Final Data Grandin, Corgan 2021.xlsx

It is dangerous for both riders and horses when a horse suddenly startles. Sometimes horses do this in familiar environments because familiar objects may look different when rotated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether horses that had been habituated to a complex object (children’s playset) would react to the object as novel when rotated 90 degrees. Twenty young horses were led past the playset 15 times by a handler. Next, the rotated group was led past the rotated playset 15 times. The behavioral signs observed and analyzed were ears focused on the object, nostril flares, neck raising, snort, avoid by stopping, avoid by moving feet sideways, and avoid by flight. Being aware of potential reactions to changes in the orientation of previously familiar objects can help keep the handler safer.<br>

当马匹突然受惊时，无论是骑手还是马匹自身都会陷入危险。有时马匹会在熟悉的环境中出现受惊反应，这是因为熟悉的物体在旋转后外观会发生改变。本研究旨在探究已对复杂物体（儿童游乐设施）产生习惯化的马匹，在该物体被旋转90度后，是否会将其视作新奇物体并做出相应反应。研究人员将20匹年轻马匹交由训练员牵引，使其15次经过该游乐设施。随后，旋转组马匹被牵引经过旋转90度的游乐设施，同样进行15次。本次研究观察并分析的行为指标包括：耳朵朝向物体、鼻孔扩张、颈部抬起、喷鼻息、驻足躲避、侧身移动躲避以及逃离躲避。了解马匹对先前熟悉物体的朝向变化可能产生的反应，有助于提升训练员的作业安全性。