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The relationship between horses and human is unique over the course of the story. The first researchers focused on the horse-human bond as a friendship and believed that it improved the welfare of horses. Today, the role of horses is different from that of history. However, the overall perception is that the horse-human connection requires significant interpretation and explanation. The most important aspect of communicating with the horse is that it is silent. To achieve that, the well-being of horses must develop a good physiological and psychological awareness. To this end, the advancement of sensors and wearable technology creates a facility for measuring and exploring the natural environment. Among the amazing advancements in this area are smartphones, flat screens, high-speed cameras, analog software, GPS tracking, and Bluetooth. In this chapter, we will attempt to explain the emphasis put on the importance of the horse-human bond and interaction for animal beings. Furthermore, we will review the roles of new technologies in the physiological and psychological situations of the horse, and studies of horse-human connection belong to recent research. In this way, we will have put a vision on the side of animals on the horse and the human connection and interaction.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Physiology, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey
Nilay Seyidoglu*
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Physiology, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey
*Address all correspondence to: nseyidoglu@nku.edu.tr
1. Introduction
Horses have been domesticated about 4000 B.C. These interesting animals have been improved in a number of human areas such as horse racing, training, and assisted therapy. Humans have been attempting to understand their behaviors in a more specific way. There are several questions and suggestions for developing their benefits and potential.
The assessment of links between humans and horses is related to their differences in behavior and health status. The theory of human-horse interaction is grounded in the physiology of humans and horses. The researchers were studied to elucidate their similarity and mutual necessity. Understanding this relationship raises awareness about their behavior in all situations (Table 1). Therefore, it also makes it possible to interact with several professionals such as veterinarians, horse owners, horse trainers, and horse breeders.
Human facial expression
signals for social bonding, aggression, avoidance, and navigation of future encounters
Human body posture
hiding or approaching from behind of a horse / human moving helps to elicit horse behaviors
Human attentiveness
a horse walks around to face the inattentive person horse nudges the inattentive person
Human personality (for riders)
correlate with behavior patterns of the ridden horse
Human forced contact (in early life)
induce reluctance for human contact
Table 1.
Emotional cues for horses’ attention with humans (prepared from kinds of literature).
The human-horse connection has been interesting to many researchers and well-documented over the years. More specifically, it is of increasing importance to monitor and analyze their physiology and psychology. Today, a variety of intelligent technologies are combined with the analytical method. Given that the technology is more useful and more recent, the results of the analysis are more telling and interesting. In this chapter, we seek to understand the role of new technologies in the connection and interaction between humans and horses.
2. Basic physiological and psychological features of the horse
Horses share the same physiological features as humans and domestic animals. However, they have some important characteristics like slow breathing and resting heart rate that ensure their long-life span. Besides that, horses have excellent senses like humans, however, some of the senses are more powerful than humans and other animals.
Horses have similar anatomical and physiological adaptations as other herbivores. They have strong and high-crowned teeth for eating plants and also have a long digestive tract for cellulose digestion. They have extremely large eyes that are set on the side of their head and peripheral vision with a 340-degree arc. It offers a panoramic view of the predators. Also, horses hear better than humans at lower frequencies. It is necessary to ensure that the horse can see you or know that you are getting closer to avoid being afraid. Horses can appreciate the senses of smell and taste with their food. In particular, their nose has a broader scent detection area than humans. All these senses may be described as making horses special [1].
Horses have important physical features such as hooves, strong leg muscles, and senses. They may sleep upright and not vomit if they wish. They continue to be alert and sensitive. One of the horses’ natural abilities is movement. They have heavy muscles in the upper legs in improving their stride. Moreover, their legs are supported by powerful tendons and ligaments that allow the legs to withstand and be adaptive. Based on these physiological characteristics and the use of genetics, horses can be said to be suitable for racing. In addition, they are outstanding athletes whose performance improves as a result of regular exercise [1].
Horses are a language of their own. These are social animals. They understand humans and they can interpret human emotions. To do so, voice communication and body movements are important. Horses also have a sixth sense that helps them feel fear, anger, joy, anxiousness, and relaxation. They are very smart and have great memories. Horses may never forget, but they forgive. There is an increase in research to elucidate the mystery of these animals in teaching, training, and behavioral characteristics.
The mystery of the connection between the horse and humans persists despite years of research. People have horses depending on their needs and personality. Horses have a very important place in that relationship. These are magical and gorgeous animals. They have a strong connection to the use of visual, vocal, and physical signals that make these animals unique and highly social.
A variety of people have been linked to the horse’s human bond, especially professional and nonprofessional riders, veterinarians, therapists, breeders, and farriers [2]. The researchers tried to highlight the importance of knowledge and understanding the behavior of horses. The main reasons are difficulties in riding situations, different horse movements, training methods, and the need for horse-rider combinations or owner-horse relationships [2, 3–6]. Depending on the pieces of literature, problems during riding, foot injuries, accidents followed by race or other conditions, and various occupational risks were recorded. Besides that, emotional states involving several conditions of horses, the humans’ attitude toward horses’ behaviors, and the relationship between horses and riders have also been reported [7, 8]. Horses are also said to have such reactions to their temperament or experience with humans. Signals based on changes in horse behavior and human approaches have a wide range of severity and still have a piece in the puzzle. But studies are still underway.
Various measures make it possible to learn the link between the horse and the human. There are a couple of target tests or reactions designed to measure physiological and behavioral situations. The most important ones are the ways of measuring the responses of the animals during approaching, such as in fitting, catching, or touching, and also veterinary practice. In this context, there are some tests performed with sensors placed on the animal’s various points or ankles, as well as sensory tests [2, 9]. In addition to behavioral measurements, the researchers were interested in specific important physiological measurements, in particular, heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, respiratory parameters, and cortisol levels [2, 9–11]. Heart rate and associated parameters of heart and breathing have been studied, especially in the context of stressful events and training. In addition, cortisol or saliva and blood glucose were measured to provide the studies for humans and horses. Therefore, all these parameters help to elucidate the behavioral differences in the human-horse interaction, as well as to improve the understanding of the human horse’s connection.
Horses have been domesticated over the years and have roles, especially in work, sport, and companionship. However, horses have been critical as therapeutic animals in recent years. Horse-assisted therapy programs are conducted for a variety of therapeutic reasons [12, 13]. These programs have significant benefits such as helping people focus, calmness, mood stabilization, and improving prospects. Several important conditions in particular autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, paralysis, and neuromuscular injuries are included in these treatment programs. As a result, emotional regulation, reintegrating into civilian life, and strengthening communication skills are the most beneficial outcomes for these individuals. By the way, researchers continue to be interested in many projects.
There is clear evidence that biological functioning, homeostasis, and well-being are important notions of animal feelings. Especially in the human-animal connection, all these concepts guide this relationship and give humans a vision to understand the state of animal well-being including physical, social, and emotional needs. There are several new technological processes, gadgets, and applications that can be used to clarify the potential for human-horse binding. In addition, technology can be particularly helpful for these therapeutic conditions.
Equine technology is assisting horses with education, racing, and assisted therapies. This technology includes certain mechanical equipment such as sensors, wireless, trailer cameras, automatic tracking cameras, and several apps and gadgets for horses and users. Interestingly, horse technology has been of concern to humans for many years. For example, the first mechanical horse was invented in 1867, although it is unlike today’s mechanical horses. Technological advances over the years have allowed equine technology to have a field that is efficient and attractive to the world of equine science [2, 14].
In earlier reviews, it was reported that studies were especially based on estrus detection, milk analysis, and improvement of livestock farming for animals. There were several cameras (digital, thermal, or high-resolution digital cameras) used for body condition scoring, early detection of diseases and lameness, and quantifying pain and stress. Also, some important gadgets such as accelerometers, positioning GPS, load cells, and electronic noses were used for these purposes. All these farm technologies allow to appear the status of animals and help animals’ management and health. They were also accepted as practical and economical in this field [14–16]. Researchers suggested that lameness, inflammations, and injuries in horses can be detected by thermal imagining [14, 17]. Also, body temperature changes due to environmental differences or illness can be measured by this imagination. Besides that, to measure the changes existing by velocity and gravity, an accelerometer can be used. Leg-mounted accelerometers, commercial pedometers, and other devices can calculate the basic activity of animals. Researchers have studied the accuracy of all walk movements by this method [17–19]. However, battery power was reported as the main problem with this method. It was indicated that with the improvement of battery technology, this equipment would be more useful and technical in this area [20].
In recent years, equine technology has been increasingly more available and effective. The development of methods has changed over the years for monitoring horses for health, management, and work. Particularly, micro-technology for wearable horse gadgets and tools becomes important as well as sensors for monitoring horses in any training or at any time. The wearable belts, implantable devices, and surface sensors (electrodes) can record long-term electrocardiographic and respiration changes [19, 21–23]. Besides that, physiological parameters, especially heart rate and heart rate variability, can be used to determine the physiological or psychological stress of animals and can be drawn regarding the horse’s behaviors in a comfortable manner. In addition, some studies about continuous automated monitoring systems with telemetry systems were reported [24, 25]. Using a telemetric system can support to record of electrocardiographic parameters besides recording the grazing or feeding behaviors of a horse over a long period. The telemetric system includes a wearable device or a sensor and a data collector such as a smartphone or a powerful device. The wearable devices can collect sampling frequency from the wearable stuff onto the animals, or some of the sensors embedded into the skin [26].
Understanding how to enhance the welfare and improve the health of horses and how horses can communicate with each other and humans are important to learn them all well. In recent years, decoding the human-horse interaction has been interested dramatically. Horse-assisted therapy, horseback riding in therapeutic programs, and horse companionship on the life quality of people and horses have been studied for this interaction [2, 27–29]. Several tests have especially been designed for the human-horse bond approach as observer ratings, behavioral tests, performance tests, and, physiological measures (Figure 1) [9, 14].
Figure 1.
The monitoring system and wearable devices for data acquisition. This can be enhanced according to literature and technological innovation.
The behavioral activities of animals such as feeding, movement, gait, or physical activities are related to their well-being. Changes in behavior may be missed by visual monitoring. Thus, certain sensors, automated acceleration sensors, collars, holters, systems, monitors, or, GPS can be used to detect behavioral models of animals. These technologies can be designed for visual monitoring, physical and behavioral measurements, and the provision of information on the physiological contents of animals.
Field studies on the grazing, feeding, or gait of horses rely mainly on observing methods. These approaches restrict the precision and amount of data. However, some researchers validate the measuring systems for 24-hour data recording, including specific behaviors (eating, drinking, etc.), grazing time, number of bites, and chewing [25]. Systems with truly wireless truck float camera systems such as EquiWatch that have a pressure sensor and a triaxial accelerometer can be integrated into a holter plate. This system allows us to understand the biological, nutritional, and environmental factors of horse grazing behavior. In addition, the monitoring of eating behavior applies to the evaluation of equine intestinal health, diet, and chewing behavior.
Some studies reported that smart devices like smartwatches wrist-worn devices, leg sensors, accelerometers, and GPS sensors can be performed for horse gait recognition. These devices have been developed for a smartwatch-based framework that can record the movement of the horse and calculate the characteristics of the gait. This means that performance and other health problems due to irregular gait can be detected and improved [28, 30]. In addition to this technology, hoof sensor systems were maintained to collect data and measure the pressure under the hooves, the gait classification, and the performance over the years [31, 32]. The researchers used the mini-wireless placed on the hooves, and evaluated the time differences between the hooves and the hooves for grading, speed, and trimming conditions [31]. Hagen et al. [32] used sensors, such as a 3D accelerometer and a gyroscope for the four hooves. They have demonstrated that this technical innovation is a practical method for observing specific motion events.
Physiological measures during human interaction with the horse can help understand the mental and psychological situation of horses as well as physiological differences. From an early age, handling by a human gets the horses a positive emotional relationship. Physical contacts, such as handling or grooming, have been reported to be important, especially in reducing heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) [6, 33]. On the contrary, some researchers have reported an increase in HR and HRV results for that physical contact [34].
Among the studies, polar heart rate monitors and portable electrocardiograms (ECGs) were used for heart rate and HRV measurements. Hockenhull et al. [35] recorded heart rate data from all horses and handlers who wore polar monitors. The researchers positioned the data loggers on the surcingle around the girth of horses and also on the handler’s wrist for recording. The beats per minute (bpm) were calculated every 5 seconds for the HR of both handlers and horses. In this study, familiar and unfamiliar handlers’ differences were found in terms of HR (bpm). Another interesting study by Schmidt et al. [36] indicated that HR increases during transportation, grooming, and saddling. In addition, changes in HRV during transport resulted in an increase in friendly activity and a decrease in vagal tone only at the beginning of transport. The researchers also found that the level of change in HR and HRV was caused by transportation adaptation. In this study, the recording of heart rate was measured by a mobile system attached to the horse’s chest with an elastic girth. For this purpose, the positive electrode was applied to the right shoulder and the negative electrode was located in the middle of the left thorax. Additionally, the electrodes were attached with a second girth including a pocket for the recording watch.
The researchers also applied textile sensors to portable systems such as some electrodes produced by textiles. This textile-based system for ECG monitoring of horses consisted of intelligent garments and wearable electronics. Guidi et al., [29] studied broadening our knowledge of physiological and behavioral changes in horses with this system. Two textile electrodes and a strain gauge sensor were used to scan for ECG and respiratory activity. An elastic waistband was covered around the breast behind the shoulder of the horses. ECG waveforms have been recorded from textile electrodes. In this study, it was pointed out that the emotional state of humans and horses can be measured. In addition, it was concluded that this system can be a quantitative measure of the connection and interaction between human and horses, particularly for equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT).
Based on the literature, it is noted that the level of stress and quality of life of the animals is important. Specifically, studies on EAAT and other therapeutic programs attempt to present stress through hormonal indicators as well as ECG changes. Malinowski et al. [37] investigated the effects of HRV in horses in EAAT programs. The ECG telemetric heart rate monitors were designed for 3 out of 5 days on horses in the study. ECG parameters were recorded for a total of 3 hours and analyzed for 10 minutes. This resulted in a decrease in HR, but no difference was observed between HRV, SDNN, and the LF/HF ratio. Apart from these findings, it has been reported that animal therapy programs improve people’s cognitive, psychological, and social situations. The assumption is that EAAT programs result in statistically significant health benefits with improved blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety levels.
By the way, the biggest problem with wearable systems is the artifacts that are included in the noise of acquiring biomedical signals. Researchers have attempted to verify protocols and monitor environmental changes for this purpose. Stress is a significant environmental factor for horses and other animals. Evaluating stress in horses and getting control is important for studies. Indeed, the researchers aim to study these systems in animals in a reliable condition and without artifacts, even if stress. Also, the performance of the wearable systems is tried to improve.
Horses are so emotional animals. Humans have to learn the mindfulness of horses. Science and technology have addressed the important questions of human and horse bonds over the years. Researchers have tried to find out how and why horses react to humans for this purpose. Also, results give us features and possibilities of the human-horses bond and interaction.
There is a tendency that usage of wearable sensors and smart technology in human-horse bonds. However, the technology is based on more efficiency and more microstructure as well as convenience and cheaper. Also, it is considered more safety. Besides livestock health, the technology has room in clinical applications and the therapeutic field. Therefore, technology, wearable sensors, and monitoring devices can be called important promising strategies.
Animal monitoring systems, even for health or other issues, provide the status of animals for research. According to kinds of literature, technological devices are going to be more expected for requirements, and several health monitoring system has been developed. This gives a sight and an idea about horses to veterinarians, clinicians, and horse riders. It can be said that smart technology will improve the animal’s health, behavioral features, human-horse bonding problems, and horse training.
A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arc degree)
ECG
Electrocardiogram
HR
Heart rate
HRV
Heart rate variability
EAAT
Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies
SDNN
Standard deviation of NN interval (between two detected heartbeat detections)
LF
Low frequency
HF
High frequency
BPM
Beats per minute
HRV variables
Parameters for determining an HRV function
LF/HF ratio
The ratio reflects the sympathovagal balance.
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Written By
Cenk Aydin and Nilay Seyidoglu
Submitted: 06 March 2023Reviewed: 10 March 2023Published: 31 March 2023
Open access peer-reviewed chapter
