ArticleScientific reports2020
Blink rate as a measure of stress and attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus).
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Technologies for equine welfare and performance monitoring under field conditions - Where do we stand?Equine veterinary journal · 2026Review
- Social enrichment mitigates facial expressions and physiological indicators of short-term stress in horses.PloS one · 2026Article
- Donkey hair cortisol concentrations are associated with carrying heavy load and being beaten at work.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Sleuthing subjectivity: a review of covert measures of consciousness.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Facial pressure beneath a cavesson noseband adjusted to different tightness levels during standing and chewing.Equine veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Auditory enrichment on facial and physiological responses of Pantaneiro geldings and mares under short-term stress.PloS one · 2025Article
- Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus).PloS one · 2025Article
- Unconventional Animal Species Participation in Animal-Assisted Interventions and Methods for Measuring Their Experienced Stress.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Spontaneous eye blinks in horses (Equus caballus) are modulated by attention.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Association between Eosinophil Count and Cortisol Concentrations in Equids Admitted in the Emergency Unit with Abdominal Pain.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Assessing the impact of draught load pulling on welfare in equids.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Review
- Habit Formation and the Effect of Repeated Stress Exposures on Cognitive Flexibility Learning in Horses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Facial Expressions of Horses Using Weighted Multivariate Statistics for Assessment of Subtle Local Pain Induced by Polylactide-Based Polymers Implanted Subcutaneously.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Muscular tension as an indicator of acute stress in horses.Physiological reports · 2022Article
- Selection of Image Texture Analysis and Color Model in the Advanced Image Processing of Thermal Images of Horses following Exercise.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- The effect of stress and exercise on the learning performance of horses.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Measuring Farm Animal Emotions-Sensor-Based Approaches.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Assessing Affective States in Livestock.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Review
- Effect of transportation and social isolation on facial expressions of healthy horses.PloS one · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Measuring animal stress is fundamentally important for assessing animal emotional state and welfare. Conventional methods of quantifying stress (cortisol levels, heart rate/heart rate variability) require specialist equipment and are not instantly available. Spontaneous blink rate (SBR) has previously been used to measure stress responses in humans and may provide a non-invasive method for measuring stress in other animal species. Here we investigated the use of SBR as a measure of stress in the domestic horse. SBR was measured before and during a low-stress event (sham clipping) and compared with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. For the entire sample, there was a reduction in SBR (startle response) during the first minute of clipping. For horses reactive to clipping, the initial reduction in SBR was followed by an increase above baseline whereas the SBR of the non-reactive horses quickly returned to baseline. For the entire sample, SBR correlated with heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. We have demonstrated that SBR is a valid fast alternative measure of stress in horses, but the initial 'startle' response must be considered when using this parameter as a measure of animal stress.
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Registered trials
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.