PG . 44
AQHA HORSE HEALTH
STRESS ©
ARTICLE BY : DR JENNIFER STEWART BVSC BSC PHD EQUINE VETERINARIAN , CEO JENQUINE AND CONSULTANT NUTRITIONIST EQUINE CLINICAL NUTRITION
Stress – physical , psychological , so many types , so many causes and most of us know how it feels ! Stress is a natural and normal reaction to change , a challenge or when we face situations we feel we can ' t cope with . It results in physical , emotional and intellectual responses . Psychological stress describes mental , physical or emotional pressure and psychological state is a combination of temperament , mood and emotional reactions . To perform well requires the right psychological state .
Recognising signs of stress in our horses is fundamental for performance , safety and welfare . Ongoing studies have given us some simple , useful insights that can reveal a horse ’ s emotional state and stress levels – without needing to monitor heart rate or waiting for the fear-flight-freeze response to activate . Called ‘ behavioural indicators ’ they are the key to assessing stress in a horse . Higher head carriage , ear direction , whinnying , flared nostrils , increased mouth movements , tongue licking or chewing and restlessness are familiar signs that a horse is not relaxed and are linked to higher heart rates , eye temperatures and cortisol levels . But horses can be experiencing stress even when not showing these behaviours .
BLINK RATE
Eye-blink rate has been used to predict stress levels in humans – where social and emotional stress result in an increase in spontaneous blink rate and a similar trend has been demonstrated in guinea pigs . In horses too , full blinks , partial blinks , eyelid twitches , spontaneous , voluntary and reflex blinks can indicate different emotional states . When experiencing stress , horses decrease their spontaneous eye blink rate and increase eyelid twitches . Eyelid twitches increase from 2 / minute to 6 / minute during stressful situations . When relaxed ,