Cardiac activity and salivary cortisol concentration of leisure horses in response to the presence of an audience in the arena

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of different forms of an audience ’s behavior on the heart work parameters and salivary cortisol level of leisure horses during work. Twelve horses were studied at rest, during standardized work, and at recovery. There was no audience in the arena in the control variant, whereas an audience (10 people) was situated in the middle o f the arena in four other variants: standing still and silent in the 1st variant, standing still and talking in normal voice in the 2nd variant, being silent but walking in both directions along the middle line of the arena in the 3rd variant and walking as above and simultaneously talking in the 4t h variant.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research