'snort'
Posted on 08/09/2018 11:50:47 AM PDT by ETL
Snorts — non-vocal signals produced by the air expiration through the nostrils — are associated with more positive contexts and states in horses, according to a new study published online in the journal PLoS ONE.
Assessing positive emotions is important for improving animal welfare, but it has been challenging to identify reliable indicators.
Physiological markers often give contradictory results, and many behavioral signals are ambiguous.
Anecdotal reports have indicated that horses frequently produce snorts in positive situations.
Following up on this evidence, Université de Rennes researcher Mathilde Stomp and co-authors evaluated snort production by horses that lived either in restricted or naturalistic conditions.
“We observed 48 horses living in two ‘extreme’ conditions: restricted conditions (riding school horses that spent much of their time in individual stalls) and naturalistic conditions (stable groups in pasture),” they explained.
“The immediate place (e.g. stall/pasture) and the behavioral/postural (behavior performed/ears positions) contexts of snort production were observed.”
“We additionally performed an evaluation of the welfare state, using validated behavioral (e.g. stereotypies) and postural (e.g. overall ears positions) welfare indicators.”
Snort production was significantly associated with positive situations and with a positive internal state, as indicated by ears positioned forward or sideways.
For example, riding school horses produced twice as many snorts in pasture than when they were in stalls.
“Our results lead us to believe that acoustic signals constitute a potential marker of positive emotions, suggesting a new breakthrough in research evaluation of positive emotional states in horses,” the scientists said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
My dog fake sneezes when its confused or excited. Seriously.
Don't even talk to me about why they love low overhanging tree branches...
'snort'
But even the worst of the shows back then were better than the popular crap on today. Junk like Modern Family and Big Bang Theory.
I'm not sure but I think I remember....Lassie Come Home??
Abhored Howdy Dooddy. Thought it was for idiots.
And when they laugh milk out of their nose?
Like "Veggie-saurs"?
I think the dog sneeze is a sign of agreement.
Let’s go outside (sneeze), want a treat?(sneeze), want to go for a ride?(sneeze), should I hedge the market by buying some bonds? (sneeze)
Not really- the snort means “I feel awesome” and a stallion is trying to convey his status, not his weakness, so he’s going to snort to express how awesome and fit he is. But stallions in a territorial mood don’t just snort, they add a lot of other signals, too. He’s saying “get out of here” by pawing the ground. Done at the same time it means “Get out of here because I am awesome and I am going to bite and kick the s#!t out of you if you don’t.”
People grin because they feel good, but people who grin while cracking their knuckles, puffing their chests out, and putting their feet in a wide stance, etc., are sending a stronger message not unlike the stallion.
Not unexpected considering that people snort and laugh too. Snorting makes babies giggle.
https://youtu.be/lbwwB1Tbbxo Snort laugh
Question is, do horses also fart more when they are happy because people do...
My Morgan stallion was overjoyed when he crushed me against the stall, stomped on my foot and bit me in the ass.
LOL! Yep. Everyone who has ever owned horses knows The Secret - they're all out to get us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqE_WmagjY
Thank you, Tim Conway!
“one ringy dingy...snort snort...”
Ever hears a big buck Deer whistle? Impressive!
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