A Preliminary Study on the Investigation of Learning Ability of Arabian Horses Through

Öz

Knowing the behavioural responses of horses while planning the training processes is crucial in constituting the appropriate training program. The purpose of the study was to examine some behavioural and physiological responses of Arabian horses participating in flat races against the reactivity to human and fear tests. Within the scope of this study, 15 female Arabian horses aged between 2 and 8 years were subjected to reactivity to passive human test, reactivity to active human test, and handling tests from reactivity to human tests and the novel surface test, the static novel object test, and the startling novel object tests from fear tests. Significant relationships (P<0.05) were detected between the agonistic behaviours of horses and maximum heart rate values in the passive human test, active human test, static novel object test, and startling novel object test. Active human test, it was determined that as the agonistic behaviours of horses increased, the distance to approach humans increased (P<0.05). The novel surface test observed that as the horses' agonistic behaviours increased, the number of attempts to cross the surface successfully also increased (P<0.01). In the handling test, increased agonistic behaviours caused the test time to prolong (P<0.01). As a result, it was determined that various processes in training were prolonged in horses with high agonistic behaviours during the tests. It has also been determined that the trainability of horses may differ within the same breed and sex. For this reason, it is recommended to determine behavioural responses and to plan horse training individually. By understanding the trainability of horses, it is possible to achieve maximum efficiency for their benefit.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• behavioural tests
• equid ethogram
• horse
• learning theory
• welfare

Arap Atlarının Davranış Testleri Yoluyla Öğrenme Yeteneğinin incelenmesi Üzerine Bir Ön Çalışma

Öz

Atların eğitim süreçleri planlanırken davranışsal tepkilerinin bilinmesi, uygun eğitim programının oluşturulması açısından önemlidir. Bu amaçla davranışsal testlerden yararlanılmaktadır. Araştırmaya 2-8 yaş arası, on beş dişi Arap atı katılmıştır. Davranışsal Testler kapsamında İnsana Karşı Tepki ve Korku Testleri uygulanmıştır. Pasif İnsana Karşı Reaksiyon Testi, Aktif İnsana Karşı Reaksiyon Testi, Sabit Alışılmamış Nesne Testi ve Ürkütücü Alışılmamış Nesne Testi'nde atların agonistik davranışları ile maksimum kalp atım hızı değerleri arasında anlamlı ilişkiler (p<0,05) tespit edilmiştir. Aktif İnsana Karşı Reaksiyon Testi'nde atların agonistik davranışları arttıkça insanlara yaklaşma mesafesinin de arttığı tespit edilmiştir(p<0,05). Alışılmamış Yüzey Testi'nde, atların agonistik davranışları arttıkça, yüzeyi başarılı bir şekilde geçme girişimlerinin sayısının da arttığı gözlemlenmiştir (p<0,01). Etki-Tepki Testinde, agonistik davranışların artmasının test süresinin uzamasına neden olduğu tespit edilmiştir (p<0,01). Sonuç olarak, testler sırasında agonistik davranışları yüksek olan atlarda eğitimdeki çeşitli süreçlerin uzadığı tespit edilmiştir. Atların eğitilebilirliğinin aynı ırk ve cinsiyet içerisinde farklılık gösterebileceği belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, atların davranışsal tepkilerinin belirlenmesi ve at eğitiminin bireysel olarak planlanması önerilmektedir. Atların eğitilebilirliğinin anlaşılması yoluyla, onların yararına maksimum verim elde etmek mümkün olabilecektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• At
• at etogramı
• davranışsal testler
• öğrenme teorisi
• refah

Kaynakça

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