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Does the environment determine behavior? New Object Testing for Horses
Date: 2025-12-16Read: 0
New object testing is an important tool for evaluating animal "fear exploration" behavior, widely used in multiple species. During testing, animals are placed in a familiar or controllable enclosed space. Researchers evaluate the temperament, courage, stress level, and exploration motivation of animals by observing their approach, exploration, or avoidance of unfamiliar objects, in order to serve animal welfare assessment, personality screening, and pharmacology research.
Despite its wide application, there is a lack of a unified standard process for testing new objects on horses. The testing may be conducted in indoor circular training fields, stables, or enclosures, with varying objects, durations, and environmental controls used in different studies. This raises questions: Will different testing environments, horse genders, and past experiences affect the test results? The research presented in this article delves into how gender, testing location, and PM experience affect the behavioral performance of young purebred horses in new object testing.
Materials and Methods
The study selected 42 young purebred horses aged between 23 and 27 months, including 19 stallions and 23 mares. Randomly divided into two groups, one group of 36 horses has received 4-5 months of pre race training, while the other group of 6 horses has not yet started saddle training. Among all 42 horses, 27 have experienced PM, while the remaining 15 have not.
The study used two different testing environments.
Test Site 1Circular training ground. A diameter of 14 meters, surrounded by a 2-meter-high opaque wooden wall, with a sandy ground and a translucent ceiling at the top, creating a relatively enclosed environment. As shown in Figure 1;
Test Site 2Square enclosure. With a side length of 18 meters, it is surrounded by a wooden fence with a power grid, and is an open-air sandy area with a more open environment and more external interference. As shown in Figure 2
Two inflatable swimming pool floats were selected as new objects in the testing environment, with the shapes of "mermaid tail" and "clownfish", respectively used in the circular field and enclosure to avoid interference from familiar objects for horses.
Test Process
Single test: All 42 horses undergo one test on the circular training field;
Repeated testing: To directly compare environmental impacts, 12 horses were selected from 42 horses for a second test at the enclosure after a 3-day interval;
Standardized operation: Before testing, familiar personnel will lead the horse to the field. The entire test lasted for 10 minutes, and the researchers recorded the video using a pre installed motion camera outside their line of sight;
Data collection: In addition to video recording, the horse's neck is also equipped with sensors to accurately record the duration of activities such as standing, walking, and running
Behavioral coding and analysis
Observe and code the behavior of horses based on specially adjusted maps, usingBehavior Observation Record Analysis System (The Observer XT)Encode. The behavior graph is shown in Table 1 and its continuation, which includes the behaviors exhibited by horses and provides precise definitions for each behavior. Observed the time required for horses to initially gaze, approach, and touch unknown objects, as well as the way horses interact with new objects.
result
The testing environment is an important influencing factor
Research has found that testing sites have a significant impact on horse behavior. The same horse showed systematic behavioral differences in the enclosure and circular training field.
Faster attention, less explorationIn a wider enclosure, the time for horses SC to stare at and approach unfamiliar objects is significantly shorter, but their total interaction time and frequency with objects are less. This means that although the horse noticed something new faster in the enclosure, it did not spend too much time delving into it.
Slow attention, more explorationIn a closed circular training field, the situation is the opposite. Horses take longer to stare and approach objects, but once they start interacting, their total duration of staring at objects, number of fixations, number of approaches, and number of times they touch objects with their mouths are significantly higher.
In the circular training field, horses exhibit more "nose spraying" and "defecation" behaviors. In the enclosure, horses exhibit more behaviors such as chewing/licking, barking, standing at exits, and trembling. Sensor data shows that in circular training fields, horses walk for longer periods of time, but run for shorter periods of time, and are in a state of "alert standing" for longer periods of time.
Gender differences are limited but exist
The study did not find significant differences between male and female horses in direct interaction with new objects, such as touch and smell. The differences are mainly reflected in some behaviors related to exploring the environment or coping with stress (Figure 3): regardless of the testing location, male horses sniff the ground longer than female horses. In addition, stallions also exhibit digging behavior more frequently than mares, which may be related to their greater dependence on environmental information in their natural state. The mare shows more vocalizations and more frequent behavior of standing near the exit. This may reflect the influence of social isolation on mares, who are more eager to return to their companions. In addition, the total running time of the mare during the test was significantly longer than that of the stallion, indicating higher activity.
The impact of PM experience
The impact of PM experience is relatively limited, but there are indeed:
Experienced horses tend to stare at objects for longer periods of time and spend more time sniffing the ground. This may mean that they are more 'calm' towards novel visual stimuli;
Horses without experience stand at the exit for longer periods of time, which may be a response to social isolation
summary
It is advantageous to establish a standardized method for conducting and interpreting new object tests for horses. This test should be conducted in a calm environment to minimize external influences. It is recommended to use a relatively enclosed circular training ground, as horses are highly sensitive animals and can easily be distracted by external factors. The testing time should also be taken into consideration. It is crucial to conduct new object testing at the same location in order to maintain consistency, especially when multiple tests are compared to each other. In addition, when evaluating the behavior during the testing of new objects, the gender of the horse and previous experience should be considered as influencing factors.
References
Klitzing, Lara, et al. “Exploring factors that influence the behavior response to novel object tests in young thoroughbred horses: investigating sex, test site and auction history.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11 (2025): 1478350.
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