Domestic animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans. Positive human–animal
relationships can elicit positive emotions and other positive welfare outcomes. Nevertheless …

The millennia-old practices of horse training markedly predate and thus were isolated from
the mid-twentieth century revelation of animal learning processes. From this standpoint, the …

Farm animal welfare is a major concern for society and food production. To more accurately
evaluate animal farming in general and to avoid exposing farm animals to poor welfare …

Simple Summary Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) represent an emerging field of animal
assisted interventions (AAIs), employing horses in a wide variety of activities with humans …

Background Recent reviews question current animal models of depression and emphasise
the need for ethological models of mood disorders based on animals living under natural …

Based on cortisol release, a variety of situations to which domestic horses are exposed have
been classified as stressors but studies on the stress during equestrian training are limited …

Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated
interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The …

The scientific study of animal emotion has recently become an important focus for animal
behaviour and welfare researchers. For horses used by humans for work, recreation or …

Background Experiencing acute pain can affect the social behaviour of both humans and
animals and can increase the risk that they exhibit aggressive or violent behaviour …

Leisure is a multispecies practice. From the excitement and close interaction of human and
horse tackling a show jumping course, to the joy and playfulness of a child throwing a ball …