Animal Husbandry: Horses Flashcards
What are 3 ethological requirements of semi-feral horses
- Live in social groups
- Travel up to 65-80km a day
- Forage for around 16hrs a day
What are the 3 Fs
The ethological requirements of horses
1. Friends
2. Forage
3. Freedom
What is post-inhibitory rebound
When an animal performs a behavior in excess after it has been restricted
What is learned helplessness
A depression like state (apathy)
What are abnormal repetitive behaviors characterized by
- Repetitive
- Relatively fixed in pattern
- Apparently functionless
Describe windsucking & cribbing
Grasps fixed object with incisors, arches its neck and rocks back on hind quarters, may make a grunting sound
Define a herd of horses
One or more bands (plus loners) that live in close proximity
Define a band of horses
A group of 5 horses (average)
What is a hareem of horses
1 stallion with 3-4 mares + offspring
What is weaving
When the horse rocks their head from side to side while standing in one spot
List 5 common abnormal repetitive behaviours
- Windsucking
- Repetitive licking
- Excessive wood chewing
- Weaving
- Box walking
Which colors can horses not distinguish
Green from red
How far can horses detect sound for
Over 4km away
Which structure in the nasal passage of horses is used to detect pheromones and gather information
The vomeronasal organ
What are the 4 tastes that horses have
Salt, sour, sweet and bitter
Which area of the horse is extremely sensitive
The muzzle
Describe valence vs arousal
Valence: if an animal is feeling happy or sad
Arousal: measures the level of alertness and the intensity of emotion
Horses have a __ long term memory, and a __ short term memory
Great long term
Poor short term
What are the two branches of learning theory
Non-associative and associative learning
What are two types of non-associative learning and what is the difference between the two
Habituation (learning not to react) and sensitization (learning to react)
What is classical conditioning
Making an association between two unrelated stimuli
What is operant conditioning
Where you get the behavior that you reinforce
Reinforcing a behavior makes it ___ and punishment makes it ___
More likely
Less likely
Define positive punishment
Adding something aversive to make a behavior less likely
What is the general area allowance for grass kept horses
1 hectare per horse
Why do donkey’s require shelter in poor weather
They don’t grow winter coats
What is the cheapest form of bedding for horses
Straw
What is the goal of a track system for horses
Create more movement mimicking horses natural lifestyle
What is the goal of an equicentral system for horses
Sustainable horse keeping and land management where the horse is part of the ecosystem
List 5 examples of UK plants poisonous to horses
Ragwort, oak tree, buttercup, privet, and sycamore
List 3 things you would do to set up a stall for a hospitalized case
Make sure there is dust free, comfortable bedding
Use an anti-weave bar the horse can look over
Provide a mirror, or feed ball and licks
List 2 disadvantages of a track system
Risk of injury to horses, takes time for the horses to adjust
List 2 disadvantages of an equicentral system
Risk of laminitis from binge eating, high human workload
What is the general size of a loos box for a horse
12ft x 14ft
List 3 areas you would look at to assess the BCS of a horse
- Neck
- Ribs
- Tailhead
Describe how the energy is used/released in the body for different energy sources for horses
- Fiber - slow release
- Starch - instant energy
- Oil - slow release
List order these feeds in order of starch content from high to low: barely, maize and oats
- Oats
- Barely
- Maize
Why is processing mix feeds important in horses
It improves the digestibility of cereals, particularly in the SI
What is the nutritional difference between wheat bran and sugar beet pulp
Wheat bran has a poor nutritional value and is low in calcium
Sugar beet pulp is high in fiber and is high in calcium
How much of their body weight will the average horse eat in a day
2% of their bodyweight
What is the gestation period of a horse
11 months
List the ratio of forage to supplementary feed for: light work horses, moderate work horses, heavy work horses, and very heavy work horses
Light: 80% forage
Medium: 60-70%
Heavy: 50-60%
Very heavy: Min. 50%
How many inches are in a hand
4 inches
A horse is any equine above __ hands
14.2 hh
How do you indicate a whorl on a horse passport
A small x
What colors of pens do you use on a horse passport for white markings, and then everything else
White: red pen
Everything else: black pen
What is prophet’s thumb mark
A muscular depression (usually in the neck)
What is wall-eye
When there is a lack of pigmentation in the iris
