A stereotypy is a repetitive or ritualistic movement, posture, or utterance. Stereotypies may be simple movements such as body rocking, or complex, such as self-caressing, crossing and uncrossing of legs, and marching in place. They are found especially in people with autism spectrum disorders and visually impaired children, and are also found in intellectual disabilities, tardive dyskinesia and stereotypic movement disorder, yet may also be encountered in neurotypical individuals as well. Studies have shown stereotypies associated with some types of schizophrenia. Frontotemporal dementia is also a common neurological cause of repetitive behaviors and stereotypies. Several causes have been hypothesized for stereotypy, and several treatment options are available.
Feather-plucking, sometimes termed feather-picking, feather damaging behaviour or pterotillomania, is a maladaptive, behavioural disorder commonly seen in captive birds that chew, bite or pluck their own feathers with their beak, resulting in damage to the feathers and occasionally the skin. It is especially common among parrots, with an estimated 10% of captive parrots exhibiting the disorder. The areas of the body that are mainly pecked or plucked are the more accessible regions such as the neck, chest, flank, inner thigh and ventral wing area. Contour and down feathers are generally identified as the main target, although in some cases, tail and flight feathers are affected. Although feather-plucking shares characteristics with feather pecking commonly seen in commercial poultry, the two behaviours are currently considered to be distinct as in the latter, the birds peck at and pull out the feathers of other individuals.
There are many aspects to horse management. Horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and other domesticated equids require attention from humans for optimal health and long life.
Cribbing is a form of stereotypy (equine oral stereotypic behaviour), otherwise known as wind sucking or crib-biting. Cribbing is considered to be an abnormal, compulsive behavior seen in some horses, and is often labelled a stable vice. The major factors that cause cribbing include stress, stable management, genetic and gastrointestinal irritability.
Weaving is a behaviour in horses that is classified as a stable vice, in which the horse repetitively sways on its forelegs, shifting its weight back and forth by moving the head and neck side to side. It may also include swaying of the rest of the body and picking up the front legs. Some horses exhibit non-stereotypical weaving, and instead engage in variations on this behavior.
Behavioral enrichment is an animal husbandry principle that seeks to enhance the quality of captive animal care by identifying and providing the environmental stimuli necessary for optimal psychological and physiological well-being. Enrichment can either be active or passive, depending on whether it requires direct contact between the animal and the enrichment. A variety of enrichment techniques are used to create desired outcomes similar to an animal's individual and species' history. Each of the techniques used is intended to stimulate the animal's senses similarly to how they would be activated in the wild. Provided enrichment may be seen in the form of auditory, olfactory, habitat factors, food, research projects, training, and objects.
Equine anatomy encompasses the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses, ponies and other equids, including donkeys, mules and zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, there are many horse-specific colloquial terms used by equestrians.
Horse behavior is best understood from the view that horses are prey animals with a well-developed fight-or-flight response. Their first reaction to a threat is often to flee, although sometimes they stand their ground and defend themselves or their offspring in cases where flight is untenable, such as when a foal would be threatened.
Equine nutrition is the feeding of horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and other equines. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care.
Beet pulp is a byproduct from the processing of sugar beet which is used as fodder for horses and other livestock. Beet pulp is the fibrous material left over after the sugar is extracted from sugar beets. It is supplied either as dried flakes or as compressed pellets, but when fed to horses it should always be soaked in water first.
Animal psychopathology is the study of mental or behavioral disorders in non-human animals.
An equestrian facility is created and maintained for the purpose of accommodating, training or competing equids, especially horses. Based on their use, they may be known as a barn, stables, or riding hall and may include commercial operations described by terms such as a boarding stable, livery yard, or livery stable. Larger facilities may be called equestrian centers and co-located with complementary services such as a riding school, farriers, vets, tack shops, or equipment repair.
Bolting, when referring to equids, generally refers to two equine behaviors, both undesirable:
Vacuum activities are innate fixed action patterns (FAPs) of animal behaviour that are performed in the absence of a sign stimulus (releaser) that normally elicit them. This type of abnormal behaviour shows that a key stimulus is not always needed to produce an activity. Vacuum activities often take place when an animal is placed in captivity and is subjected to a lack of stimuli that would normally cause a FAP.
Natural hoof care is the practice of keeping horses so that their hooves are worn down naturally, or trimmed to emulate natural wear, so they do not suffer overgrowth, splitting and other disorders. Horseshoes are not used, but domesticated horses may still require trimming, exercise and other measures to maintain a natural shape and degree of wear.
In animal behaviour, stereotypy, stereotypic or stereotyped behaviour has several meanings, leading to ambiguity in the scientific literature. A stereotypy is a term for a group of phenotypic behaviours that are repetitive, morphologically identical and which possess no obvious goal or function. These behaviours have been defined as 'abnormal', as they exhibit themselves solely in animals subjected to barren environments, scheduled or restricted feedings, social deprivation and other cases of frustration, but do not arise in 'normal' animals in their natural environments. These behaviours may be maladaptive, involving self-injury or reduced reproductive success, and in laboratory animals can confound behavioural research. Stereotypical behaviours are thought to be caused ultimately by artificial environments that do not allow animals to satisfy their normal behavioural needs. Rather than refer to the behaviour as abnormal, it has been suggested that it be described as "behaviour indicative of an abnormal environment".
Abnormal behavior of birds in captivity has been found to occur among both domesticated and wild birds. Abnormal behavior can be defined in several ways. Statistically, 'abnormal' is when the occurrence, frequency or intensity of a behaviour varies statistically significantly, either more or less, from the normal value. This means that theoretically, almost any behaviour could become 'abnormal' in an individual. Less formally, 'abnormal' includes any activity judged to be outside the normal behaviour pattern for captive birds of that particular class or age. For example, running rather than flying may be a normal behaviour and regularly observed in one species, however, in another species it might be normal but becomes 'abnormal' if it reaches a high frequency, or in another species it is rarely observed and any incidence is considered 'abnormal'. This article does not include 'one-off' behaviours performed by individual birds that might be considered abnormal for that individual, unless these are performed repeatedly by other individuals in the species and are recognised as part of the ethogram of that species.
Lignophagia is the abnormal behaviour of chewing and eating wood. It has been recorded in several species, but perhaps most commonly in horses where it is usually called, simply, "wood chewing". Lignophagia is a form of the pica disorder, in which normally non-nutritive substances are chewed or eaten. For some animals, wood is the normal primary food source; such animals are known as xylophagous.
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a common cause of colic and decreased performance in horses. Horses form ulcers in the mucosa of the stomach, leading to pain, decreased appetite, weight loss, and behavioral changes. Treatment generally involves reducing acid production of the stomach and dietary management. Unlike some animals, however, stomach rupture is rare, and the main goal of treating is to reduce pain and improve performance of animals used for showing or racing.
