Continues 24-hour measurements of behavior differences in Arabian horses
F. Kuhne1, K. Scheibe2 and R. Struwe1
1Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, Veterinary
Department, FU Berlin, Germany
2Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
Continuous visual observations were carried out over 24-hours on 36
days of the year on Arabian Horses. The days were equally distributed
over the complete year. The frequency of a particular behavior and the
average duration of action were measured for each horse. The seasonal
variations of basic behaviors were described in three-dimensional plots.
The Kendalls coefficient of concordance (w) was used to determine
the synchronization of the 24-hour time budget among the horses.
This study represents an attempt to examine whether the horses exhibited
significant behavioral synchrony, whether the local limited supply of
particular resources had an effect on the 24-hour time budget, and if
there were behavior pattern differences among the horses, whether the
measurements might regarding the total time of a particular behavior rather
than the frequency or average duration each.
The horses spent 13-17 h of the 24-hour period feeding and rested 5.5-8.5
h daily. The individual differences could be observed with the help of
the mean grazing frequency of 7-11 times a day with an average duration
of 17-34 minutes per action. Hay feeding was documented with a frequency
of 16- 24 times a day, lasting 21-37 minutes each. The synchronization
of the foraging behavior (w=0.419 p=0.000) and of the resting behavior
(w=0,504 p=0.000) have been observed in only a mean degree among the horses.
A strong social synchronization as often described in natural family groups
was less expressed in this herd.
The observation showed that:
- These horses didnt clearly develop equal diurnal and
seasonal rhythms of feeding or resting behavior.
- The behavior pattern differences may not have resulted mainly
from the average time of a particular behavior rather than from the
frequency or the average duration of each.
- The average of selected behavior in a small group of animals might
have ignored the problem of individuality in using free available resources
and the problem of the locally limited supply of particular resources.
Behavior frequency (meals or resting/day) and duration (min/meal or resting)
throughout the year are useful to determine the time spent feeding and
resting (min/day and year). These measurements are necessary to analyze
social synchrony.
Paper presented
at Measuring Behavior 2005
, 5th International Conference on Methods and Techniques
in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
© 2005 Noldus
Information Technology bv
|