[Pet Health Admin]

The second edition of this important reference provides important updates, especially in the areas of activity patterns, social behavior, reproduction, animal husbandry, and management. This easy-to-read text integrates findings from hundreds of international researchers and includes an updated appendix listing behavioral symptoms and possible causes. Over 100 illustrations and photos provide excellent visual cues for those who work with horses every day.
Customer Review: From Eventing USA Magazine, April/May 2003
"One of the people out there studying horses is Dr. Waring, a professor at Southern Illinois University. He uses big words such as polyphasic, but defines them, "The daily sleep cycle of horses is polyphasic, that is, with more than one period of sleep occurring per 24-hour period." He gives the academically correct citations of studies, yet describes the results in language the rest of us can understand. I dare any horseperson of any experience level to read it and not learn something."
Customer Review: Easy-to-Read..Packed with Useful Information
This is a great source book for veterinarians, students of animal sciences, especially those interested in animal behaviour and researchers needing a reference book. Every topic has extensive references from both the recent and older literature. If you want to know some fact about normal horse behaviour such as how long a foal suckles, duration of copulation, how much an adult horse sleeps - the experimental data will most likely be in this book. There are numerous tables, illustrations and photographs and a comprehensive index and bibliography. The first edition of this book as published in 1983 and this second edition has been updated in every section. There are new sections on ecological influences on activity patterns, habitat utilization, social behaviour and reproduction. An expanded section on applied ethology and behavioural considerations for management, horse well-being and health is a useful addition. The book is in seven parts consisting of three to five chapters. The index in the front of the book gives a clear understanding of what subjects are covered in each part. Part I covers the ancestry, special senses and motor patterns of the horse with a useful table on horse taxonomy and related species of living equids. There are detailed line drawings and definitions of all the motor patterns. In the discussion of the special senses, the horse's use of them is put into the ecological, morphological and physiological contexts. There is also detailed descriptions, including good drawings of the different gaits. Part II includes the development of behaviour patterns: play, post- and peri-natal development, learning, memory and often difficult to find data on foal development. The section on learning covers useful information on habituation, classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning (operant conditioning). Maintenance activities (resting, sleep, ingestion, elimination, comfort behaviours) are discussed in Part III. A term used that I found in appropriate, was `self-indulgent' to describe sunning, shelter seeking, licking, nibbling, scratching and rubbing - these are maintenance behaviours. An interesting section is included on the symbiotic relationships of horses with birds, such as cattle egre, and humans. The section on reproductive behaviour (Part IV) is full of useful data which covers the sexual behaviours of mares and stallions and a detailed account of maternal behaviour. Both normal and abnormal behaviours are discussed. The stimuli that can affect sexual behaviour are commented on, including age, colour and sexual signals. Social behaviour in Part V covers herd behaviour, social attachment, home range and territoriality, social dominance and agnostic behaviour. Mare-foal and foal-mare attachments are discussed and there is a small section on interspecies relationships. The excellent line drawings of facial expressions, head and ear positions add useful information. Part VI, the interaction of horses and their environment, includes an excellent section on the influence of native horses on various environments. However, the destructive effect of introduced feral horses in countries like Australia is not mentioned - this would have completed the discussion. The chapter on ecological influences and the effects on reproduction and social behaviour is a useful addition. The expanded section (Part VII) on applied ethology provided behavioural considerations for management and insight regarding behavioural indicators of horse health and well-being. An appendix after this chapter categorizes many equine behavioural signs and possible problems they may indicate. The behavioural signs include facial expressions, posture, changes in motor co-9ordination, changes in maintenance behaviour and social behaviour. There is no specific section devoted to behaviour problems -these are discussed in the appropriate chapters along with the normal behaviour. This arrangement works well and gives a good understanding of how the normal behaviour has changed. This is an easy-to-read, hard-back book, packed with useful information written by an author, who not only has conducted research, but is also an educator. I am lucky to have it on my shelf - Associate Professor, Animal Behaviour and Welfare, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland -- Australian Veterinary Journal April 2003


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