In the service of well-being

A second part of the doctoral research consisted of an assessment of the stress level in clinic. It involved assessing what behaviors in the animal could at this stage be associated with stress and cause problems during veterinary handling.  A secondary objective was, in a preventive perspective, aimed at facilitating the care of the animal, to establish to what extent the temperament of a horse could be assessed as soon as it arrived in clinic. For two years, at the Sart Tilman veterinary clinic, Marie Peeters monitored some ninety-three stallions, aged between three to six years, in the context of a veterinary expertise which is a preliminary stage to their admission as reproducers into the « stud-book » (or breeding register) of the Belgian sports horses. These experiments are carried out every year by the Equine Centre of the Veterinary Clinic of the University of Liège. (Directed by Professor Didier Serteyn) “We followed their behavior during the entire expertise process: weighing, taking blood samples, locomotor tests, x ray exams, endoscopies, and electrocardiograms, all of which are new and frightening actions for the horses providing numerous opportunities to observe stress-related behavior. Questionnaires relating to temperament were also systematically filled in by the owners of the stallions, by the vets and technicians present.” An analysis of correlation shows the emergence of a range of non-desirable behaviors and makes it possible to list them, and which, largely associated with stress, make handling the animals more dangerous: movements of the head to release themselves, stamping, advancing or rearing up, etc. “In addition, these opportunities have made it possible to proceed with an assessment, in the clinic, of the temperament of the horse — is he rather timid, anxious, friendly, badly-trained, etc. Interesting assessments to the extent that we have demonstrated that they make it possible to predict the difficulties encountered during interventions, and therefore to anticipate accidents and improve the overall care of the animal”.  And to conclude: “In a general way, we can see clearly that the study of stress in the horse, coupled with the study of temperament, has an anticipatory objective: here we are contributing to the improvement of the well-being of the animal, of the owner and the person caring for the animal”.