Sense of the horse: the happiest equidae love sniffing

Scientists did not pay too much attention to the meaning of sniffing horses before today # 39; hui.

The expulsion of air through the equine nose is normally related to "

But in France, researchers say that these breakouts are a key indicator of what is happening in the world. equine mind.

They found that horses living in relaxed environments produced much more snoring.

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Long face?

Understanding when a horse feels happy, scientifically, is quite difficult. Cats are easy in comparison; their purring is a clear sign of contentment.

Horses emit conflicting signals – their heart rate increases in anticipation of food, but decreases during grooming, which humans generally believe that they like.

Be playful shows that they are happy. But researchers say this is not always the case, because the game can be an "adaptation mechanism" when horses are confronted with unexpected events, and it can also be a way to reduce social tensions in the group. Scientists wanted to test the anecdotal idea that sniffing in horses occurs more often in positive situations.

So, what's a snort?

Experts say horses produce three different non-vocal sounds, while passing air through their larger nostrils. Who knew?

Snores are very short hoarse sounds produced when a horse examines something new. Strokes are described as short and very intense exhalations and are associated with alertness or alarm.

The full-fledged snort is however a bit different – it's a pulsed sound produced by the vibrations of the nostrils when expelled from the camera. air.

How do you test sniffing in horses?

With a lot of patience!

In this study, researchers examined horses in riding schools and those kept in natural conditions. Horses in riding schools were kept in small stalls and were ridden for 4 to 12 hours a week under the supervision of a riding instructor. They were allowed to go out on the grass for different but limited durations.

In contrast, horses kept in natural conditions lived in small groups on pastures and were sometimes used for relaxing outdoor recreation.

Scientists watched the horses for five minutes and recorded the sniffing activities of all groups and also noted what they were doing and the position of their ears – ears pointing to the back are associated with Negative emotional states in horses are indicated as an indication of positive feelings.

What did they conclude?

Horses sniffed a lot more when they were in pasture than when they were in a stall. In horseback horses, there was a sniffing rate of about five per hour, about half of what horses produced in natural conditions. These were also correlated with positive behaviors such as ears pointing to the front. When the researchers examined other measures of well-being and stress, they concluded that "the more snoring was emitted, the more they were in a good welfare state."

School Animals equestrian also produced more sniffles. No animals were recorded sniffing when he was aggressive. Eight horses in the stalls produced no sniffing while they were being watched.

So, how is it going to improve the welfare of horses?

The authors believe that the study shows that snoring is much more than horses sniffing their noses!

"The snort is associated with more positive contexts (grazing, feeding) in horses," said lead author Dr. Mathilde Stomp of the University of Rennes in France.

"It is less common for horses to display impaired well-being: the sniff appears as a reliable indicator of positive emotions that could help identify the situations that are appreciated by horses. "

was published in the journal PLOS ONE.