Effects of handling on fear reactions in young Icelandic horses.
Authors: Marsbøll A F, Christensen J W
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Effects of Handling on Fear Reactions in Young Icelandic Horses Marsbøll and Christensen (2015) examined whether standardised handling training influences fear responses in young horses, addressing a practical concern for breeders incorporating temperament assessment into selection protocols. Twenty-four three-year-old Icelandic horses—twelve receiving structured handling training and twelve serving as untrained controls—underwent three fear-related tests: exposure to a novel object, handling by an unfamiliar handler, and handling by their regular handler, with behavioural observations and heart rate monitoring recorded throughout. Whilst handled horses demonstrated significantly reduced reluctance behaviour during testing with their known handler, this improvement did not translate to measurable differences in novel object responses or handling by an unfamiliar handler; notably, heart rate responses remained consistent between groups across all tests. These findings suggest that behavioural changes following handling training are handler-specific and potentially masking genuine fearfulness, making heart rate a more objective physiological marker for temperament assessment, whilst highlighting that breeding evaluations incorporating fear tests should employ unfamiliar handlers to avoid bias and obtain reliable fearfulness measures independent of prior training effects.
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Practical Takeaways
- •When objectively assessing temperament or fearfulness in young horses for breeding or selection purposes, use unknown handlers rather than familiar handlers to avoid masking true fear responses
- •Heart rate monitoring may provide more reliable fearfulness assessment than visual behavioural scoring, as familiarity with handlers can suppress behavioural fear signs without affecting physiological responses
- •Short-term standardised handling alone does not reduce innate fear responses to novel stimuli; selection based on temperament tests should use consistent testing protocols with unfamiliar handlers
Key Findings
- •Standardised handling procedure did not reduce fear responses to novel objects or unknown handlers in young horses
- •Handled horses showed significantly shorter reluctance behaviour duration when tested by their known handler compared to untrained controls
- •Heart rate responses were unaffected by handling training across all test conditions
- •Heart rate may be a more objective indicator of fearfulness than behavioural responses, which can be masked by familiarity with the handler