Friday, January 10, 2014
Cattle Behaviour and Welfare 2
Calf housing
Veal calves are kept in narrow crates in Europe but these are banned in UK and not used in NZ.
The bobby calf pen is the main concern in NZ, but there are clear size specifications for this in the Welfare Code for Bobby Calves.
The “bobby“ calf
The bobby calf trade is a very important source of export income for dairy farmers.
Bobby calves go for high quality veal to the US.
The calf's stomach (vel) is used for the enzyme rennet used in the cheese industry.
The MAF Bobby Calf Code of Welfare states that a "bobby calf" must:
Be at least four days old.
Have a dry withered navel.
Have worn feet pads proving it has stood up and walked.
Be healthy and free of disease and injury.
Have been fed only on milk.
Calf pens have now been removed from the roadside to inside the farm gate to prevent welfare oncerns of those who pass by, especially tourists.
Bruising, skin damage and navel infection are the main causes of wastage.
Calves must be electrically stunned and then stuck (bled) immediately after stunning.
The main concern is transport. The code says they must reach destination within 8 hours of collection. This is often not achieved as meat works move them around to keep killing chains in business.
Premature calves for blood harvesting
These are calves born before time or induced (aborted).
Their blood is used for the special pharmaceutical export market.
They have not had colostrum and so have not ingested any antibodies.
There are very tight regulations on their transport, welfare and slaughter.
Weaning
Weaning is usually defined as the time when you stop feeding milk and this is best determined by weight rather than by age.
Dairy calves are generally weaned when they are eating at least 1kg of meal/head/day.
Single-suckled beef calves are weaned in autumn when they are generally about 6 months old. Here they do wean more on age than weight as it's a seasonal practice.
Weaning is a gradual process in dairy calves as they move from milk to meal, then from indoor pens to outside an on to pasture.
In suckling beef calves, weaning is much more of a shock as it all happens on one day. It's usually accompanied by a few days of roaring by both calf and cow trying to get back together.
It's a good idea to separate them by 2-3 well-fenced paddocks away from the house, as the stress and noise can go on for up to a week.
Baulking
This is a major problem in handling cattle in yards, when they stop or baulk and it breaks the flow, wastes time and the stock usually have to be pushed or goaded to proceed. The ideal is when stock just flow along races and don't need to be pushed.
The other dangerous area is when dairy cows leave the paddock through a gate to enter the race to walk to the farm dairy for milking. If not controlled by the stockperson, damage to hips and ribs can occur by the gate posts and cows can go down and be trampled on by others in the rush.
Injuries also happen during transport when cattle are moving off trucks through narrow doorways. They need to be given plenty of time so they don't get stuck in the doorway or bruise their hips on exit.
The main causes are:
Seeing disturbance ahead.
Noise ahead e.g. from shouting or banging gates or crushes.
Dead ends that block their view.
People standing in front of their point of balance.
Flapping clothes or sacking.
Cattle in adjacent pens moving against their flow.
Smells e.g. blood on floor after dehorning.
Unfamiliar yards.
Shadows, open doors, drains or what appear to them to be black holes.
Bright sunlight especially reflecting off windows.
Baulking can be prevented by:
Understanding and exploiting their point of balance.
Making sure stock can see through the head bail to what looks like freedom.
Handling stock in smaller pens.
Having a good footing for them.
Having solid boarding along sides of races.
Having a good clear entrances to yards so stock don't approach dark holes.
Avoiding dead ends and sharp corners. Provide a nice gradual curved flow.
Use rubber to quieten the banging from gates and headbails.
Teach handlers to keep the noise down and tie up and quieten all barking dogs.
The "Point of Balance"
This is an imaginary spot just behind the shoulder.
When you move in front of it, the animal moves back.
When you move behind it, the animal goes forward.
There is another point in the middle of the head.
When you move to the left of it the animal moves to the right, and vice versa
Milking
This is where knowledge of animal behaviour pays enormous dividends.
The goal is always - Fast and Efficient milking.
Milking needs to be fast to empty the udder quickly while the oxytocin stimulus is still effective (it lasts 5-7 minutes).
Milk letdown is caused by oxytocin and the cow has to be trained by conditioned reflex to have a letdown to suit the milking routine.
Milking needs to be efficient to completely evacuate the udder, and encourage more alveoli (milk cell) activity, and reduce possible infection (mastitis) from milk left in the udder.
Milking must be a “pleasant and positive” experience for the cow, and this has to be provided by the milker who "likes cows". It's as simple as that!
Research has shown how the "attitude" of the humans to the cows and milking has very measurable benefits from extra milk in the vat. The challenge is to teach the right "attitude" to the humans!
It's always been well accepted that women are better milkers than men and there's plenty of evidence to show that as good staff move - herd production also changed. Good people got high production from their cows wherever they went.
Cows must not get a negative experience in the milking parlour so use some other yard or a time other than milking to do anything that will distress them.
Design of milking parlour is vital for good milking performance as it inevitably affects both the cows and the staff.
Fit buzzers or bells to backing gates so cows become conditioned to the signal and move before the gate moves. This saves injuries to legs and reduces stress.
What milking cows hate
Be anthropomorphic and think about this list from the cow’s point of view.
Poor races that injure their feet.
Poor entrances to paddocks and the farm dairy that bang their hips and ribs.
To be touched without warning.
To be hit by sticks, especially as they are going into the bail.
Badly adjusted milking machines that hurt teats.
Cups falling off all the time and having to be put on again.
Sore teats- where the pain is made worse by milking.
Dark holes that appear to be full of predators.
Unfamiliar and sudden noises.
People shouting at them in loud, high-pitched voices that echo under the large roof of big rotaries.
Strangers in the milking bail – especially those who might be there to inflict some pain.
Stray electric shocks.
Poorly trained staff who hate cows. The cows soon find this out.
Monday mornings or mornings after favourite teams lose. Staff are not in good moods.
Tired exhausted staff, who have had little time off and who come to hate cows.
Staff arguing or fighting during milking. Domestics! Two staff versus one.
Staff coming off dope or alcoholic hangovers.
No warning when things happen to them – sudden frights.
Volume washing with cold water on their teats.
Having cups put on roughly, and removing them roughly before the vacuum is completely broken.
Backing gates that hit you in the hocks.
Electric backing gates with hot electric chains hanging down.
Being in a large herd and losing your mates.
Very hot conditions with no shade available in paddock or yard. Cows love a sprinkler on hot days to cool off after their walk to be milked.
No water trough at the dairy to have a drink after a long walk to the dairy for milking.
Flies - especially those that bite.
Slipping over on hard too-smooth concrete.
Banging heads or backs against badly designed pipe work.
Deep mud.
Eye contact by humans.
Small children in the dairy.
Dogs in the dairy.
What makes happy milkers?
Confidence with cows.
Equipment that does not keep breaking down.
Plenty of time off!
Nice quiet cows that don't kick. The cows know they are liked by the milker.
Cows with well-shaped udders and teats to make milking easy.
Cows that don't dung in the dairy (more than 2 dungs/HB row indicates problems).
Good drenching facilities so cows don't fight the operator.
The pit or rotary platform at a good height to avoid backache.
Non-slip floors for both humans and cows - especially on steps.
No piping to knock head or arms.
Well-aligned clusters so cows milk out correctly.
A kick rail behind cows for human safety.
Minimal noise from machinery.
System that allows cows to be milked in as short a time as possible.
A "thank you" from the boss now and again.
Good wages and conditions - often the conditions come first.
Signs of contented cows
They are keen to come in to be milked.
They stand quietly looking straight ahead .
Eyes bright and looking slightly down.
Chewing their cud.
Lying down with legs tucked under.
Breathing steadily through their nose.
Not concerned about the world around them.
Old research showed that cows could recognise about 100 other cows in the herd, and sort out a social order among them.
A happy and hence productive cow knows her place and generally keeps to it. There are big benefits of doing this.
What happens in grazing groups of 250 or 500 cows or more? ; we don't know! This needs to be studied with some urgency as herd sizes build.
When grazing, cows should be able to find enough personal space for comfort. But when you see large mobs grazing with great competition for feed, you must wonder about cow welfare.
When leaving the paddock, low-rank cows wait till higher-rank ones have walked past them.
Dominant cows can stop low-rank cows drinking as they stand and idle near the trough. So heifers may not get drink till night, which has serious effects on production.
Cows must have access to adequate water troughs with enough room around them and high enough pressure to keep them full all the time, otherwise low-rank cows won't drink.
Putting a trough in the fence line to share between paddocks and save cost is not effective as it can cut drinking access in large groups.
Social order is important when the whole herd is walking home for milking. There's no problem with them going back to the paddock after milking as they go back in small groups.
As herds get larger, walking distances get longer. Some do up to 2.5km in one trip.
You find some dominant cows at the front, many dominant cows in the middle acting as the driving force, and low ranking (especially heifers) and sick cows are at the rear.
So the cows at the rear get the pressure from the person, pushed by the bike, and bitten by the dog, and they are the animals who can least afford this distress.
Contented cows walk with head down, and stressed cows walk with head up and cannot see where they are stepping. They get sore feet and lameness is a major cost of $365/cow/year in lost production and vet charges.
Training heifers for milking
The first milkings can be very stressful for heifers if they have not been trained.
The term "breaking in" is regularly used and for many heifers - that's exactly what it is. It should be "training" and not breaking in!
Good training really starts during calf rearing so that they are used to close contact with humans when it comes to time for them to enter the herd.
Then a few weeks before calving, if reared away from home (the usual system), the heifers come back and join the herd. Here they sort out their social order and it can be quite stressful, especially if there are some very dominant old cows in the herd.
It's good practice to do the following:
First put them through the yards and the milking parlour with all gates open.
Repeat the exercise and then hold them in the yard.
Repeat this and hold them in the bail of the herringbone or put them on the rotary with it stopped.
Next time switch on the machine and play music to accustom them to usual sounds.
Walk around behind them, touch them and massage their teats and udders.
Have more than one person in the parlour, moving around and talking.
To ensure success at heifer's first milking:
Make sure the cups don't suck air and squeak.
Don't let the cups fall off among her feet.
Keep her head up.
Make sure she cannot turn round in the bail or jump out.
Avoid over-milking. In fact it's probably better to under-milk her.
Keep your cool.
Rub her tail head and talk to her (low tones) when cups are on. Massage her udder and talk to her in low voice tones.
Don't let her get sore teats.
In practice some farmers avoid all this saying they haven't got time. So they resort to some very inhumane practices like squeezing the heifer between two older cows and slap the cups on and even apply some violence if she plays up. If you need to resort to physical violence and lose your cool, blame your management and not the heifer.
Milking plant faults that affect behaviour
There are many basic faults in farm dairies that cause cow behaviour problems. even in expensive new installations. Some examples are:
Poor concrete work that is too smooth - so cows slip over.
Concrete that is too rough and wears feet.
Poor concrete reinforcing allowing stray voltage in the parlour.
Holding yards that are too small so cows are too tight.
Poor cow flow so backing gates are made bigger and better - and electrified!
Poor lighting in the parlour so cows are reluctant to go in.
Pipework that jams the head of the first cow in the herringbone when the exit gate is released.
Bails too small for large cows and are not adjustable during season.
Dark doorways that cows see as threats and cause panic.
Blind right angle bends when cows have to leave the parlour
Clusters not aligned correctly behind cows, so cups are pulled over and some teats do not milk out evenly.
Pits that are too low for the milkers so they end up with backache and the cows suffer.
Repairs to the milking plant that never get done and that frustrate tired milkers, and again the cows suffer.
It's a good idea when planning a new plant to visit other plants working and talk to the milkers - not the salesmen. Offer to help milk their cows to see how things work and note cow and human behaviour.
Count how many times the cows dung each row in the herringbone. If there are more than two/row, there is a behaviour/management problem.
Training cattle to lead
This is best done when calves. Put a halter on the calf and tie it up for short periods (e.g. 30 minutes) twice a day, and feed the calf when it is tied.
Groom and handle it when tied up.
Then move the feed away some distance and lead the calf to the feed.
Then start to lead it around without feed - giving it a gentle push from behind as well as some light pressure on the lead. Get someone to help do the pushing.
Teaching mature stock to lead is not easy as they are so strong.
Use the tie up technique (30 minute spells) for 2-3 periods each day for a week, grooming and massaging at the same time. Offer some feed too while grooming.
Then try leading over short distances with help from an assistant pushing the animal from behind when it baulks. Don't let it get away on you or it will remember its success and do it again. Wear safety boots with plenty of grip.
To get animals used to halters and restraint, some stockpersons tie two animals of similar weights together with a 500mm chain including a swivel, so they get used to their heads being pulled.
Try this trick with animals of different weight so the large one teaches the lighter one to lead.
Some stud breeders use a donkey to teach show cattle to lead. The donkey and cattle beast are tied together with a short chain and swivel and are left to graze together for a few weeks.
If you have to start with older heavier animals (e.g. Mature cows and bulls), then it‘s hard work and can be dangerous. Some stockmen halter the beast to a frontend loader set at the height of the human handler who stands in the correct position. The tractor is then slowly reversed for very short intervals till the beast realises it has to move forwards and follow the handler. This should only be done for short intervals.
Solving milking problems
This is big business for special consultants.
A major problem is poor cow flow from the paddock to the milking parlour.
It's a good idea to go back to the paddock and follow the cows home.
It's also a good idea to get down and see the world from cow eye height.
Problem may not always be where you think they are. Remember the cows can remember and may not go into the parlour because they are scared to go out e.g. a slippy floor.
ALWAYS start off by checking the milking machine. There is nothing more important in cow comfort.
It should have two checks by an approved service agent twice a year.
It's very revealing to video the milking and analyse it with the staff later. They often get some surprises to find the things they do and didn't realise it.
Welfare issues (dairy cows)
Calving problems – Dystocia.
Cow-calf separation - the stress involved.
Mastitis - the pain and stress.
The use of Intra Vaginal Devices and Inductions.
Lameness- the pain and stress of sore feet.
Metabolic diseases.
Downer cow management.
Flies.
Lack of shade and shelter
Horn damage
Dehorning/disbudding done without anaesthetics.
Ingrowing horns.
Tail docking - especially of adult cows.
Transport - the long distances cows travel to slaughter and cows ferry crossings.
Emaciation - skinny cows and why they are left to get to this state.
Welfare issues (beef cattle).
Transport and handling.
Metabolic diseases.
Parasites - internal and external.
Calving problems – Dystocia.
Lack of shade and shelter.
Flies.
Rubbish lying around farms.
Cattle Behaviour and Welfare 1
Origins and domestication
Cattle evolved into about 260 different breeds, types and varieties in different parts of world such as the Buffalo in North America and the Yak in China. Wild ancestors of today's cattle e.g. the Auroch, were hunted for meat. Early humans feared and respected the early cattle for the shape of their crescent-shaped horns, which they considered had religious significance.
Cattle were domesticated for milk and meat and finding ways to castrate and dehorn cattle greatly aided domestication. Cattle also provide hides for clothing and other sophisticated products used in pharmaceuticals. Cattle (oxen and buffalo) still provide power in the developing world as well as dung
used for cooking and building. Cattle are also a measure of human wealth in parts of world, e.g. the Masai in Africa and in India they also have major religious significance.
Senses in cattle
Sight
Cattle have a well-developed eye that sees some colour but not as much as humans and they generally avoid bright light if given preference.
The position of each eye allows very wide peripheral vision along the side that alerts the cow to movement, which is then investigated using binocular vision.
A good side view is useful for watching where other animals are during grazing with head down. So cattle have nearly 360° vision as they move around when grazing.
Using two eyes, the cow has a much narrower binocular vision (about 25-50°).
We exploit the wide peripheral vision when moving stock using their "point of balance" just behind the shoulder and in the centre of their head.
Cattle have a narrow blind spot at the rear where they are vulnerable, so they move a lot to keep checking it out.
A cow's eyes are designed to see down rather than up and when alarmed it will raise its head to investigate.
A bull in fight response uses one eye to watch you, but its also getting his head ready for sideways swipe at same time.
It has been accepted for a long time that cattle are colour blind or have a restricted colour range. The source of this statement is never quoted so has grown into folklore. Recent work by AgResearch at Ruakura training cows to follow yellow signs has been very successful so cattle can see colours. Cattle
can also recognise the colour of peoples' clothing, especially if they are strangers who inflict pain or fear on them (e.g. vets).
Cattle can recognise different people from their shape. They can also count, and associate more than one person with pain or stress of injections or forced handling.
Hearing
Cattle are sensitive to high frequency sounds which people cannot hear.
These high frequency sounds can increase arousal and low tones are more relaxing for cattle.
Music is regularly used in milking parlours to provide cows with a familiar background noise. It is no more than that and is useful in drowning out other sudden sound that may be stressful.
Smell
Cattle have a better sense of smell than people.
The smell of blood can cause great panic and is very obvious when cattle see others slaughtered.
It's also seen when cattle pass paddocks treated with blood and bone fertiliser but for some unknown reason, this panic is not consistent.
Cattle remember smells, e.g. when an operator who smokes has caused given them injections. When they smell the next smoker they remember the pain and react accordingly.
Touch
Cows have a very sensitive skin and can shake flies off from localised areas.
Cows respond to touch and use it as an important form of communication among each other. You see it where mutual grooming is important in cattle, especially in mature animals.
Dams lick and groom their calves right up to weaning.
Touch is important to warn cows at close quarters where you are when they cannot see you - e.g. when milking.
One really bad experience by cattle will put them off all people for a considerable time till a positive human/animal bond is restored. They remember bad experiences for a long time.
Sleep
Adult cattle do actually sleep but only for very short intervals.
The sleeping pose is with all four legs tucked underneath themselves and head turned to face the rear.
Cattle must be well settled and comfortable before they will sleep. This has big implications for housed stock and design of cubicles so they have enough room for comfort and to avoid injury.
If animals are disturbed at night, they will sleep more during the day.
Communication
Cattle use a range of body signals to communicate with each other.
They use their heads to bunt others out of the way. So we talk about the 'bunt order' in cattle and 'peck order' in birds.
Their eyes have a key role and use "eyes down" to show submission, and "eyes up" to show confidence when moving into a group.
Cows on heat use mounting behaviour to signal to other cows and the bull.
Bulls use at least 5 signals with their heads:
Normal relaxed position.
Friendly approach before grooming by another cow.
Threat approach - watching you with one eye and snorting.
Submissive avoidance - pretending not to look.
Withdrawal from conflict with head toss, snort and voiding faeces.
Tail. It is raised high in play or great panic.
The female's tail also slightly raised in heat and mild panic.
Cattle daily routine
Cattle digest fibrous feed in their three fore stomachs (rumen, reticulum, omasum) and then the abomasum, which is the true gastric stomach.
Digestion of fibre produces carbon dioxide, methane which is belched up or ammonia which is absorbed in the blood.
Cattle divide their day into periods of:
Grazing - taking in feed using their prehensile (grasping) tongue and bottom teeth. Feed goes into the rumen via the abomasum (honey comb bag) where heavy objects collect.
Chewing. The feed is chewed, formed into a bolus with saliva (100 litres/day) and swallowed.
Rumination. Here feed is given time to ferment in the large rumen.
Regurgitation. This is where the bolus is belched up again for a second mastication of 300 chews.
Swallowing feed again into the omasum (the bible) for final grinding.
Then passing into the abomasum for gastric digestion.
Idling. The cow stands appearing to do nothing. It's time of rumen fermentation.
Resting - lying down.
Drinking. A milking cow drinks on average 70 litres of water per day.
Sleeping. The cow sleeps for short periods during the night.
Dairy cows have to spend at least 8 - 10 hours/day grazing to meet their nutritional needs.
They are driven by "metabolic hunger" or the need to eat to meet their genetic urge to lactate.
A cow makes between 30,000 - 40,000 grazing bites/day.
Modern dairy cows have been bred for this kind of life which many Welfarists are now questioning as being too stressful.
If cows don't eat enough, they use up body reserves and get thin. This then triggers problems like anoestrus (non cycling) and farmers use intra vaginal devices and inductions (abortions) to control their breeding activity, both of which have negative welfare images in the marketplace.
Milking effects on grazing routine
Non-lactating cattle and bulls have 3 main grazing periods from daybreak to mid morning, mid afternoon to half an hour after sunset, and then a shorter period about midnight.
Milking twice a day and removing cows from pasture has a large effect on cow behaviour e.g. long and slow milking routines force cows to graze into the night for an extra 1-4 hours.
Weather conditions will also force cows to change their grazing behaviour.
Feed intake. Getting dairy cows to eat more
The more a cow eats the more she produces, so having a permanently hungry cow is a legitimate aim of a herd manager.
So the first part of this challenge is to get the cow to take in a lot with each bite, so length of herbage is important for the cow to become satiated (feeling full) quickly, so she can lie down and digest her feed.
A cow metabolises more milk when resting than when standing or grazing.
Cows cannot eat short pasture very effectively and about 20cm is a good length for optimal intake.
"Social facilitation" is also important which is where one cow triggers off the behaviour of the group. So which cow causes and leads the change in behaviour, (e.g. resuming grazing after resting), is important.
We want the hungry high producers to get up first from resting and start a grazing spell again and not the low producers.
Offering new feed regularly during the day by moving the fence will always get cows to resume grazing as well as feeding small amounts of feed more often.
Feeding concentrates will also get more nutrients into the rumen, but this is generally not economic in NZ.
Using additives like molasses to improve palatability will also increase intake.
Cows don't like musty, mouldy or dusty feed, and these will reduce intake.
Cows
Cows will breed all year round in New Zealand latitudes and are not as affected by the day/night pattern (photoperiodicity) as sheep, goats and deer. But cows’ breeding activity may be reduced in the darker days of mid winter.
Cows start to cycle usually about 6 weeks after calving. They can show heat 3 weeks after calving but rarely conceive to this mating.
They may also show a “silent heat” with ovulation but no outward heat signs. More problems are seen in Holstein Friesians than Jerseys.
A cow ovulates a few hours after the end of standing heat, which has important implications for artificial insemination to ensure an effective pregnancy.
Puberty is about 6-9months of age but some heifer calves can show heat before that. This can be a hazard, as they can get pregnant as early as 4 months old and have to be aborted. It is not a good idea to let a yearling have a calf.
Cattle cycle every 21 days (range 18-24 days) if not mated, and are on heat for about 8 hours (range 2 -12 hours).
Signs of heat in the cow
Vocalise a lot.
Vaginal discharge - clear viscous fluid.
Walk around a lot to find other cows.
Cows form Sexually Active Groups (SAGs) of 3-5 cows.
Cows on heat mount other cows.
They stand to be mounted.
They "hold' their milk” and don't have a full "let down".
The cow is the only animal that shows this clearly defined persisting mounting behaviour, which is thought to have evolved to give visual signals to the bull.
But note that a cow that will stand for another cow will not immediately stand for the bull. This has a “teasing” effect on the bull and while challenging his libido concentrates his semen as excess accessory gland fluid dribbles off.
Heat detection methods
The most common (and cost effective) method of heat detection used in NZ dairy herds is tail paint.
The top of the cow's tail is painted with a thick paint, and when dry it is scuffed off indicating that another cow has mounted her. The traffic light colour sequence is best to use with tail paint.
Other methods are to use a range of adhesive devices that trigger colours or show scratch marks when rubbed by a mounting cow.
A "chin-ball harness" was developed to fit on the bull’s head and where a roller ball in a tank of paint left a mark on the cows back when the bull stood with his chin on the cow to test her stage of oestrus, when he mounted, and when he dropped back from mounting.
Birth
A cow may spend couple of hours seeking out a birth site, and going through the first stages when the calf moves into the birth canal and the water bag appears.
The next "delivery" stage where her waters burst and the calf appears should take about 15 minutes. If it's longer, then investigate what is going on or get help. The calf should be born in a diving position - front legs and head first. If not, you'll need to sort out the problem and may need professional help.
The final stage is passing of the afterbirth, which the cow may eat for hormonal benefit and removal from predators in wild.
Disturbance will upset and delay this pattern. It can have bad effects on the calf as it and the birth canal dries out and makes the process difficult.
The calf should be on its feet in 15-30 minutes and should start teat-seeking. It's vitally important that the calf gets colostrum and it needs at least 2 litres before 6 hours old.
The calf nuzzles the side of cow feeling for warm bare skin with teats. It can be very frustrating for calf, especially if their mother is a heifer as she may panic and turn to look at calf instead of standing still and encouraging suckling.
Inexperienced dams may even attack the calf and not stand still and nuzzle calf's tail area to encourage it to suck.
Bonding is very quick in cattle and takes only a few minutes. It is based first on smell and then on sight.
This can lead to problems of recording accurate parentage in large herds where groups of cows are synchronised to calve together. Staff have to make dam-calf Identification decisions that can be 13% wrong. Fortunately parentage can now be confirmed by DNA tests.
Most cows will not accept another calf after she has smelled and seen it unless you play other tricks on her (see later). But some cows will accept any alien calves.
The calf will follow the cow or any moving object a few hours after birth.
Calves often fall into drains during this early mothering period as they stagger about and can also fall on to the power fence and the constant shock on their wet body can kill them.
Cow calf relationship
When to remove a calf from her dairy cow mother is often debated as an animal welfare issue. The question is to find which system causes least stress on cow and calf.
The general practice is to remove the calf as soon as it has had sufficient colostrum, which may be a few hours after birth. It is argued that this is less stressful than removal at four days when milk can go to the factory. The cow's colostrum production is reduced to acceptable levels after 4 days.
In the wild, cattle are "lying out" species that hide their calves and suckle them at intervals during the day.
The cow and calf spend the night together, have an early morning suckle then the calf lies down while the cow goes off grazing.
An individual cow may graze close by her own calf and act as guardian of the crèche. If a calf bellows then its mother will return.
Around mid morning, one or two calves will call out and most cows will then return to suckle their calves.
The same pattern occurs in the afternoon. Then in the evening cows return to suckle and spend the night with their calves.
After 2-3 weeks, cows are more closely associated with their calves that will then follow their dams to graze and rest near them.
Social order in cows & calves
Cattle show a very clearly defined social order called a "bunt order" as they use their heads to sort it out.
If cattle are horned, then they have a big advantage over polled cows. This may cause problems in mixed groups in yards and at slaughter plants.
Horns bruise meat, damage hides and injure people and should be removed at birth with the hot cauterising iron and local anaesthetic, or genetically by using polled bulls.
Social order can be a very important issue in milking herds affecting cow flow.
It will be an issue with milking robot as dominant cows can block the flow through the unit.
Social order is also important with communally fed calves. There is a need to regularly draft calves to keep them of similar size and hence reduce bullying.
The social order developed in calves can last till they enter the herd.
Social facilitation is important when ad lib feeding as one calf can trigger feeding.
Group-fed calves are better socialised than those reared in isolation.
Calves can discriminate between objects, black versus white and large versus small.
Bulls
Bulls will mate all year round and do not show a "rut" like sheep, goats and deer.
Mounting and ejaculation are very quick in the bull. He grasps cow with his front legs and his whole weight is propelled forward on the cow at ejaculation.
This has safety implications for heifers mated by large stud bulls that can damage them. Heifers are best mated by smaller bulls.
A bull may serve a cow up to 3 times before she stops accepting him. In wild herds, the bull hangs around a cow for a day or both before and after mating.
On the farm he is generally allowed two services and is then separated. This is danger time, as the bull always wants one more mount, and tries to get back to the cow. The human in the way is at high risk of being pushed or charged.
Running one bull with 30-50 cows (dairy or beef) is normal practice, and the bull is changed regularly incase he is infertile.
Fighting among bulls is common during mating and injuries are common, e.g. to shoulder, legs, and penis.
In the wild Chillingham herd in UK, the king bull does all the mating until he is challenged by a young bull and they usually fight to the death for leadership.
Bulls are regularly reared in homosexual groups from 4-18months old so mounting and fighting behaviour is common, often leading to injury. This is especially the case with beef bulls.
Bull libido
Bulls may have to learn how to mate a cow, and this may take a few days to learn (and waste time) at the start of mating.
Libido testing can be done using the "Blockey test" where a cow is restrained in head bail and the number of mounts made by each bull is recorded.
This must be done under veterinary supervision to avoid injury to the cow, which must be changed regularly.
Farming bulls for beef
Farming bulls for beef is a major enterprise in New Zealand and provides lean export beef (grinding beef) for the USA hamburger trade.
Farmers run mainly Holstein Friesians, which are obtained as surplus bull calves from the dairy industry.
Bulls grow well and should average 1kg liveweight/day over their lives.
This is now a specialist enterprise where knowledge of animal behaviour pays dividends.
After about 12 months, bulls become territorial and fighting often increases. They dig holes to mark territory and wreck fences and gates during their activity periods.
Regular riding goes on and if one bull accepts this, he will be ridden regularly by others and can be injured. Bulls clearly prefer to ride rather than be ridden and will move away quickly from their assailants if they are strong to fight and then escape.
Injured or sick bulls will be ridden to death if left in the mob and have to be taken out. Rarely can you put them back, even after a few days as they are seen as strangers again. If returned to the mob then become a good target to ride again and upset the whole mob.
Mobs of beef bulls are less of a threat to neighbours' cows than is often imagined, as they seem to prefer their homosexual mates until they get a taste for female sex.
Successful bull farmers use a few tricks to keep them quiet.
Always keep them grazing. When they are idle or bored they play up.
Run them at low stocking rates to give plenty of personal and grazing space.
Try not to disturb them as they are very alert to changes.
Have at least one empty paddock between mobs of bulls.
Use shelterbelts so one mob cannot see the others grazing.
Run a donkey Jack with the mob or a horned Billy goat to discourage fighting.
Move them from a bike or horse with a good cattle dog and not on foot. Have help within reach.
Always be alert to the sound of their roaring. They use a high pitched confrontation roar when they see competitors or may have got out.
Don't graze bulls in paddocks near neighbours' cows unless the fence is very strong and electrified.
The young calf
Calves are very delicate animals; they are not robust small cows.
Their rearing system can have a big effect on subsequent behaviour.
It's vital that calf gets 2 Litres of colostrum (from dam or other newly-calved cow) before 6 hours old). Keep some colostrum in the freezer for emergencies.
There is a wide range of calf rearing systems where the main aim is to give the calf a good start and encourage it to become a ruminant.
A calf is born with a large abomasum (gastric stomach) and offering fibrous feed from birth (hay and meal) will encourage its rumen to grow and develop. This reduces the need for milk and lowers feeding costs.
When do calves become ruminants?
Calves start to chew hay and straw if provided in their pen a few days after birth, and if offered concentrates and good quality pasture they will be fully-functional ruminants by 3-4 weeks of age.
Getting calves to drink
Most calves are now reared using communal systems with a "calfeteria" allowing them individual feeding but run in a group environment.
Initially a calf wants to push upwards when sucking and bunts to stimulate milk flow from the udder.
To get the calf to suck on a “calfeteria”, let it suck your fingers and then lead it to teat to suck. Hold its head gently on the teat for a few seconds once on the teat.
If you use a bucket, let the calf suck your fingers and then press its head down into the bucket while sucking. Withdraw your fingers and keep its head in bucket. Initially it will gulp milk and choke - let it up for air!
Calves often want to continue suckling after their milk supply is finished. This "suckling reflex" encourages them to suck the ears, navels and teats of other calves. It can lead to problems so this vice must be discouraged.
Calves that suck other's teats may continue into adulthood and it can cause problems. How to stop it?
Make the calves work harder for their feed so the sucking urge runs out.
Tie them up after sucking till their mouths are dry.
Separate out the culprits as they will teach others.
Fit irritant device in the nose of sucker so others won't let them suck.
Provide dry palatable feed immediately after sucking.
A combination of wet and cold is the biggest killer of young calves or can be the reason for poor performance. Calves at pasture need shelter, either natural or artificial.
Fostering new calves on to nurse cows
Cows vary in their maternal instinct. If a cow is too determined not to take strange calves, don't bother with her as it will cost you too much time. She'll associate you with the calf and will soon learn not let it suck unless you are there or she is bailed up.
The easiest way is to have the strange calf to be fostered ready at birth, and cover it with the birth fluids from the cow. Make sure she licks and mothers both calves.
You can try the same trick using odours such as neatsfoot oil or perfume. They don't work as well, and certainly not as well as birth fluid. The oil will get the cow to at least lick the calf, and this may trigger maternal acceptance. The perfume may put her off. Cows' preferences in perfume are not known!
Remove her own calf at birth before she has smelled and licked it, and introduce the fostered calf (or calves) after rubbing them in birth fluids (collected in a bucket) or with the afterbirth.
Blindfold the cow while the alien calves are introduced to her but she may not like this idea.
Remove the cow's own calf after 2-3 days, and bail her up tight with some good strong alien hungry calves. Make sure she cannot get round to bunt them (dehorn the cow) and that she cannot kick them too violently.
While letting her suckle her own calf, introduce the alien calf and teach it to suck through her back legs (the cow's blind spot). It will end up with a dung cap but at least it will be well fed!
Put leather dog collars on the cow's own calf and the alien one, and tie them together with a short length of chain containing a swivel. When the cow lets her own calf suck, the foster one will be close too, and the cow will hopefully get used to having both suckling at the same time.
If her own calf has died, skin the dead calf and tie it over the new calf until she lets it suckle. This will vary from a day or so up to a week or more, when the skin starts to stink! This is mainly used in a beef herd where getting a cow in daily to suckle a calf is not practical.
A vaginal douche with iodine solution (5ml of veterinary iodine in 250ml water) used to be practiced and was sufficient to treat three cows. It seems to cause irritation of the vagina and stimulates straining and maternal instincts. It is not a welfare-friendly method so consult a veterinarian before use.
By Dr Clive Dalton
Cattle evolved into about 260 different breeds, types and varieties in different parts of world such as the Buffalo in North America and the Yak in China. Wild ancestors of today's cattle e.g. the Auroch, were hunted for meat. Early humans feared and respected the early cattle for the shape of their crescent-shaped horns, which they considered had religious significance.
Cattle were domesticated for milk and meat and finding ways to castrate and dehorn cattle greatly aided domestication. Cattle also provide hides for clothing and other sophisticated products used in pharmaceuticals. Cattle (oxen and buffalo) still provide power in the developing world as well as dung
used for cooking and building. Cattle are also a measure of human wealth in parts of world, e.g. the Masai in Africa and in India they also have major religious significance.
Senses in cattle
Sight
Cattle have a well-developed eye that sees some colour but not as much as humans and they generally avoid bright light if given preference.
The position of each eye allows very wide peripheral vision along the side that alerts the cow to movement, which is then investigated using binocular vision.
A good side view is useful for watching where other animals are during grazing with head down. So cattle have nearly 360° vision as they move around when grazing.
Using two eyes, the cow has a much narrower binocular vision (about 25-50°).
We exploit the wide peripheral vision when moving stock using their "point of balance" just behind the shoulder and in the centre of their head.
Cattle have a narrow blind spot at the rear where they are vulnerable, so they move a lot to keep checking it out.
A cow's eyes are designed to see down rather than up and when alarmed it will raise its head to investigate.
A bull in fight response uses one eye to watch you, but its also getting his head ready for sideways swipe at same time.
It has been accepted for a long time that cattle are colour blind or have a restricted colour range. The source of this statement is never quoted so has grown into folklore. Recent work by AgResearch at Ruakura training cows to follow yellow signs has been very successful so cattle can see colours. Cattle
can also recognise the colour of peoples' clothing, especially if they are strangers who inflict pain or fear on them (e.g. vets).
Cattle can recognise different people from their shape. They can also count, and associate more than one person with pain or stress of injections or forced handling.
Hearing
Cattle are sensitive to high frequency sounds which people cannot hear.
These high frequency sounds can increase arousal and low tones are more relaxing for cattle.
Music is regularly used in milking parlours to provide cows with a familiar background noise. It is no more than that and is useful in drowning out other sudden sound that may be stressful.
Smell
Cattle have a better sense of smell than people.
The smell of blood can cause great panic and is very obvious when cattle see others slaughtered.
It's also seen when cattle pass paddocks treated with blood and bone fertiliser but for some unknown reason, this panic is not consistent.
Cattle remember smells, e.g. when an operator who smokes has caused given them injections. When they smell the next smoker they remember the pain and react accordingly.
Touch
Cows have a very sensitive skin and can shake flies off from localised areas.
Cows respond to touch and use it as an important form of communication among each other. You see it where mutual grooming is important in cattle, especially in mature animals.
Dams lick and groom their calves right up to weaning.
Touch is important to warn cows at close quarters where you are when they cannot see you - e.g. when milking.
One really bad experience by cattle will put them off all people for a considerable time till a positive human/animal bond is restored. They remember bad experiences for a long time.
Sleep
Adult cattle do actually sleep but only for very short intervals.
The sleeping pose is with all four legs tucked underneath themselves and head turned to face the rear.
Cattle must be well settled and comfortable before they will sleep. This has big implications for housed stock and design of cubicles so they have enough room for comfort and to avoid injury.
If animals are disturbed at night, they will sleep more during the day.
Communication
Cattle use a range of body signals to communicate with each other.
They use their heads to bunt others out of the way. So we talk about the 'bunt order' in cattle and 'peck order' in birds.
Their eyes have a key role and use "eyes down" to show submission, and "eyes up" to show confidence when moving into a group.
Cows on heat use mounting behaviour to signal to other cows and the bull.
Bulls use at least 5 signals with their heads:
Normal relaxed position.
Friendly approach before grooming by another cow.
Threat approach - watching you with one eye and snorting.
Submissive avoidance - pretending not to look.
Withdrawal from conflict with head toss, snort and voiding faeces.
Tail. It is raised high in play or great panic.
The female's tail also slightly raised in heat and mild panic.
Cattle daily routine
Cattle digest fibrous feed in their three fore stomachs (rumen, reticulum, omasum) and then the abomasum, which is the true gastric stomach.
Digestion of fibre produces carbon dioxide, methane which is belched up or ammonia which is absorbed in the blood.
Cattle divide their day into periods of:
Grazing - taking in feed using their prehensile (grasping) tongue and bottom teeth. Feed goes into the rumen via the abomasum (honey comb bag) where heavy objects collect.
Chewing. The feed is chewed, formed into a bolus with saliva (100 litres/day) and swallowed.
Rumination. Here feed is given time to ferment in the large rumen.
Regurgitation. This is where the bolus is belched up again for a second mastication of 300 chews.
Swallowing feed again into the omasum (the bible) for final grinding.
Then passing into the abomasum for gastric digestion.
Idling. The cow stands appearing to do nothing. It's time of rumen fermentation.
Resting - lying down.
Drinking. A milking cow drinks on average 70 litres of water per day.
Sleeping. The cow sleeps for short periods during the night.
Dairy cows have to spend at least 8 - 10 hours/day grazing to meet their nutritional needs.
They are driven by "metabolic hunger" or the need to eat to meet their genetic urge to lactate.
A cow makes between 30,000 - 40,000 grazing bites/day.
Modern dairy cows have been bred for this kind of life which many Welfarists are now questioning as being too stressful.
If cows don't eat enough, they use up body reserves and get thin. This then triggers problems like anoestrus (non cycling) and farmers use intra vaginal devices and inductions (abortions) to control their breeding activity, both of which have negative welfare images in the marketplace.
Milking effects on grazing routine
Non-lactating cattle and bulls have 3 main grazing periods from daybreak to mid morning, mid afternoon to half an hour after sunset, and then a shorter period about midnight.
Milking twice a day and removing cows from pasture has a large effect on cow behaviour e.g. long and slow milking routines force cows to graze into the night for an extra 1-4 hours.
Weather conditions will also force cows to change their grazing behaviour.
Feed intake. Getting dairy cows to eat more
The more a cow eats the more she produces, so having a permanently hungry cow is a legitimate aim of a herd manager.
So the first part of this challenge is to get the cow to take in a lot with each bite, so length of herbage is important for the cow to become satiated (feeling full) quickly, so she can lie down and digest her feed.
A cow metabolises more milk when resting than when standing or grazing.
Cows cannot eat short pasture very effectively and about 20cm is a good length for optimal intake.
"Social facilitation" is also important which is where one cow triggers off the behaviour of the group. So which cow causes and leads the change in behaviour, (e.g. resuming grazing after resting), is important.
We want the hungry high producers to get up first from resting and start a grazing spell again and not the low producers.
Offering new feed regularly during the day by moving the fence will always get cows to resume grazing as well as feeding small amounts of feed more often.
Feeding concentrates will also get more nutrients into the rumen, but this is generally not economic in NZ.
Using additives like molasses to improve palatability will also increase intake.
Cows don't like musty, mouldy or dusty feed, and these will reduce intake.
Cows
Cows will breed all year round in New Zealand latitudes and are not as affected by the day/night pattern (photoperiodicity) as sheep, goats and deer. But cows’ breeding activity may be reduced in the darker days of mid winter.
Cows start to cycle usually about 6 weeks after calving. They can show heat 3 weeks after calving but rarely conceive to this mating.
They may also show a “silent heat” with ovulation but no outward heat signs. More problems are seen in Holstein Friesians than Jerseys.
A cow ovulates a few hours after the end of standing heat, which has important implications for artificial insemination to ensure an effective pregnancy.
Puberty is about 6-9months of age but some heifer calves can show heat before that. This can be a hazard, as they can get pregnant as early as 4 months old and have to be aborted. It is not a good idea to let a yearling have a calf.
Cattle cycle every 21 days (range 18-24 days) if not mated, and are on heat for about 8 hours (range 2 -12 hours).
Signs of heat in the cow
Vocalise a lot.
Vaginal discharge - clear viscous fluid.
Walk around a lot to find other cows.
Cows form Sexually Active Groups (SAGs) of 3-5 cows.
Cows on heat mount other cows.
They stand to be mounted.
They "hold' their milk” and don't have a full "let down".
The cow is the only animal that shows this clearly defined persisting mounting behaviour, which is thought to have evolved to give visual signals to the bull.
But note that a cow that will stand for another cow will not immediately stand for the bull. This has a “teasing” effect on the bull and while challenging his libido concentrates his semen as excess accessory gland fluid dribbles off.
Heat detection methods
The most common (and cost effective) method of heat detection used in NZ dairy herds is tail paint.
The top of the cow's tail is painted with a thick paint, and when dry it is scuffed off indicating that another cow has mounted her. The traffic light colour sequence is best to use with tail paint.
Other methods are to use a range of adhesive devices that trigger colours or show scratch marks when rubbed by a mounting cow.
A "chin-ball harness" was developed to fit on the bull’s head and where a roller ball in a tank of paint left a mark on the cows back when the bull stood with his chin on the cow to test her stage of oestrus, when he mounted, and when he dropped back from mounting.
Birth
A cow may spend couple of hours seeking out a birth site, and going through the first stages when the calf moves into the birth canal and the water bag appears.
The next "delivery" stage where her waters burst and the calf appears should take about 15 minutes. If it's longer, then investigate what is going on or get help. The calf should be born in a diving position - front legs and head first. If not, you'll need to sort out the problem and may need professional help.
The final stage is passing of the afterbirth, which the cow may eat for hormonal benefit and removal from predators in wild.
Disturbance will upset and delay this pattern. It can have bad effects on the calf as it and the birth canal dries out and makes the process difficult.
The calf should be on its feet in 15-30 minutes and should start teat-seeking. It's vitally important that the calf gets colostrum and it needs at least 2 litres before 6 hours old.
The calf nuzzles the side of cow feeling for warm bare skin with teats. It can be very frustrating for calf, especially if their mother is a heifer as she may panic and turn to look at calf instead of standing still and encouraging suckling.
Inexperienced dams may even attack the calf and not stand still and nuzzle calf's tail area to encourage it to suck.
Bonding is very quick in cattle and takes only a few minutes. It is based first on smell and then on sight.
This can lead to problems of recording accurate parentage in large herds where groups of cows are synchronised to calve together. Staff have to make dam-calf Identification decisions that can be 13% wrong. Fortunately parentage can now be confirmed by DNA tests.
Most cows will not accept another calf after she has smelled and seen it unless you play other tricks on her (see later). But some cows will accept any alien calves.
The calf will follow the cow or any moving object a few hours after birth.
Calves often fall into drains during this early mothering period as they stagger about and can also fall on to the power fence and the constant shock on their wet body can kill them.
Cow calf relationship
When to remove a calf from her dairy cow mother is often debated as an animal welfare issue. The question is to find which system causes least stress on cow and calf.
The general practice is to remove the calf as soon as it has had sufficient colostrum, which may be a few hours after birth. It is argued that this is less stressful than removal at four days when milk can go to the factory. The cow's colostrum production is reduced to acceptable levels after 4 days.
In the wild, cattle are "lying out" species that hide their calves and suckle them at intervals during the day.
The cow and calf spend the night together, have an early morning suckle then the calf lies down while the cow goes off grazing.
An individual cow may graze close by her own calf and act as guardian of the crèche. If a calf bellows then its mother will return.
Around mid morning, one or two calves will call out and most cows will then return to suckle their calves.
The same pattern occurs in the afternoon. Then in the evening cows return to suckle and spend the night with their calves.
After 2-3 weeks, cows are more closely associated with their calves that will then follow their dams to graze and rest near them.
Social order in cows & calves
Cattle show a very clearly defined social order called a "bunt order" as they use their heads to sort it out.
If cattle are horned, then they have a big advantage over polled cows. This may cause problems in mixed groups in yards and at slaughter plants.
Horns bruise meat, damage hides and injure people and should be removed at birth with the hot cauterising iron and local anaesthetic, or genetically by using polled bulls.
Social order can be a very important issue in milking herds affecting cow flow.
It will be an issue with milking robot as dominant cows can block the flow through the unit.
Social order is also important with communally fed calves. There is a need to regularly draft calves to keep them of similar size and hence reduce bullying.
The social order developed in calves can last till they enter the herd.
Social facilitation is important when ad lib feeding as one calf can trigger feeding.
Group-fed calves are better socialised than those reared in isolation.
Calves can discriminate between objects, black versus white and large versus small.
Bulls
Bulls will mate all year round and do not show a "rut" like sheep, goats and deer.
Mounting and ejaculation are very quick in the bull. He grasps cow with his front legs and his whole weight is propelled forward on the cow at ejaculation.
This has safety implications for heifers mated by large stud bulls that can damage them. Heifers are best mated by smaller bulls.
A bull may serve a cow up to 3 times before she stops accepting him. In wild herds, the bull hangs around a cow for a day or both before and after mating.
On the farm he is generally allowed two services and is then separated. This is danger time, as the bull always wants one more mount, and tries to get back to the cow. The human in the way is at high risk of being pushed or charged.
Running one bull with 30-50 cows (dairy or beef) is normal practice, and the bull is changed regularly incase he is infertile.
Fighting among bulls is common during mating and injuries are common, e.g. to shoulder, legs, and penis.
In the wild Chillingham herd in UK, the king bull does all the mating until he is challenged by a young bull and they usually fight to the death for leadership.
Bulls are regularly reared in homosexual groups from 4-18months old so mounting and fighting behaviour is common, often leading to injury. This is especially the case with beef bulls.
Bull libido
Bulls may have to learn how to mate a cow, and this may take a few days to learn (and waste time) at the start of mating.
Libido testing can be done using the "Blockey test" where a cow is restrained in head bail and the number of mounts made by each bull is recorded.
This must be done under veterinary supervision to avoid injury to the cow, which must be changed regularly.
Farming bulls for beef
Farming bulls for beef is a major enterprise in New Zealand and provides lean export beef (grinding beef) for the USA hamburger trade.
Farmers run mainly Holstein Friesians, which are obtained as surplus bull calves from the dairy industry.
Bulls grow well and should average 1kg liveweight/day over their lives.
This is now a specialist enterprise where knowledge of animal behaviour pays dividends.
After about 12 months, bulls become territorial and fighting often increases. They dig holes to mark territory and wreck fences and gates during their activity periods.
Regular riding goes on and if one bull accepts this, he will be ridden regularly by others and can be injured. Bulls clearly prefer to ride rather than be ridden and will move away quickly from their assailants if they are strong to fight and then escape.
Injured or sick bulls will be ridden to death if left in the mob and have to be taken out. Rarely can you put them back, even after a few days as they are seen as strangers again. If returned to the mob then become a good target to ride again and upset the whole mob.
Mobs of beef bulls are less of a threat to neighbours' cows than is often imagined, as they seem to prefer their homosexual mates until they get a taste for female sex.
Successful bull farmers use a few tricks to keep them quiet.
Always keep them grazing. When they are idle or bored they play up.
Run them at low stocking rates to give plenty of personal and grazing space.
Try not to disturb them as they are very alert to changes.
Have at least one empty paddock between mobs of bulls.
Use shelterbelts so one mob cannot see the others grazing.
Run a donkey Jack with the mob or a horned Billy goat to discourage fighting.
Move them from a bike or horse with a good cattle dog and not on foot. Have help within reach.
Always be alert to the sound of their roaring. They use a high pitched confrontation roar when they see competitors or may have got out.
Don't graze bulls in paddocks near neighbours' cows unless the fence is very strong and electrified.
The young calf
Calves are very delicate animals; they are not robust small cows.
Their rearing system can have a big effect on subsequent behaviour.
It's vital that calf gets 2 Litres of colostrum (from dam or other newly-calved cow) before 6 hours old). Keep some colostrum in the freezer for emergencies.
There is a wide range of calf rearing systems where the main aim is to give the calf a good start and encourage it to become a ruminant.
A calf is born with a large abomasum (gastric stomach) and offering fibrous feed from birth (hay and meal) will encourage its rumen to grow and develop. This reduces the need for milk and lowers feeding costs.
When do calves become ruminants?
Calves start to chew hay and straw if provided in their pen a few days after birth, and if offered concentrates and good quality pasture they will be fully-functional ruminants by 3-4 weeks of age.
Getting calves to drink
Most calves are now reared using communal systems with a "calfeteria" allowing them individual feeding but run in a group environment.
Initially a calf wants to push upwards when sucking and bunts to stimulate milk flow from the udder.
To get the calf to suck on a “calfeteria”, let it suck your fingers and then lead it to teat to suck. Hold its head gently on the teat for a few seconds once on the teat.
If you use a bucket, let the calf suck your fingers and then press its head down into the bucket while sucking. Withdraw your fingers and keep its head in bucket. Initially it will gulp milk and choke - let it up for air!
Calves often want to continue suckling after their milk supply is finished. This "suckling reflex" encourages them to suck the ears, navels and teats of other calves. It can lead to problems so this vice must be discouraged.
Calves that suck other's teats may continue into adulthood and it can cause problems. How to stop it?
Make the calves work harder for their feed so the sucking urge runs out.
Tie them up after sucking till their mouths are dry.
Separate out the culprits as they will teach others.
Fit irritant device in the nose of sucker so others won't let them suck.
Provide dry palatable feed immediately after sucking.
A combination of wet and cold is the biggest killer of young calves or can be the reason for poor performance. Calves at pasture need shelter, either natural or artificial.
Fostering new calves on to nurse cows
Cows vary in their maternal instinct. If a cow is too determined not to take strange calves, don't bother with her as it will cost you too much time. She'll associate you with the calf and will soon learn not let it suck unless you are there or she is bailed up.
The easiest way is to have the strange calf to be fostered ready at birth, and cover it with the birth fluids from the cow. Make sure she licks and mothers both calves.
You can try the same trick using odours such as neatsfoot oil or perfume. They don't work as well, and certainly not as well as birth fluid. The oil will get the cow to at least lick the calf, and this may trigger maternal acceptance. The perfume may put her off. Cows' preferences in perfume are not known!
Remove her own calf at birth before she has smelled and licked it, and introduce the fostered calf (or calves) after rubbing them in birth fluids (collected in a bucket) or with the afterbirth.
Blindfold the cow while the alien calves are introduced to her but she may not like this idea.
Remove the cow's own calf after 2-3 days, and bail her up tight with some good strong alien hungry calves. Make sure she cannot get round to bunt them (dehorn the cow) and that she cannot kick them too violently.
While letting her suckle her own calf, introduce the alien calf and teach it to suck through her back legs (the cow's blind spot). It will end up with a dung cap but at least it will be well fed!
Put leather dog collars on the cow's own calf and the alien one, and tie them together with a short length of chain containing a swivel. When the cow lets her own calf suck, the foster one will be close too, and the cow will hopefully get used to having both suckling at the same time.
If her own calf has died, skin the dead calf and tie it over the new calf until she lets it suckle. This will vary from a day or so up to a week or more, when the skin starts to stink! This is mainly used in a beef herd where getting a cow in daily to suckle a calf is not practical.
A vaginal douche with iodine solution (5ml of veterinary iodine in 250ml water) used to be practiced and was sufficient to treat three cows. It seems to cause irritation of the vagina and stimulates straining and maternal instincts. It is not a welfare-friendly method so consult a veterinarian before use.
By Dr Clive Dalton
Horse Behaviour and Welfare 2
What is a horse?
Horses are large and can do a lot of damage to humans. It's surprising that horses don't realise this and apply their physical advantage more often. New Zealand ACC statistics confirm the high accident rate caused by horses!
Horses bite, kick with both front and back feet, and crush, and they can combine these for simultaneous delivery! They also have good memories of their handlers and events and this is a major problem in trying to correct problems, as a handler may fix a problem and the horse will have learned to behave with him/her.
But there is no guarantee that the cure will be applied to other people or be long-term and a smart horse will wait for the right opportunity to get its own back. The main question is whether the problem can be corrected, and how reliable the "cure" will be in relation to the experience, age and size of the
owner/rider/driver.
1. Aggression
Horses show many forms of aggression from mild to very severe.
There are many causes of aggression, both genetic and environmental. The latter is more important as genetically aggressive horses usually end up as pet food.
Aggression is a normal part of stallion behaviour around mares, but they can be very tractable outside the mating season and are regularly ridden and raced. Some famous thoroughbred stallions have been man-killers but were kept for the high racing success of their progeny - only accepting being handled by certain individuals.
Even after you have found a "cure", the question will remain of whether you can trust the horse after that?
Possible cures/Prevention
Try and work out how the horse learned the habit as you may be able to use this to evaluate your chances of coming up with a "lasting" and reliable cure. It may not be.
Go back to building a strong bond with the animal and always be alert to the things that trigger the aggression.
Have a short, sharp reprimand ready as soon as you see the action about to happen so the horse is surprised and associates the shock with its action. A delay in the action will not work as the horse will not associate it with the action.
An example is a horse that bites when you tighten the girth. A sharp blow with the elbow as it's teeth come round is usually very effective if the problem is mild.
If the risks of failure and human safety are too great, consider euthanasia.
2. Boredom
This is a common problem for confined horses in stables and small paddocks and it can lead to:
Self mutilation.
Standing weaving in stall or paddock.
Stall walking or fence walking in the paddock.
Stall digging or digging holes in the paddock.
Kicking the back wall of the stall.
Eating the bedding - especially when it is soiled.
Chewing gates and fences - often made of chemically-treated timber.
Crib biting, cribbing or wind sucking.
Cutting down feed to prevent obesity or reducing high-protein pasture to prevent founder of the foot adds to boredom.
Possible cures/Prevention
Feed hay to keep the horse busy as hay has low nutritional value.
Make the horse work to get its hay by putting it in a raised hay rack.
Provide toys in the box, e.g. hang beach balls from the ceiling.
Let the horse see other horses next door. They should be in sight, smell and sound of each other.
Give regular exercise and lunging is the easiest way.
3. Sexual problems in stallions
Stud stallions live a most un-natural life being the theoretical Alpha male of his stud of mares, but only having contact with them for very short periods when they need mating. He is not even allowed to go visit the mares to identify those on heat as this is done by a teaser stallion that he would like to kill.
After a couple of mounts he returns to his physical isolation, and its not surprising that boredom and breeding problems can result.
These are such a major problem that specialist equine behaviour veterinarians travel the world to help solve stallion libido and infertility problems that cost millions of dollars.
The causes of the problems have been surprising from major issues to very minor ones. It may have been an unfortunate early mating experience, the stud groom's behaviour, the place where the mating takes place, injury to the stallion when mounting, the smell of the place or the people, and many more.
Possible cures/Prevention
Allow the stallion to have as near a natural life as possible in close contact with other horses that do not threaten his status.
Provide plenty of exercise.
Provide plenty of visual contact with other horses (not stallions).
Provide "a paddock friend" if the stallion is run outside. Or if boxed all the time, provide some form of activity like a hanging ball. In one case a hen living in the stallion's box was shown to be effective company for him!
4. Horses hard to catch
Not being able to go up to a horse and put a halter on it is very frustrating. It can waste hours of time if you have to chase the animal, try to block it in a corner of the paddock with the risk of being kicked, or run it into a yard.
The horse often becomes more cunning with time, and other horses can learn the habit from it.
It often starts with the horse having a bad experience once it was caught- and remembering it. If the habit is well entrenched, then it's sometimes not worth trying to try to correct it.
Possible cures/Prevention
Form a good bond with the horse during its initial schooling so it always associates you with security.
Get the horse to want to come to you – because of the mutual bond which it wants reinforced.
If it's an older horse, then try to rebuild the bond by lunging the horse in a round yard using the Monty Roberts principles. Donkeys have been used in times of war for transport and food. Owners stress the very special bond that can be built between donkey and caregiver and is much different between man and horse.
Use feed to catch the horse - but this can have problems the day you forget the feed!
Make coming into the yard or stable a positive experience for the horse - generally to an attractive feed.
5. Bolting
This is a terrifying and dangerous experience for both human and horse and can lead to very bad injuries.
Horses are a panic species and use speed to get away from predators and threats so the cause is often a fright or fear of the unfamiliar.
Possible cures/Prevention
Get the horse checked by a veterinarian to see if there are any physical problems such as pain that could trigger the action.
Try to find out why and how the horse developed the habit - it was most likely some bad experience in its early schooling and a poor bond with the owner.
If you can find the cause - condition the horse to the threat so it builds up the trust that it will be safe with you. But then you will have to check that the horse will apply the same trust with other humans.
Anticipate the trigger to the action so you can be ahead of the horse's thinking to stop the action.
The horse may not have been "mouthed" correctly when initially broken in and has learned not to respond the bit. It may even be able to get its tongue over the bit. Check that the correct tack is being used and everything is the correct fit.
6. Bucking and rearing
Again these vices can lead to terrible accidents to both humans and horses.
Horses buck to free themselves from threats and predators - seeing their riders in this light.
They rear again to get rid of their threat or predator or in reaction to a sudden fright or novelty item
that they are not familiar with.
Possible cures/Prevention
Try to find out how and when the problem started as it may indicate how to fix it.
Get the horse checked by a vet to see if it has any physical problems.
Check all the tack to see everything fits well and is correctly adjusted.
Re-socialise the horse with the trainer and proceed with schooling to see if this solves the problem.
Then check if its new manners apply to other riders. This is often seen with children's ponies that don't buck off adults but will start their tricks again when the kids remount.
The horse even after re-training may not be trustworthy and should be disposed of before they cause serious human injury.
7. Refusal to go on a float or truck
This problem arises with a horse that either has never been loaded on to a horse float before, or that goes quite happily on to certain vehicles but not on to others.
The horse sees the float or truck as a dark hole full of lurking predators.
It can be dangerous for both humans and horse because as frustration builds and the horse becomes more stressed, it is much more likely to kick someone.
Panic and noise is generated and when the whips come out, the horse becomes more determined not to go into the vehicle.
Possible cures/Prevention
Horses should be trained to go on to a range of different vehicles from being foals.
If it is your own float, put the horse's feed inside so it gets used to going in.
Then try and borrow a different float to test the horse.
Use a double-horse float and put a horse in there to attract it in.
Get it to follow another familiar horse moving into a double float.
Blindfold it and lead it into the float.
Make sure the ramp has good foot grips.
It's better to put a rope around the rear of the horse to push it in than drag it from its halter. Keep well clear of its back feet.
Try to avoid hitting the horse unless you see it will bring positive results. If the horse thinks it has won the battle - it will be all the worse next time.
You may need to get veterinary help to tranquilise the horse to load it.
8. Problems of the horse in work
Work or harness horses show a range of problems such as:Refusing the collar.
Failing to take the load and pull forward.
Failing to push backwards.
Failing to stop when going backwards.
Taking little notice of the bit or the reins.
Getting its tongue over the bit.
In double harness, one horse learns to stop pulling.
Possible cures/Prevention
Try to find out what caused the problem in the first case.
This may not be possible if the horse was purchased as an older animal.
Be aware of the circumstances that trigger the behaviour and try to preempt it.
The horse may be well entrenched in its behaviour and is too much of a danger to people by keeping it and trying to break the habit.
A horse with a hard mouth has developed this by poor initial schooling and apart from using a severe bit, not much can be done. Get a specialist to check it's mouth.
Refusing the collar. Make sure the horse comes up against a solid object with its rear end when it backs to avoid the collar.
Pulling forward and backing problems can lead to great danger for the human driver. The horse usually has developed the habit because of fear and panic. Check all the harness for correct fitting and blinkers may help. Use an assistant to hold the horse's head until it gains confidence to be directed by the driver.
The problem may be too entrenched to be effectively cured so disposal of the horse should be considered before some human gets seriously injured.
In double harness the horse that stops pulling can usually be fixed by a sharp reprimand but it will keep trying to get away with it thinking that you have stopped taking notice!
Horse welfare problems
Feral horses and their mustering and slaughter to reduce numbers and prevent environmental damage.
Transport of horses to slaughter premises in unsuitable vehicles.
Slaughter of surplus horses and exporting their meat for human consumption.
Starvation - horses grazing horse-sick paddocks with no feed.
Horses used in rodeos - for calf roping, barrel racing and buck jumping.
Horses used in circuses.
The whipping of horses in flat and harness racing.
Injury to sport horses in show jumping and cross-country events.
The shoeing of horses which some people see as unnatural and stressful.
RACING
How do these horse, about to come under the whip, view this
experience - as pleasure or pain?
History
The horse is a ‘panic species’ and escapes its predators by running away, so the faster a horse can run, the greater its chances of survival. Man soon realised the vale of this trait for in war and then for leisure. Clearly, the person with the fastest horse would soon gain elevated status in human society, and very soon after this you could see the emergence of betting.
So horses have been bred for generations to race in various forms for human entertainment, the main one being flat racing by ‘thoroughbreds’ and trotting and pacing in ‘harness racing’ where the driver is carried in a sulky pulled behind the horse. Racing horses over jumps is simply a modification of flat racing.
The Domestic Contract
When considering the points below, remember to consider ‘The Domestic Contract’ which is about man and the animal coming to a compromise or ‘Win-Win’ situation. Remember that man has to do the negotiation fairly for both parties as the horse cannot. Consider the main forms of racing below.
Horses have been bred for racing so suffer little stress when pushed hard by rider or driver.
The training of these horses provides more conditioning, which again ensures minimal stress when performing, especially at their peak speed at the end of races.
Many trainers, drivers and jockeys state that horses actually enjoy racing, and this can be seen in the way they get excited immediately before starting an event.
The whipping of horses in the final stages of a race is minimal, and causes little pain or distress to the horse over a very short time interval.
Whipping in moderation is acceptable and is needed to help the horse ‘concentrate on its work’.
The massive racing industry employs many people and in New Zealand and money from betting also goes into the general community.
The industry also contributes to national wealth through the export of horses.
From the horse’s viewpoint
Is this horse being saddled up to race, looking forward to the next half hour?
If it had a choice, what would it do?
If horses, even those bred for racing were given a choice, they would not want to race, which is equivalent to having a session of ‘panic stress’.
The hide of the horse is a very sensitive organ, as it can feel and flick off a fly from a specific area.
So whipping is something the horse must view as a stressor.
To inflict such distress on an animal for human entertainment is not acceptable in this modern age.
It is humans who have decided how much whipping is acceptable, and the horse has never been tested for reaction.
Limiting jockeys in flat racing to six successive cuts with the whip, then six whip-less strides before another six whippings before it is deemed to be ‘unfair’ is an outrageous rule made by man ignoring the desires of the horse.
Research to check the physiological response of horses to whipping should have been done before rules were made. Remember that the Animal Welfare Act prides itself on the fact that recommendations should be based on good science.
Whipping causes distress and pain to a horse and goes against all the principles in the current law.
Some other points
To protect the horse, the MAF Code of Welfare on Horses No 7 (1993) states that ‘except during races under the control of the New Zealand Racing Conference or New Zealand Harness Racing Conference, no person may inflict upon a horse more than three consecutive strokes with a whip, and ‘No person may strike any horse around the head or genitals with a whip or other object’.
The argument is confused under the definition of ‘cruelty’ which the law does not allow under any circumstance. Whipping of racehorses by the industry has clearly been deemed by humans not to be cruel if it is limited to six consecutive strokes at a time.
It would be interesting to know how six was decided and why six strides before another six lashes.
Was this based on reliable research of some human ‘feeling? Did anyone volunteer to be whipped to try to get an idea of what the horse was feeling?
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing changed the rules from August 1 2009 to ban the old style whip and make the use of the 'padded whip' mandatory. This follows extensive trials in UK, Ireland, India and Australia which showed that the padded whip makes more noise and causes less stress to the horse.
Jockeys in these countries and New Zealand argue that a whip is needed to steer the horse and not inflict pain.
The MAF Horse Code has a lot of comment on ‘discipline and restraint methods’ where as most people know, the whip is a recognised tool of trade. But the Code is very clear that ‘training methods which involve cruelly ill-treating horses is unacceptable’.
There is such a surplus of race horses that don’t make the big time, and not enough people who are willing to take them, that they form a major part of the pet food industry. At least this industry is tightly controlled so they do have a humane death. Thoroughbreds especially, are not suitable for family horses.
Some countries are considering a ban on whipping horses in races, and it would be a great opportunity for New Zealand to lead the way.
Steeplechase racing over jumps has the added issue of making horses jump fences risking injury, on top of being whipped in the last stages of a race when they are exhausted.
‘Eventing’ has gained a bad press when at the highest level of the sport, (e.g. Olympics and Badmington), horses have been injured on the cross-country course and have to be put down. The human making courses wanted to make it more challenging (harder) for the horse, in theory to sort out the very best horse and for crowd entertainment, and the welfare of the horse was compromised.
The public outcry has done some good, in that designers of courses have had to give human and animal safety a much greater priority.
RODEOS
America is the home of the Rodeo, and they are legal in New Zealand, but many countries in the world have banned them. Here’s a summary of the main points from each side for you to test the ‘Domestic Contract’ idea.
Man’s viewpoint
(My interpretation of points put forward by the NZ Rodeo Cowboys’ Association)
The ‘sport’ is tightly controlled by the Association.
It is also controlled under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 by the MAF Rodeos Code of Welfare 2003, No
2. Here a veterinarian must be in attendance at al times at any event to ensure animal welfare.
Rodeos are part of New Zealand culture and history so are a legitimate sport.
Horses kept for rodeo work are well fed and looked after at all times. It’s in the interests of the owner of these horses to keep them fit for their performances.
A horse only has to buck for a very short time, so any stress caused is very short.
From the horse’s viewpoint
Rodeos never were part of Kiwi culture or history where horses needed to be broken in by letting them buck to submission. It can never be claimed to be a legitimate sport.
Bucking by a horse is its way to dislodge a predator, so when it does this, it is in panic mode and highly distressed.
Rodeo horses may be well looked after most of their lives, but the cruelty they are subjected to cannot be justified under the ‘Five Freedoms’ which underpins the Animal Welfare Act.
The horse has no choice as to whether it would prefer to be ridden by a predator.
Some other points
The practice of rodeos is not based on scientific research on the welfare of the horse, which again is the basis of the Act.
As a country exporting animal products, allowing the sport of rodeos does not create a good image when we try to tell customers that New Zealand is ‘clean, green and humane’.
The Code says that ‘The judges and the animal welfare officer should be empowered to disqualify any official or contestant who compromises the welfare of an animal’.
So when does the riding of a horse and spurring it to ensure it keeps bucking (which is scored for points) NOT compromise the welfare of the animal?
Dr Clive Dalton
How do these horse, about to come under the whip, view this
experience - as pleasure or pain?
History
The horse is a ‘panic species’ and escapes its predators by running away, so the faster a horse can run, the greater its chances of survival. Man soon realised the vale of this trait for in war and then for leisure. Clearly, the person with the fastest horse would soon gain elevated status in human society, and very soon after this you could see the emergence of betting.
So horses have been bred for generations to race in various forms for human entertainment, the main one being flat racing by ‘thoroughbreds’ and trotting and pacing in ‘harness racing’ where the driver is carried in a sulky pulled behind the horse. Racing horses over jumps is simply a modification of flat racing.
The Domestic Contract
When considering the points below, remember to consider ‘The Domestic Contract’ which is about man and the animal coming to a compromise or ‘Win-Win’ situation. Remember that man has to do the negotiation fairly for both parties as the horse cannot. Consider the main forms of racing below.
Horses have been bred for racing so suffer little stress when pushed hard by rider or driver.
The training of these horses provides more conditioning, which again ensures minimal stress when performing, especially at their peak speed at the end of races.
Many trainers, drivers and jockeys state that horses actually enjoy racing, and this can be seen in the way they get excited immediately before starting an event.
The whipping of horses in the final stages of a race is minimal, and causes little pain or distress to the horse over a very short time interval.
Whipping in moderation is acceptable and is needed to help the horse ‘concentrate on its work’.
The massive racing industry employs many people and in New Zealand and money from betting also goes into the general community.
The industry also contributes to national wealth through the export of horses.
From the horse’s viewpoint
Is this horse being saddled up to race, looking forward to the next half hour?
If it had a choice, what would it do?
If horses, even those bred for racing were given a choice, they would not want to race, which is equivalent to having a session of ‘panic stress’.
The hide of the horse is a very sensitive organ, as it can feel and flick off a fly from a specific area.
So whipping is something the horse must view as a stressor.
To inflict such distress on an animal for human entertainment is not acceptable in this modern age.
It is humans who have decided how much whipping is acceptable, and the horse has never been tested for reaction.
Limiting jockeys in flat racing to six successive cuts with the whip, then six whip-less strides before another six whippings before it is deemed to be ‘unfair’ is an outrageous rule made by man ignoring the desires of the horse.
Research to check the physiological response of horses to whipping should have been done before rules were made. Remember that the Animal Welfare Act prides itself on the fact that recommendations should be based on good science.
Whipping causes distress and pain to a horse and goes against all the principles in the current law.
Some other points
To protect the horse, the MAF Code of Welfare on Horses No 7 (1993) states that ‘except during races under the control of the New Zealand Racing Conference or New Zealand Harness Racing Conference, no person may inflict upon a horse more than three consecutive strokes with a whip, and ‘No person may strike any horse around the head or genitals with a whip or other object’.
The argument is confused under the definition of ‘cruelty’ which the law does not allow under any circumstance. Whipping of racehorses by the industry has clearly been deemed by humans not to be cruel if it is limited to six consecutive strokes at a time.
It would be interesting to know how six was decided and why six strides before another six lashes.
Was this based on reliable research of some human ‘feeling? Did anyone volunteer to be whipped to try to get an idea of what the horse was feeling?
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing changed the rules from August 1 2009 to ban the old style whip and make the use of the 'padded whip' mandatory. This follows extensive trials in UK, Ireland, India and Australia which showed that the padded whip makes more noise and causes less stress to the horse.
Jockeys in these countries and New Zealand argue that a whip is needed to steer the horse and not inflict pain.
The MAF Horse Code has a lot of comment on ‘discipline and restraint methods’ where as most people know, the whip is a recognised tool of trade. But the Code is very clear that ‘training methods which involve cruelly ill-treating horses is unacceptable’.
There is such a surplus of race horses that don’t make the big time, and not enough people who are willing to take them, that they form a major part of the pet food industry. At least this industry is tightly controlled so they do have a humane death. Thoroughbreds especially, are not suitable for family horses.
Some countries are considering a ban on whipping horses in races, and it would be a great opportunity for New Zealand to lead the way.
Steeplechase racing over jumps has the added issue of making horses jump fences risking injury, on top of being whipped in the last stages of a race when they are exhausted.
‘Eventing’ has gained a bad press when at the highest level of the sport, (e.g. Olympics and Badmington), horses have been injured on the cross-country course and have to be put down. The human making courses wanted to make it more challenging (harder) for the horse, in theory to sort out the very best horse and for crowd entertainment, and the welfare of the horse was compromised.
The public outcry has done some good, in that designers of courses have had to give human and animal safety a much greater priority.
RODEOS
America is the home of the Rodeo, and they are legal in New Zealand, but many countries in the world have banned them. Here’s a summary of the main points from each side for you to test the ‘Domestic Contract’ idea.
Man’s viewpoint
(My interpretation of points put forward by the NZ Rodeo Cowboys’ Association)
The ‘sport’ is tightly controlled by the Association.
It is also controlled under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 by the MAF Rodeos Code of Welfare 2003, No
2. Here a veterinarian must be in attendance at al times at any event to ensure animal welfare.
Rodeos are part of New Zealand culture and history so are a legitimate sport.
Horses kept for rodeo work are well fed and looked after at all times. It’s in the interests of the owner of these horses to keep them fit for their performances.
A horse only has to buck for a very short time, so any stress caused is very short.
From the horse’s viewpoint
Rodeos never were part of Kiwi culture or history where horses needed to be broken in by letting them buck to submission. It can never be claimed to be a legitimate sport.
Bucking by a horse is its way to dislodge a predator, so when it does this, it is in panic mode and highly distressed.
Rodeo horses may be well looked after most of their lives, but the cruelty they are subjected to cannot be justified under the ‘Five Freedoms’ which underpins the Animal Welfare Act.
The horse has no choice as to whether it would prefer to be ridden by a predator.
Some other points
The practice of rodeos is not based on scientific research on the welfare of the horse, which again is the basis of the Act.
As a country exporting animal products, allowing the sport of rodeos does not create a good image when we try to tell customers that New Zealand is ‘clean, green and humane’.
The Code says that ‘The judges and the animal welfare officer should be empowered to disqualify any official or contestant who compromises the welfare of an animal’.
So when does the riding of a horse and spurring it to ensure it keeps bucking (which is scored for points) NOT compromise the welfare of the animal?
Dr Clive Dalton
Horse Behaviour and Welfare 1
Horse origins
The ancient ancestors of the horse were small many-toed animals that then evolved one toe to ecame a hoof. Two million years ago the horse developed into Equus species in North America from which it spread to the old world and South America across the land bridges.
Then there was more general migration and diversification, They developed into a very mobile animal that uses speed, bucking and kicking to escape predators. The horse is a panic species!
Of the 5 main domestic animal species, the horse was the last to be domesticated. It is least affected by human manipulation and artificial selection.
The horse was first used by man for food, then transport, riding for military use, then for draft power and transport, and finally for recreational riding which is a major use today.
It was thought that Mongolian tribes were first to domesticate the horse and by 1500 BC different types of horse were evolving.
The problem was to find out where this happened. Research in 2009 has confirmed that the Botai culture in Kazakhstan were using horses for for transport and milking them between 3700BC and 3100BC.
Prezewalski horses are still found in that area as the last survivor of the early horse.
Uses
The horse still provides a range of services for humans:
Transport - they carry people in both war and peace.
Power - they pull loads and farm implements.
Meat - horse flesh is popular in many cultures.
Milk. Mares milk still supports families in some cultures.
Hides and skins are still valuable.
Hair from mains and tails is still in demand.
Entertainment - racing and betting.
Sport and competition.
Ceremonial uses.
The pleasure in ownership of a noble animal for leisure.
Horse senses
Sight
The horse has keen sensory perception developed from its evolution and it has one of the largest eyes of any modern animal.
It has a special light intensifying device which reflects light back on to the retina, giving good vision in poor light. In the wild horses are active at dawn and dusk.
The eye structure allows it to see the slightest movement so will panic easily by something on the periphery of its vision.
Having binocular vision in front of 60-70 means the horse needs to move the head to see where it is going. It can only focus fully for a short distance ahead - about 2m.
This is a problem in jumping - it focuses then must remember and trust its memory about the object it has seen.
Horses have a wide monocular (panoramic) view of the horizon and can see about 340-360 around it.
As the eyes are on the sides of its head, the horse does not normally see objects in depth. It sees them like we do with one eye closed. It sees them with less detail than humans but is more sensitive to movement.
The eyes are perfectly placed for cropping pasture, which it does this for half its life!
The horse's visual area is more towards the ground than the sky but it can raise its head quickly and focus on objects at various distances away.
Colour vision is still debated. Some work shows the horse can see colour starting from yellow, green, blue and red in that order.
A horse needs time to adjust vision between light and dark which is worth remembering when loading horses from bright light into dark transport vehicles.
The horse has a blind spot behind its head which increases when the head is lifted. So it's important to allow the horse to move its head to see objects in its way.
Horses are generally reluctant to enter dark enclosures but quieten down when in there and feel safe looking out into the light. Horses can often be blindfolded to quieten them.
Don't look a strange horse in the eye as it's a threatening pose.
A horse will go in the direction it is looking so point it correctly.
Hearing
Horses have a broader range of hearing than humans and can hear up to 25,000 cycles per second (cps) and have acute hearing in the high and low frequencies.
Humans have noticed horses' early response to earthquake vibrations.
Horses have 16 muscles that control the ears which they can swivel 180 degrees.
When ears laid fully back this cuts their hearing severely.
Horses are alert at all times except in deep sleep which only occurs in very short spells.
Smell
Smell is well developed in the horse and this is why wild horses are difficult to stalk except upwind.
The horse has a Vomeronasal organ (VNO) and the Flehmen response is very obvious in stallions sniffing mares on heat.
Horses meet nose to nose and smell each other.
They are very sensitive to smells in their environment, e.g. dung, dirty troughs, musty feed, bad water and certain plants.
Smell is very important in feed selection.
Taste
Horses are attracted by sweetness and sugar so molasses, water melon rind, peaches and beer are all relished.
They (especially foals) reject salty, sour and bitter tastes at about the same level of acceptance as humans.
Touch
Touch is one of the most acutely developed senses in the horse.
They can sense a fly landing on any part of their body through their coat and flick it off.
Horses are "inter-pressure" so when you apply pressure and move into the horse you will get reverse response.
Horses push and barge each other in physical contact to communicate. You see this in mares and oals interacting.
Horses respond to touch all over the body but especially around the head so ears and eyes are especially sensitive areas. They don't like their ears pulled.
The upper lip and muzzle are very sensitive to tactile stimulus, and are equivalent to our fingers.
The whiskers that grow from the muzzle and around the eyes in the horse are like an insect's antennae. They are especially useful in low light conditions when the horse is nosing around. You should not cut them off!
Touch plays a major role in their social life and riders use it to signal intentions to the horse.
So when leading a horse - be positive.
Horses have a "point of balance" as described for cattle behind shoulder and in centre of head.
Memory
Horses have very good long-term memory which is useful for an animal that grazes over a large territory.
It can be seen when a horse will remember a place where it got a fright and will continually shy at that place for years afterwards.
But its memory can be variable and reinforcement in training is important.
A horse will learn nothing when under stress - as the survival urge will blank out memory.
Swimming
Horses are strong swimmers when forced to enter deep water.
They swim with a dog-paddle action.
In training there is no problem for a fit horse to swim around a pool for 30 minutes.
Problems with teeth
Cheek teeth in the horse may become unevenly worn so they don't grind feed efficiently and can cause ulcers on the tongue.
The signs of this include dropping feed from the mouth while chewing, bulging of the cheeks caused by wads of food becoming impacted between the teeth and cheek, and/or green staining around the outh caused by drooling of saliva.
Overgrown edges on cheek teeth are common in elderly ponies and horses.
Treatment is by rasping the sharp edges and it takes a trained person like a veterinarian or a horse dentist to do this effectively.
To prevent problems, it's wise to have the cheek teeth of ponies and horses rasped regularly, perhaps once a year or so by a veterinarian or horse dentist.
Periodontal disease can affect cheek teeth. It's caused by infections of the gum and supporting structures around the cheek-teeth roots.
In severe cases the bone becomes swollen and sore, then the animal is reluctant to chew its feed and it gets thin.
If you suspect any problems, veterinary care is needed to avoid behavioural and welfare problems.
Social behaviour
The horse is a herd animal with a clearly defined hierarchy.
Some horses may roam on their own, but horses in the wild are found in "bands" ranging from 4 to 10 individuals. Bigger groups of up to 20 may occur.
Usually a group is based on a family with one or two mares and their offspring from the last 2-3 years. Maybe there’s an extra young male hanger-on.
The females in the group are the decision makers and the male or males that accompany them act as guardians rather than leaders.
There seems to be a shifting system of dominance relationships among members of the band. At ifferent times, the dominance order will be different depending on the circumstances and is not a rigid and formal dominance setup.
Horses develop tight relationships with other individuals, especially close relatives, and these can complicate the overall social order.
This special relationship between individuals can be seen with horses kept in housed groups or in small paddocks. You'll see all sorts of idiosyncratic preferences for particular companions and dislike of others.
Bachelor males usually form small groups of 4 to 8 individuals. They stay alone until mating time, when some start to try and break into an established harem to steal a mating when the stallion is otherwise engaged.
You can also find solitary males and solitary females, and bands of non-breeding juveniles.
A stallion as the alpha male may appear to be the herd leader at mating time when they form a harem of mares, but the mares are still important decision makers as to where the herd grazes.
A stallion may gather some new mares to his harem depending on his dominance in the territory.
The alpha female shows her real power in doling out discipline to the adolescent males. Subordinate males may also act as security guards in the harem.
As survival is based on flight rather then fight, vigilance by all animals in the group is important.
The social order is sorted out by gestures - ears laid back and teeth bared, and individuals may resort to nipping others with their teeth.
Severe biting and kicking with hind legs in unison is used for more serious sorting out of social problems.
Stallions fight by rising up, using their front feet to paw the opponent, using the neck to knock an opponent down together with severe biting. They also use their back feet either singly or together for kicking.
Mutual nibbling or grooming is the way horses reinforce social ranking. They do this to their handlers too.
Juvenile horses move out or are forced out of the main band and disperse. Females may return to join their old band when they are mature. The chances are by then the alpha male (their father) has changed, so inbreeding is kept to a minimum. The herd leader may still be one of their relatives however.
Stallions tend to ignore their own fillies when in heat and concentrate on the mares, this being nature's way to reduce inbreeding.
A male may join a solitary female and start a new band, so there will be no genetic association between them.
Feral horses in New Zealand
Social behaviour
Kaimanawa Wild Horses. Photo copyright Wendy Brewer.
Feral herds are the best place to study basic horse behaviour, because there are sufficient numbers of animals and a big enough territory to appreciate the role an individual horse has in the herd hierarchy.
So many problems of individual horses isolated from their kind is because owners forget horses are social animals.
The importance of social behaviour can be seen in New Zealand in the Kaimanawa herd of feral horses which roams an area of the North Island high central plateau (tussock country), which is mainly out of bounds to the public as it's used for military training.
These horses originated from escaped animals and deliberate releases from sheep stations in the area in the 1860s, supplemented by miliary horses from the local military camp in 1941 to reduce the risk of disease spread (strangles). An Arab stallion was released into the herd in the 1960s to add his contribution to the mixed genepool.
Numbers increased rapidly over the years and in the 1990s the Department of Conservation required the herd to be reduced and maintained around 500 animals to protect the fragile high country environment.
Culled horses are now offered for sale to the public and the "Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust Inc" has been established to provide information on the 'breed', especially on care and welfare of purchased animals.
Stallion behaviour
The pictures show the well-defined stages in a confrontation between young stallions to determine social order, rather than a fight to the death for the position of alpha herd leader.
1. Meeting and greeting
2. Moving closer
3. Starting to rear and move in for the first contact
4. The full on fight
5. Fight over - agreement reached
Female discipline of teenagers
Studies by Monty Roberts and others have shown the way mares discipline young males They chase them out of the band and won't let them back in until the females think they are ready.
This signalling is done by an alpha mare that goes out to the edge of the band and turns her hindquarters to the males who are looking for a signal to re-enter.
When the mare decides the young male has done his penance, she goes to meet him nose-to-nose and he follows her back into the band.
Mares have very strong natures and this is a reason why they are preferred as poly ponies. They can easily be trained to barge into other horses and be competitive.
Communication
Signals used by horses to communicate can be:
Visual - signals using all parts of the body.
Acoustic - sound
Tactile - touch
Chemical - smells
All combinations of these used in different circumstances.
Visual signals
There's a wide range of visual signals in the horse using most parts of the body.
Because of acute vision, horses can pick up slight changes in these signals.
They are associated with other body signals - all interacting.
Facial signals
Snapping
Opening and shutting the mouth, sometimes making teeth contact.
Used a lot by foals to denote submission to the mare.
It's a stylised grooming signal.
Biting mood
Aggressive mood with clear intention to bite.
Jaws and teeth held open.
Teeth fully exposed.
Stiff lips
This is opposed to soft lips which shows relaxation.
Shows tension but less violent.
Flehmen response
Top lip curled up and head raised high.
Characteristic of stallions smelling mare's genitals and urine.
Can be seen in mares smelling other mare's urine.
Nostrils
Can be wrinkled showing disgust.
Are flared in excitement or fear.
Eyes
Closed in pain or when exhausted.
Open wide in fear.
Shows whites of eyes when angry or terrified.
Half closed in peaceful relaxation or submission.
Neck signals
Head shake
Sideways shake suggesting stress.
Sharp upwards head toss showing annoyance.
Head jerk - upwards and backwards showing annoyance.
Head bobbing
Ducks head down and back repeatedly.
Used to increase range of vision.
Head wobble
Nose moves with top of head still.
Indicates horse is ready for action
Head thrust and lunge
Pushes head forward in assertive move.
Threat or indication of aggression.
The next action will be biting.
Nose nudge
Attention seeking.Warning to take notice of me.
Head snaking.
Used by stallion to round up mares.
Side to side wobble.
Biting threats often accompany it.
Head weaving
Common in boxed horses with little mental stimulation.
Like seen in bored caged birds.
Same problem in horse - boredom.
Head circling
Horse stands making circular neck movements.
Shows intense stress.
Found in boxed horses with no mental stimulation.
Ear signals
Pricked - shows alertness
Horse is paying attention
Airplane ears - held out to the side with openings downwards.Horse is psychologically low and has lost interest in things.
Drooped - horse is dozy or in pain. Showing feelings or inferiority.
Drooped backwards - seen in ridden horse.Showing submission to rider. Sign of brutal owner. Mare approaches stallion often in this pose.
Twitching and flicking. Sign of a stressed horse. Sign of confusion.
Pinned ears - flattened back. Shows aggression. Provides protection when fighting
Tail signals
Tail high.
Sign of excitement.
Sign of intention to play among young horses.
Seen when stallion approaches mare.
Shown by mare when ready for service - hold tail to the side.
Tail low
Sign of submission
Sign of exhaustion
Sign of illness
Tail straight out
Seen in very aggressive horse. Stallions ready for battle
Swishing tail
First sideways then up and down.
Shows horse is ill at ease, anxious or confused.
Increased power of side flick in real rage.
Flicked high in air and slapped down hard is warning that kicking will follow.
Sound signals
Snort
Sign of anxiety
Horse sensing danger
Squeal
Defensive signal.
Don't push me signal.
Varies in intensity denoting degree of concern.
Often when horse craves company or has lost a companion.
Greeting nicker
Low pitched and guttural.
A salutation.
Courtship nicker
Long low pitched nicker.
Mares do this when stallion approaches.
Stallions have personalised courtship nickers.
Maternal nicker
Soft and barely audible to humans.
Mare's message to foal
Neigh and whinny
Starts as a squeal and ends as a nicker.
The loudest and longest call.
Isolated horse uses it for security like wolf howl.
It's a request for information rather than alarm.
Roar
Shows intense rage of a fighting stallion.
Contains a fair element of fear too.
Blow
Sign of well-being.
An enquiry sound - what's this?
Remove dust from nose when feeding.
Grunt or groan
Sign of exhaustion - when overloading pack horse.
Sign of excess exertion.
Boredom
Hoof stamping/kicking
These sound can be heard over long distances.
Seen in stressed or bored horses in stables.
Some horses kick the walls in boredom.
Flatus
Can be slow release of gas from anus when horse is relaxed.
Or a short sharp burst of wind when the horse is under tension when pulling load or in fear or stress.
Touch signals
These are a very common means of communication.
Seen when horses meet - nose to nose.
Mares use nudges to direct foals to udder and away from it.
Foals use it to warn the mare they are going to suckle the udder.
Handlers use it, along with the voice to warn a horse of where they are.
Aggression is all about tactile communication - pushing and biting.
Touch is used by riders to direct the horse.
Horses prefer to travel in floats facing the rear, although they are seldom moved this way. It seems that when the vehicle slows they prefer to take pressure on their rears rather than with their chests.
Chemical communication
Horses have an excellent sense of smell.
It's important in meeting and greeting, they smell noses, breath, flanks and genital area.
Smelling continues to dung and urine.
Smell is used in foal recognition by the mare as well as visual clues.
The foal to locate the udder using smell.
Sleep
Horses need to sleep, and most is done standing but they do sleep lying down.
They drowse during the day but truly sleep at night.
Their sleep cycle is short - 15 mins sleep then 45 mins awake.
A horse that is forced to stand continuously, e.g. on long air flights, will be sleep deprived so must be rested on arrival.
Group behaviour affects sleep. Dominant animals lie down first and set the pattern.
Young horses need more sleep than the old.
Horses prefer to lie on dry earth or sand and not cold wet areas.
Grooming and body care
Horses like to roll in soft earth or sand, especially after exercise and when hot and sweaty.
They scratch their own bodies with their hooves, teeth and lips.
There is always concern over the welfare of horses covered in summer. Covered horses are very visual for the public and people assume the horse will be stressed in the heat.
Covered horses need regular checking as external parasites can build up under the cover.
Horses sweat over their bodies, so hosing down and grooming after exercise is much appreciated by the horse.
Grazing behaviour and elimination.
Horses ruin pastures faster than any other animal.
The can graze much closer than ruminants as they have both top and bottom teeth.
They overgraze areas that end up like lawns, and dung in other areas which they will not graze because of the smell.
Pastures under continual grazing become "horse sick" - i.e. heavily contaminated with internal parasites and the dunging areas grow weeds.
Horses tend to dung and urinate on areas where other horses have done the same as it's an important means of communication. Stallions regularly dung and urinate where mares have done so.
Horses (especially feral horses) get a lot of information from dung and urine heaps about what is going on in the territory.
Horses eat for long periods averaging about 12 hours a day and when feed is short they'll graze for up to 18 hours.
Overfeeding is a major problem leading to "founder of the foot" causing lameness and general obesity.
But with horses kept on bare paddocks all day and yarded at night to control their feed intake, boredom can become a problem leading to other behavioural issues.
Horses dung every 3-4 hours and can defaecate while moving but have to stop to urinate as this requires muscle relaxation of the pelvis and hind legs.
Horses can be trained to urinate by whistling (a conditioned response). When you see the horse urinating naturally, start to whistle so it will build an association between the whistle and the behaviour.
With continual reinforcement the horse will learn to urinate on the signal.
Feeding and Digestion
Horses are herbivores like cattle but are not ruminants.
They cannot eat as quickly as ruminants that regurgitate their feed for further processing, so horses spend most of their day grazing.
They eat a wide range of pasture plants and weeds. They don't like large quantities of lush legumes and need regular roughage to avoid digestive upsets.
They digest their fibre in the colon, hence methane and carbon dioxide are passed out through the anus.
Horses have a very mobile top lip that allows close cropping of pasture whereas the cow uses its long prehensile tongue.
Unlike ruminants, horses have upper and lower incisors so they can nip off grass very short like a well-mown lawn.
When starved horses will eat mud and old dung and will ring-bark trees.
Don't let them have access to silage bales as they'll chew the plastic wrap.
The main digestive disorder is colic and it can be very hazardous for the horse and handler, especially if the horse gets down in a box. Get it outside and keep it walking hoping it will clear some wind. Get urgent veterinary help.
Reproduction
Puberty in horses varies a lot with breed and it can occur from 8-24 months.
Well-fed horses usually reach puberty at around 12 months, but feral horses would be much later.
The mare's oestrous cycle is stimulated by increasing daylight so she is sexually active in spring and early summer.
She comes into heat 4-18 days after foaling so the foal can be in a dangerous situation from the stallion wanting to mate her during this period in the wild.
A mare is pregnant for 11 months and if not mated she will cycle every 3 weeks and she is on heat for 5-15 days.
Sometimes you can get prolonged oestrus for several weeks (nymphomania) and it can be a real nuisance to the handlers.
Heat signs
Plenty of vocalisation - especially if she sees other horses.
Frequent stopping to urinate.
Standing with hind legs parted and in a crouch with tail held up.
Swollen vulva.
Viscous vaginal fluid running from the vulva.
Everting the vulva to expose the clitoris - called "clitoral flashing" or "winking" Restless - always looking for the company of other horses.
Tail twitching.
Stud mares are tested for standing oestrus using a "teaser" or small pony stallion that is too small to mate the mare. But don't believe that as some get very cunning!
Mares not quite right on heat are happy to meet the stallion, but will squeal, kick and bite him when he tries to mount. They are best tested over a gate to prevent injury to both parties.
A mare right on heat will stand firm when the stallion mounts and lean back to take his weight.
After mating the stallion will stand around resting and the mare may come and try to stimulate him again.
Hand mating can be a dangerous time for the handlers as there is always the risk of being kicked, stood on or bitten. Full protective clothing including head protection body armour and safety boots should be worn and strangers should be kept away.
Mating is best done outside but if it is done indoors, make sure the roof is high enough so the mounted stallion does not injure his head on the roof beams. This has happened.
Birth behaviour
Mares generally foal rapidly. First comes the initial stage when she prepares a birth site and gets ready to lie down. Then comes the delivery stage with the foal's head and front legs first like a diver, which is usually over in about 15 minutes.
The foal is usually delivered with the mare resting and the membranes are burst when the foal hits the ground.
So if there are delays in this procedure, which usually means problems, get veterinary attention urgently.
There are more difficult births in thoroughbreds than other horse breeds/types.
The mare should get up immediately and lick and chew the membranes, lessening the chances of the foal smothering. But an exhausted mare may not do this and the foal can be smothered.
The mare should void the afterbirth in an hour and it's important to check this to avoid uterine infections.
Bonding is done by the mare licking the foal, and it can spend several hours doing this. Licking helps blood circulation and warming the foal.
Young mares (first time mothers) may strike the foal with their front feet. This may be a reaction to get it to stand and be ready to move off, to avoid predators being attracted by the birth site and afterbirth.
About 80% of mares foal at night, peaking around midnight.
A foal is usually on its feet in about 15 minutes.
The foal's approach to the udder is important. It uses its long neck to avoid kicks and seeks out a warm area of bare skin where there should be a teat.
Good mares will stand and encourage teat seeking by nuzzling the foal's rear end and genital area.
Poor mares will keep moving and looking at the foal, preventing it getting round to her udder for a suck. It's vital that the foal has colostrum in the first 6-8 hours.
A foal should suck within 30 mins of birth. It then sucks at frequent intervals of 50-75 times in 24 hours in the early weeks of life.
Suckling lasts from 15 seconds to 2 minutes as the foal stands with legs apart and tail raised. It keeps well tucked in touching the mare's side.
After the mare and foal move away from the birth site, the foal keeps in physical contact bumping the mare as they go along.
Bonding is rapid at birth (within 2 hours) but foals can be fostered on to mares for up to 3-4 days.
But the success of this depends on the nature of the mare and some mares will not have any other foal but her own. The skin of a dead foal is often tied on to a foster foal to fool the mare.
Early handling
There are great benefits from handling and fondling foals soon after birth so they associate humans with positive experiences. They need to see you as part of their environment and not as a threat.
But some horse experts say you can overdo this so care is needed. The danger is that the foal may end up being so friendly (and cocky) that it will be more difficult to dominate later. The behaviour developed early you’ll see later as foals are quick learners and remember.
In the first few days just get the foal familiar with people.
Experts suggest 3 weeks of age is early enough to start handling the foal and get this well established before 6 weeks of age.
Start training by removing the foal from the mare for a few hours, speaking quietly and gently while encircling its neck with your arms. Release it only when it has relaxed and is comfortable with your actions.
Fit a soft leather halter and lead the foal when the mare is led. The foal should never be driven. It must learn to come forward “off pressure” and this is taught with a rope around it’s rear end.
Brush the foal, handle it often and introduce it to a variety of noises.
From 3 months old, halter it regularly and lead it around vehicles, along farm tracks, etc, and get it used to different situations and especially noises.
Later training is done on the long rein, i.e. "lunging" to build up fitness and to learn voice commands.
Thoroughbred trainers reckon a total of 20 days training between 3 weeks and a 12 months old is enough. Training need not be repetitive and more than 3 days in a row is too much.
Some suggest Lesson 1 at 3 weeks, Handled again at 10 weeks and then 3 training sessions before weaning which covers yearlings coming up to sale time. They need to accept being led, bridled, covered, loading on and off floats, standing on their own in a box and walking in and out of doorways.
Weight bearing should be delayed till the horse is mature, usually after 2 years old.
Take plenty of opportunity to introduce the young horse to different experiences.
Correct mouthing is critical - use the correct bit to prevent soreness."Breaking" horses is out - "gentling" is in. There are many sources of information on this subject now.
Training principles
Remember horses are a panic species - they respond to stress or fear by flight.
They use speed, bucking and kicking and biting to escape threats. The principle of modern schooling or gentling is to prevent the horse escaping from handler so it learns to accept human contact as providing safety and security.
Horses are very teachable and have a considerable capacity to learn.
But work within the animal's repertoire of ability. A horse will cannot learn anything if it's incapable of doing it.
Horses have a good memory but do hot have the ability to reason. They lack initiative but are not dumb. They rely heavily on innate behaviour.
They cannot cope well in new and novel situations. They cannot solve problems that go beyond simple associations or limited choices.
Recognise the temperament of the horse and this will dictate your approach. Your first lessons will indicate how the temperament is going to affect progress, and you may have to rethink certain actions.
Horses are right or left handed showing side preferences and brain lateralisation.
In training do not scare the horse as this will set up flight responses.
Remember punishment only suppresses behaviour: it does not eliminate it.
Punishment incorrectly given, or given to excess makes behaviour worse as the horse's sensitivity is reduced.
"Reward training" is the simplest and best method, but reward must follow the correct and required action immediately. After a very short delay the association is lost.
Rewards may include a pat on the neck, rest, food, or being able to see new and interesting things.
In "gentling" a wild horse, handlers often start with a "carrot stick" which is a long stick with a leather thong on the end, which they use to rub the horse starting at the rear end. This imitates the feeling of mutual grooming, and the horse will enjoy this.
Then the trainer moves up along the back to the shoulder, and finally to the head and nose. If you touch the head too early, all will be lost and you'll have to start again.
Use "rewards" intermittently and do not reward for every correct response.
Too much handling may lead to boredom and too little can produce a scared or reluctant horse.
The trainer needs to be smarter than the horse. Problems mostly arise from what the trainer did wrong and not the animal.
Break up the tasks to be learned into simple, basic steps and work from the known to the unknown.
Always be consistent.
The Monty Robert's principle (also attributed to many other trainers) is to drive the horse around a circular pen which is an alien territory for the horse, and then letting it come to you for security - when you are ready and want to let it come into your human space.
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