City and Guild Project Dissertation

TITLE: Does sudden change in routine affect behaviour of the horse?

AIMS/OBJECTIVES: I have decided that I am going to be basing my investigation around a collection of questions related to the project title. Below are the two questions which I have used.

• Does sudden change in the horse’s daily routine affect their stabling habits?

• Do horses adjust accordingly to sudden changes in their daily routine?

The aim of my investigation is to evaluate the change in the horse’s behaviour when their daily routine is suddenly changes, which indicates whether the horse relies on a daily routine or not.

This information will be beneficial to all horse owners and grooms as they will be able to see the average extent to changes in behaviour that is caused when there is a sudden change in their horses routine, however small they may feel the change is.

REVIEW OF EXSISTING LITERATURE/ INFORMATION:

I am going to be researching how the sudden change in a horse’s daily routine can affect their behaviour patterns. I will be observing and recording the behaviour of the horse before and after the sudden change in routine, comparing the results. I will be carrying my project out on horses where I work, this way I can keep the results accurate and consistent.

There is previous hypothesis that the interruption of a horse’s daily routine will affect their behaviour however there are very few studies which can either confirm or decline this.

- ‘http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10676/stereotypic-behaviours’ states that ‘stereotypic behaviors that are repeated without any apparent or obvious purpose or function. Such behaviors involve a need-related drive that develops in an environment with inadequate opportunities for satisfying the need. Once established, a stereotypic behavior may become a need in itself." This statement allows me to investigate the horses need repeat these learned behaviors.

- http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs5294 states...