Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)

Abstract Measuring animal stress is fundamentally important for assessing animal emotional state and welfare. Conventional methods of quantifying stress (cortisol levels, heart rate/heart rate variability) require specialist equipment and are not instantly available. Spontaneous blink rate (SBR) has...

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Autores principales:	Richard O. Mott, Susan J. Hawthorne, Sebastian D. McBride
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ff825281fa5d439b9590b8f665641b89
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ff825281fa5d439b9590b8f665641b892021-12-02T16:18:03ZBlink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)10.1038/s41598-020-78386-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/ff825281fa5d439b9590b8f665641b892020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78386-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Measuring animal stress is fundamentally important for assessing animal emotional state and welfare. Conventional methods of quantifying stress (cortisol levels, heart rate/heart rate variability) require specialist equipment and are not instantly available. Spontaneous blink rate (SBR) has previously been used to measure stress responses in humans and may provide a non-invasive method for measuring stress in other animal species. Here we investigated the use of SBR as a measure of stress in the domestic horse. SBR was measured before and during a low-stress event (sham clipping) and compared with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. For the entire sample, there was a reduction in SBR (startle response) during the first minute of clipping. For horses reactive to clipping, the initial reduction in SBR was followed by an increase above baseline whereas the SBR of the non-reactive horses quickly returned to baseline. For the entire sample, SBR correlated with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. We have demonstrated that SBR is a valid fast alternative measure of stress in horses, but the initial 'startle' response must be considered when using this parameter as a measure of animal stress.Richard O. MottSusan J. HawthorneSebastian D. McBrideNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Richard O. Mott Susan J. Hawthorne Sebastian D. McBride Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
description	Abstract Measuring animal stress is fundamentally important for assessing animal emotional state and welfare. Conventional methods of quantifying stress (cortisol levels, heart rate/heart rate variability) require specialist equipment and are not instantly available. Spontaneous blink rate (SBR) has previously been used to measure stress responses in humans and may provide a non-invasive method for measuring stress in other animal species. Here we investigated the use of SBR as a measure of stress in the domestic horse. SBR was measured before and during a low-stress event (sham clipping) and compared with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. For the entire sample, there was a reduction in SBR (startle response) during the first minute of clipping. For horses reactive to clipping, the initial reduction in SBR was followed by an increase above baseline whereas the SBR of the non-reactive horses quickly returned to baseline. For the entire sample, SBR correlated with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. We have demonstrated that SBR is a valid fast alternative measure of stress in horses, but the initial 'startle' response must be considered when using this parameter as a measure of animal stress.
format	article
author	Richard O. Mott Susan J. Hawthorne Sebastian D. McBride
author_facet	Richard O. Mott Susan J. Hawthorne Sebastian D. McBride
author_sort	Richard O. Mott
title	Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
title_short	Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
title_full	Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
title_fullStr	Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
title_full_unstemmed	Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)
title_sort	blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (equus caballus)
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/ff825281fa5d439b9590b8f665641b89
work_keys_str_mv	AT richardomott blinkrateasameasureofstressandattentioninthedomestichorseequuscaballus AT susanjhawthorne blinkrateasameasureofstressandattentioninthedomestichorseequuscaballus AT sebastiandmcbride blinkrateasameasureofstressandattentioninthedomestichorseequuscaballus
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Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)

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