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Partial analytic validation of determination of cortisol in dog hair using a commercial EIA kit
Full text linkThe quantification of cortisol in hair samples is a relatively recent method that has been increasingly used for the evaluation of long-term cortisol secretion and chronic stress levels, in both humans and non-human animals. The use of hair presents many advantages in relation to the use of other biological matrices, e.g. a very low invasiveness of the sample collection. Besides, cortisol analysis in hair samples provides measurements over a long period of time, which can be used as a chronic stress indicator. Nevertheless, the physiology of cortisol in hair and the evaluation of reliable methods for its quantification in hair samples need to be further investigated. The aim of this study was to perform a partial analytical validation for the quantification of cortisol in domestic dog hair samples using a commercially available high sensitivity salivary cortisol enzyme immunoassay kit. Results on both precision and linearity tests were overall favorable, supporting that the kit can be used to reliably measure hair cortisol concentrations in dogs
Correction to: If horses had toes: demonstrating mirror self recognition at group level in Equus caballus (Animal Cognition, (2021), 24, 5, (1099-1108), 10.1007/s10071-021-01502-7)
No full textIn the original publication of the article, the table (Table 3) has been incorrectly published, this has been corrected in this paper (Table 3)
If horses had toes: demonstrating mirror self recognition at group level in Equus caballus
Full text linkMirror self-recognition (MSR), investigated in primates and recently in non-primate species, is considered a measure of self-awareness. Nowadays, the only reliable test for investigating MSR potential skills consists in the untrained response to a visual body mark detected using a reflective surface. Here, we report the first evidence of MSR at group level in horses, by facing the weaknesses of methodology present in a previous pilot study. Fourteen horses were used in a 4-phases mirror test (covered mirror, open mirror, invisible mark, visible colored mark). After engaging in a series of contingency behaviors (looking behind the mirror, peek-a-boo, head and tongue movements), our horses used the mirror surface to guide their movements towards their colored cheeks, thus showing that they can recognize themselves in a mirror. The analysis at the group level, which ‘marks’ a turning point in the analytical technique of MSR exploration in non-primate species, showed that horses spent a longer time in scratching their faces when marked with the visible mark compared to the non-visible mark. This finding indicates that horses did not see the non-visible mark and that they did not touch their own face guided by the tactile sensation, suggesting the presence of MSR in horses. Although a heated debate on the binary versus gradualist model in the MSR interpretation exists, recent empirical pieces of evidence, including ours, indicate that MSR is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon that appeared once in phylogeny and that a convergent evolution mechanism can be at the basis of its presence in phylogenetically distant taxa
A rein tension signal can be reduced by half in a single training session
No full textRein tension signals are, in essence, pressures applied on the horse's mouth or nose, via the bit/noseband, by a rider or trainer. These pressures may feel uncomfortable or even painful to the horse and therefore it is important to reduce rein tension magnitude to a minimum. The aim of this study was to investigate the magnitude of a rein tension signal for backing up, using negative reinforcement. We wanted to assess how much the magnitude of rein tension could be reduced over eight trials and if the learning process would differ depending on headstall (bridle/halter). Twenty Warmblood horses were trained to step back from a rein tension signal with the handler standing next to the horse, holding the hands above the horse's withers. As soon as the horses stepped back, rein tension was released. The horses were either trained with a bridle first (first treatment, eight trials) and then with a halter (second treatment, eight trials), or vice versa in a cross-over design. All horses wore a rein tension meter and behavior was recorded from video. The sum of left and right maximum rein tension from onset of the rein tension signal to onset of backing (signaling rein tension) was determined for each trial. Mixed linear and logistic regression models were used for the data analysis. In both treatments, signaling rein tension was significantly lower in trial 7–8 than the first trial (p < 0.02). Likewise, signaling rein tension was significantly lower (p < 0.01), and the horses responded significantly faster, (p < 0.001) in the second treatment compared to the first, regardless of headstall. The maximum rein tension was reduced from 35 N to 17 N for bridle (sum of left and right rein) and from 25 N to 15 N for halter in the first eight trials. Rein tension was then further reduced to 10 N for both bridle and halter over the eight additional trials in the second treatment, i.e. to approximately 5 N in each rein. There was no significant difference in learning performance depending on headstall, but the bitted bridle was associated with significantly more head/neck/mouth behaviors. These results suggest that it is possible to reduce maximum rein tension by half in just eight trials. The findings demonstrate how quickly the horse can be taught to respond to progressively lower magnitudes of rein tension through the correct application of negative reinforcement, suggesting possibilities for substantial improvement of equine welfare during training
Horses show individual level lateralisation when inspecting an unfamiliar and unexpected stimulus
No full textAnimals must attend to a diverse array of stimuli in their environments. The emotional valence and salience of a stimulus can affect how this information is processed in the brain. Many species preferentially attend to negatively valent stimuli using the sensory organs on the left side of their body and hence the right hemisphere of their brain. Here, we investigated the lateralisation of visual attention to the rapid appearance of a stimulus (an inflated balloon) designed to induce an avoidance reaction and a negatively valent emotional state in 77 Italian saddle horses. Horses' eyes are laterally positioned on the head, and each eye projects primarily to the contralateral hemisphere, allowing eye use to be a proxy for preferential processing in one hemisphere of the brain. We predicted that horses would inspect the novel and unexpected stimulus with their left eye and hence right hemisphere. We found that horses primarily inspected the balloon with one eye, and most horses had a preferred eye to do so, however, we did not find a population level tendency for this to be the left or the right eye. The strength of this preference tended to decrease over time, with the horses using their non-preferred eye to inspect the balloon increasingly as the trial progressed. Our results confirm a lateralised eye use tendency when viewing negatively emotionally valent stimuli in horses, in agreement with previous findings. However, there was not any alignment of lateralisation at the group level in our sample, suggesting that the expression of lateralisation in horses depends on the sample population and testing context
Editorial: Emotions and emotional interplay within and between species: A “one welfare” perspective
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Getting rid of blinkers: the case of mirror self-recognition in horses (Equus caballus)
No full textThe commentary by Gallup and Anderson (Anim Cogn tittps://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01538-9, 2021) on the original article by Baragli, Scopa, Maglieri, and Palagi (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01502-7, 2021) raised some concerns about the methodological approach used by the authors to demonstrate Mirror Self-Recognition (MSR) in horses. The commentary does not take into account horse physiology and psychology, leading Gallup and Anderson to inappropriately discredit the findings obtained by Baragli et al. Anim Cogn 2021. In this reply, we underlined the importance of a blinker-free approach to understand the evolutionary processes at the basis of animal cognition
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