A5067259299- Veterinary Equine Medical Research
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Meat and Animal Product Quality
- Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
- Entomological Studies and Ecology
- Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Historical Linguistics and Language Studies
- Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies
- Veterinary Pharmacology and Anesthesia
- Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Veterinary Practice and Education Studies
- Agriculture and Rural Development Research
- Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Pharmacological Effects and Assays
- Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Linguistics and Discourse Analysis
- Helminth infection and control
- Discourse Analysis in Language Studies
- Horticultural and Viticultural Research
- Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
- Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Linguistic Variation and Morphology
- Reproductive Physiology in Livestock
- Linguistics and Language Studies
- Plant and fungal interactions
Agroscope
2015-2025
Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine
2024
Swiss National Science Foundation
2016-2018
Bern University of Applied Sciences
2017
University of Bern
2017
Federal Office for Agriculture
2013
University of Manchester
2008-2011
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2003
Institut für Tier-, Natur- und Umweltethik
2002
ETH Zurich
2002
Summary Reasons for performing study : Studies on the prevalence of behavioural disorders in horses and associated risk factors have revealed inconsistent results. There are many studies neuropharmacological, surgical ormechanical therapy stereotypies, but little is known about their causation. Objectives To explore with occurrence horses. Methods A sample horse owners, selected randomly representative Switzerland, was contacted a postal survey. Answers were provided 622 stables (response...
Abstract Studying vocal correlates of emotions is important to provide a better understanding the evolution emotion expression through cross-species comparisons. Emotions are composed two main dimensions: emotional arousal (calm versus excited) and valence (negative positive). These dimensions could be encoded in different parameters (segregation information) or same parameters, inducing trade-off between cues indicating valence. We investigated these hypotheses horses. placed horses five...
The use of specific head–neck positions (HNPs) in horse riding have been identified to directly affect wellbeing horses. In the rulebook International Equestrian federation (FEI), HNPs with nasal plane front vertical are mandatory, as well ensuring horses be "happy athletes". Deviations from this should reflected scoring dressage competitions. We investigated ridden elite warm-up areas and during competition, hypothesised a relationship between HNP, behavioural indicators scores. Forty-nine...
Abstract Paddock trails offer horses the possibility to follow their natural urge move and behave interactively in a group association. To create appropriate conditions all year round, installation of paddock grids is common solution avoid muddy prevent from injuries. The impact on soil those relatively unknown. In this study, we quantified kept key quality indicators (soil bulk density, microbial biomass organic carbon (SOC)) topsoil (0–0.3 m depth), evaluated possible protective effects an...
Finding valid indicators of emotional states is one the biggest challenges in animal welfare science. Here, we investigated horses whether variation expression eye wrinkles caused by contraction inner eyebrow raiser reflects valence. By confronting with positive and negative conditions, aimed to induce states, hypothesising that emotions would reduce whereas increase wrinkle expression. Sixteen were individually exposed a balanced order two (grooming, food anticipation) conditions (food...
The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) such as height and their underlying causative variants is still challenging often requires large sample sizes. In humans hundreds with small effects control the heritable portion variability. domestic animals, typically only a few comparatively explain major fraction heritability. We investigated at withers in Shetland ponies mapped QTL to ECA 6 by genome-wide association (GWAS) using cohort 48 animals Illumina equine SNP70 BeadChip....
Non-human animals often produce different types of vocalisations in negative and positive contexts (i.e. valence), similar to humans, which crying is associated with emotions laughter ones. However, some (e.g. contact calls, human speech) can be produced both contexts, changes valence are only accompanied by slight structural differences. Although such acoustically graded signals opposite have been highlighted species, it not known if conspecifics discriminate them, contagion emotional...
Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions groups would mimic bachelor bands that found wild. Unfortunately, high level aggression unfamiliar display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them groups. However, this is likely be particularly important only during group integration, dominance hierarchy...
In order to improve the housing conditions of stallions in individual boxes, we tested a so-called “social box” allowing increased physical contact between neighbouring horses. This study investigated whether social boxes changes number interactions during carriage driving. We hypothesised that stay would decrease unwanted when driven pairs. Eight Franches-Montagnes breeding were observed pairs with “neutral” stallion housed “conventional box”, strongly limiting contact. They on standardised...
Mushroom is a unique coat color phenotype in Shetland Ponies characterized by the dilution of chestnut to sepia tone and hypothesized be recessive trait. A genome wide association study (GWAS), utilizing Affymetrix 670K array (MNEc670k) single locus mixed linear model analysis (EMMAX), identified on ECA7 for further investigation (Pcorrected = 2.08 × 10-10). This contained 3 Mb run homozygosity 12 mushroom ponies tested. Analysis high throughput Illumina sequencing data from one pony...
Horses can sleep while standing; however, recumbency is required for rapid eye movement (REM) and therefore essential. Previous research indicated a minimal duration of 30 min per 24 h to perform REM sleep. For group-housed horses, suitable lying area represents potentially limited resource. In Switzerland, dimensions the space allowance littered are legally required. To assess effect different allowances on behavior, 38 horses in 8 groups were exposed 4 treatments 11 days each; T0: no...
In this article, I undertake a qualitative analysis of third-person direct-object anaphoric reference in corpus Brazilian TV evening news programmes. A comparison my results to previous studies (Bagno 2005, Duarte 1989, Schwenter and Silva 2003) reveals surprising findings that figures for pronouns (both clitics tonic pronouns), as well null objects, are extremely low. Instead, lexical NPs passive constructions used establish reference. While the use has been analysed before, purpose not...
Although stereotypic behaviours are a common problem in captive animals, why certain individuals more prone to develop them remains elusive. In horses, show considerable differences how they perceive and react external events, suggesting that this may partially account for the emergence of stereotypies species. study, we focussed on crib-biting, most stereotypy displayed by horses. We compared established crib-biters (“CB”=19) normal controls (“C”=18) differed response standard ‘personality’...
Abstract Background Horses must lie down to go into vital rapid‐eye movement (REM) sleep. If they are not lying for sufficiently long periods can become so sleep‐deprived that collapse uncontrollably, which results in a risk of injuries. Objectives To investigate how recumbency as prerequisite REM sleep on the experimental days and following nights was influenced by changes social spatial environment throughout day. Study design Cross‐over subjects experienced each condition twice. Methods...
Out of a representative sample 1861 Swiss horse yards, 622 keepers (35.2%) with 2536 horses, ponies and donkeys sent back questionnaire about general farm characteristics, their horse-specific training, stock, housing conditions, intraspecific social contacts, feeding, ability to move freely, use the horses management. 83.5% were kept individually (thereof 18.3% tethered, 32.3% in loose box indoors, 28.4% outdoors, 4.5% permanent access paddock or an individual pasture), 16.5% lived group...
Abstract Naked foal syndrome (NFS) is a genodermatosis in the Akhal-Teke horse breed. We provide first scientific description of this phenotype. Affected horses have almost no hair and show mild ichthyosis. So far, all known NFS affected died between few weeks 3 yr age. It not clear whether specific pathology caused premature deaths. inherited as monogenic autosomal recessive trait. mapped disease causing genetic variant to two segments on chromosomes 7 27 equine genome. Whole genome...