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New Study May Hold Hope For Headshakers

Horses are notoriously sensitive creatures, with their face, legs and flanks especially receptive to touch, heat and pressure.

A new study has been completed that measures equine facial sensitivity to touch, pressure and heat; it's hoped that results could help idiopathic headshakers. Horses that suffer from headshaking are believed to be have a hypersensitivity of the trigeminal nerve, reports The Horse.

Dr. Kata O. Veres-Nyéki and her research team measured the facial sensitivity and nerve functions of horses using handheld devices. These testing methods allow the researchers to detect differences in tolerance and also to determine if pain relief measures are successful.

The scientists used 34 Warmblood horses in their study, ranging in age from 1 to 23 years old. They tested how sensitive the horses were to touch using a thin, flexible stick called a von Frey filament. Thermodes, which are medical heating devices, were pressed gently against the horse's face and warmed from 86 degrees F to 141 degrees F to determine how sensitive they were to heat. Pressure sensitivity was tested using a handheld algometer, which gradually increased the pressure placed on a silicone tip.

All three tests were stopped when a horse reacted in any way to the contact; this included twitching, blinking reactively or moving the head away. Age did affect horse's tolerance level to all three tactics, with horses becoming more tolerant as they aged. It's suspected that this is due to cumulative damage to the nervous system.

The scientists pinpointed that tactile sensitivity is best tested on the nostril; pressure sensitivity is best measured on each side of the jaw; and heat sensitivity best measures on the forehead over the eye. Veres-Nyéki notes that facial sensitivity testing of individual horses may help diagnose nerve sensory abnormalities.

The study team noted that clipping horses may limit their sensitivity. Additionally, they suggest that riders and trainers consider using gentler equipment on the heads of younger horses as their sensitivity thresholds are lower than aged horses.

Read more at The Horse.

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Understanding Equine Perception May Be Key To Training And Welfare

Understanding how a horse uses his five sense to perceive stimuli can be key to his training and horse-human interactions.

Drs. Maria Vilain Rørvang, Birte Nielsen and Andrew McLean reviewed more than 180 studies that investigated equine vision, smell, taste, hearing and touch, and how information about the horse's environment is perceived. Though horses and humans have the same sensory modalities, how the information gathered from them are perceived can be drastically different.

Understanding how a horse perceives sensory information is key since sensory ability, perception and behavior are closely linked. The researchers determined that horses have a highly developed sense of smell; in some cases, their hearing is better than humans. Additionally, horses have a wider field of vision that people, but they see similarly to humans who are red and green colorblind.

The scientists concluded horses perceive the world in the following ways:

Vision

A horse's vision is adapted for detection of and escape from predators; they have a wide focus that allows them only a small blind spot directly behind them. Horses do not have good acuity, and will lift, lower or tilt their head and neck to focus on an object. Horses also have good vision in low light, seeing details better on cloudy days than during bright, sunny days.

Hearing

Equine ears can pivot toward sounds to enhance their hearing. While larger animals tend to hear lower frequencies well, horses are the exception; the lowest frequency detectable by horses is higher than the lowest sound a human can hear. Conversely, horses can hear higher frequencies than humans can. Horses can also recognize people from vocal cues even if they can't see them.

Smell

Little research has been done on horse's sense of smell. Horses have distinct odor profiles; similar profiles can shape a horse's response for interactions with other horses that have a similar smell. The research team notes that a horse's sense of smell could be exploited to draw the horse to certain locations, limiting the need to manually move horses. Additionally, riding in or around areas where a horse might encounter the smell of a predator may pose a safety risk to the rider.

Taste

Horses rarely breathe through their mouth, so it is unclear if horses can differentiate odor and taste from flavor, like humans. Horses can detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter; it is not known if they can detect umami (savory).

Touch

Horses are sensitive to touch; this sense is the main mode of communication between a horse and human, whether riding or handling. Horses are most sensitive around their eyes, nose and mouth; other areas of the body vary in their sensitivity, with the neck, withers, flank, shoulders and back of the pastern generally being the most sensitive.

The study team suggests that tactile stimulation be used with caution, especially when there is force applied, like during twitching. Future studies may investigate how a horse's age, breed, personality and experience may influence how touch is perceived.

The trio conclude that identifying specific sensory reactions in horses may be a way to optimize management and training to improve equine health and welfare.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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