CALGARY – Bronze thrush Rodeo fans love to explode into the ring, cowboy on board for a while. It was less clear how the horse feels about it.
New research published out of the University of Calgary looks at three years of stock events from that city’s Stampede in a peer-to-peer effort within the mind of an impending animal .
“I’ll try to understand the animal’s vision,” said Ed Pajor, a professor of medicine. “We asked the question of whether or not horses find out that they are taking part in the rodeo as a hostile experience. ”
Pajor and his co-authors – Christy Goldhawk of the University of Calgary and renowned animal carrier Temple Grandin – studied 116 horses in naked, novice naked, bronze bronze and new saddle bronchial events. They were looking at animals that were about to be loaded into a trailer and taken to the ring. They also noticed how the horses behaved while waiting to be released.
Horses have all sorts of ways to show they are unhappy, Pajor said. They may move back and forth, chewing their lips, turning their tails, locking, rolling their eyes, spurring the ground, tossing their heads, or lifting up. as a complaint.
The researchers found that the more people around them, the more likely the horses were to show dissatisfaction. Maybe that’s because they spend most of their time in fields and pastures and aren’t used to living, Pajor said.
It was the other factor that influenced the behavior of knowledge. If it weren’t for their first rodeo, the horses would be much more likely to take action.
“It simply came to our notice then. We haven’t seen much fear-related behavior at all, ”said Pajor. “The animals were very calm.
“Animals that didn’t know much were much more reactive than animals that had a lot of experience.”
There could be different reasons for that, he suggested.
“We don’t know if it’s because they’re used to the situation or if it’s because of a lack of help – they realize they can’t do anything and just let it go. ”
Pajor is a suspect about his predecessor.
“When the herdsmen got close to the horses, they would certainly take action and you wouldn’t see that if you learned without help.”
The researchers also noted that the bucking performance of the horses, as indicated in the score from the rodeo judges, did not appear to be diminished by reappearing as it might. be if the animals had become attractive.
That doesn’t mean the horses are having a good time, said Pajor, who is also on Stampede’s animal welfare advisory board. There are a couple of ways to define active behavior in the cute, he said.
“An animal may be inspired to achieve. Or an animal may get a frightening response. ”
“It’s hard to understand if animals want to do something. ”
Pajor knows that camps are different when it comes to rodeos and animals.
“People have strong opinions about using animals for all sorts of purposes. I think whatever reason we use animals, we need to make sure we treat them humbly.
“My job is to do the research to understand the vision of the animals.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 28, 2021.