
6. The Balance between Workload and Experience
7. Optimising Welfare in a Teaching Environment
7.1. Preventing Horse Isolation
7.2. Inherent Characteristics of Horses and Humans
7.3. Actions Points and Empirical Validation of the Model
- Predictability: Ensuring student awareness of equine ethology and the horse’s ecological niche prior to the start of practical session, as this information should directly translate to a greater predictability of human-horse interactions. A basic ethogram of equine arousal levels is needed to ensure a simple, practical and easy to use method to teach students predictable, responsive interactions with horses and subsequently reduce the risk of injury to themselves while improving horse welfare.
- Horse specific characteristics and adverseness of stimuli: Exposure of students to learning theory early in the curriculum prior to horse handling. This should provide awareness that each human-horse interaction has a modifying effect (good or bad). Punishment and unclear or inconsistent signals may heighten the horse’s arousal and negative affective state and lead to confusion, conflict or fear behaviors which may become a safety issue for the handlers [49]. Teaching would instead emphasize the ability to use positive reinforcement techniques (addition of an attractive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a desired response) as a means to shape and increase desired behaviours and reduce the chance of negative (fear related) associations forming.
- Consider the inherent characteristics of individual horses, such as age, temperament and previous learning history.
- Prevent additional anxiety caused by social isolation by allowing conspecifics within view of the subject horse.
8. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Gronqvist, G.; Rogers, C.; Gee, E.; Bolwell, C.; Gordon, S. The Challenges of Using Horses for Practical Teaching Purposes in Veterinary Programmes. Animals 2016, 6, 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6110069
Gronqvist G, Rogers C, Gee E, Bolwell C, Gordon S. The Challenges of Using Horses for Practical Teaching Purposes in Veterinary Programmes. Animals. 2016; 6(11):69. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6110069
Chicago/Turabian StyleGronqvist, Gabriella, Chris Rogers, Erica Gee, Charlotte Bolwell, and Stuart Gordon. 2016. "The Challenges of Using Horses for Practical Teaching Purposes in Veterinary Programmes" Animals 6, no. 11: 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6110069
APA StyleGronqvist, G., Rogers, C., Gee, E., Bolwell, C., & Gordon, S. (2016). The Challenges of Using Horses for Practical Teaching Purposes in Veterinary Programmes. Animals, 6(11), 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6110069