ArticleScientific reports2018
Facial expression and oxytocin as possible markers of positive emotions in horses.
Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Evaluating hormonal levels in plasma and saliva as temperament indicators in horses.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Tactile Preferences in Goats: Implications for Animal-Assisted Interventions.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Effects of Social Interactions and Foundational Training on Behavior, Temperament, and Hormone Levels in Weanling Horses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Social enrichment mitigates facial expressions and physiological indicators of short-term stress in horses.PloS one · 2026Article
- Article
- Heart Rate Variability Spectral Analysis for Monitoring Autonomic Activation in a Donkey Involved in Animal-Assisted Therapy: A Single Subject Design During Animal-Assisted Therapy Sessions.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Using deep learning models to decode emotional states in horses.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Exploring horses' (Equus caballus) gaze and asymmetric ear position in relation to human attentional cues.Animal cognition · 2024Article
- Spontaneous eye blinks in horses (Equus caballus) are modulated by attention.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Psychophysiological effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy on Veterans with PTSD and their horse partners.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2024Article
- Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2024Article
- Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Horses' Tactile Reactivity Differs According to the Type of Work: The Example of Equine-Assisted Intervention.Veterinary sciences · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Behavioural and physiological markers of discrete positive emotions remain little investigated in animals. To characterise new markers in horses, we used tactile stimulations to induce emotional situation of contrasting valence. In the Gentle grooming group (G, N = 13) horses were gently groomed during 11 sessions on the body areas they appreciated the most. Horses in the Standard grooming group (S, N = 14) were groomed using a fixed procedure, reported to induce avoidance reactions in some horses. At session 11, G horses expressed significantly more contact-seeking behaviours than S horses, which expressed significantly more avoidance behaviours. This result suggests positive emotions in G horses and negative emotions in S horses. Blood cortisol, oxytocin, heart rate and heart rate variability never differed between before and after the grooming session. However, after the 11 sessions, basal oxytocin levels were lower in the G than in the S group. This difference was unexpected, but supports studies showing that a low level of basal oxytocin could be a marker of better well-being. Analyses of facial expressions during grooming revealed significant differences between groups. These expressions appear to be more sensitive than behavioural indicators because they alone enabled differentiating emotions according to the group when horses were re-exposed to neutral grooming one year after the treatment.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.