Equine Behaviour Principles and Practice

About this book

Almost every person working with horses will have studied equine behavior to a certain extent. Understanding the flexibility and limits of behaviour is essential to improving both the horse's welfare and its performance. This book will enable students, trainers, riders and horse owners to understand the fundamental principles behind the behavior of horses and how to apply them in different situations in practice.Part 1 looks at the constraints which apply to the modern horse because of its evolutionary history and the nature of the evolutionary process itself. Part 2 examines the processes and mechanism which control the behaviour and responses of a horse and explores the sources of individual variation, whilst Part 3 looks at the effect of the environment on the horse's behaviour and welfare - this includes a critical look at current and recent training techniques such as 'imprint Training and 'join up'. Here is a readable, scientific text expertly illustrated throughout to clarify the key concepts in equine behaviour.

Contents

Preface. Acknowledgements. PART ONE: Understanding Behaviour Concepts. 1. Approaches to the Study of Behaviour. 2. Origins of behaviour. 3. The Evolutionary History of the Horse. 4. The Lifetime Development of Behavior. PART TWO: Mechanisms of Behaviour. 5. The processing of Information. 6. The Special Senses. 7. Communication and Social Organisation. 8. Sexual and reproductive behaviour of Horses. PART THREE: The Flexibility of behaviour and its Management. 9.Learning and Training. 10. Welfare. Appendix. Index.

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