Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students’ Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. General Demographic Information
3.2. Background Description
3.3. Knowledge of Equine Behaviour
3.4. Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills
3.5. Influence of Animal Exposure on Equine Behaviour Knowledge and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills of First-Year Students
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Term | Definition |
---|---|
Aggressive | Hostile, defensive aggression, intention to harm |
Alarmed | Worried/tense, apprehensive, nervous, on guard against a possible threat |
Annoyed * | Irritated, displeased, exasperated, bothered by something, upset, troubled |
Apathetic | Having or showing little or no emotion, disinterested, indifferent, unresponsive |
At ease | Calm, carefree, peaceful |
Curious | Inquisitive, desire to investigate |
Fearful | Afraid, hesitant, timid, not confident |
Friendly | Affectionate, kind, not hostile, receptive, confident |
Happy | Feeling, showing or expressing joy, pleased, playful, satisfied |
Looking for contact | Actively looking for interaction, interested, eager to approach |
Relaxed | Not tense or rigid, easy-going, tranquil |
Pushy | Assertive or forceful |
Variables | First-Year Students Number (%) | Fourth-Year Students Number (%) | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | |||
Male | 21 (18%) | 16 (23%) | 0.497 |
Female | 93 (82%) | 55 (77%) | |
Background | |||
Rural | 40 (35%) | 22 (31%) | 0.582 |
Urban | 73 (65%) | 48 (69%) | |
Grew up with pets (common and/or other *) | 99 (89%) | 65 (93%) | 0.504 |
Large animals on their family property | 52 (45%) | 24 (35%) | 0.189 |
Horses on their family property | 37 (33%) | 23 (32%) | 0.961 |
Confidence (good, and above) | |||
With small animals | 106 (92%) | 66 (93%) | 0.584 |
With large animals | 58 (50%) | 45 (63%) | 0.681 |
With horses | 52 (45%) | 37 (52%) | 0.91 |
General equine experience (yes) | |||
Previous contact with horses | 106 (92%) | 59 (83%) | 0.063 |
Horse riding experience (yes/no) | 102 (89%) | 66 (93%) | 0.344 |
Level of experience (good, and above) | 30 (26%) | 23 (32%) | 0.581 |
Term Selected | First-Year Students Number (%) | Fourth-Year Students Number (%) |
---|---|---|
Aggressive (N) | 2 (2%) | 2 (3%) |
Alarmed (N) | 13 (12%) | 8 (11%) |
Annoyed * (N) | 56 (52%) | 55 (79%) |
Apathetic (N) | 3 (3%) | 1 (1%) |
At ease (P) | 5 (5%) | 0 |
Curious (P) | 5 (5%) | 0 |
Fearful (N) | 8 (7%) | 1 (1%) |
Friendly (P) | 3 (3%) | 0 |
Happy (P) | 0 | 0 |
Looking for contact (P) | 0 | 0 |
Pushy (N) | 0 | 0 |
Relaxed (P) | 13 (12%) | 3 (4%) |
Variables | First-Year Students Number (%) | Fourth-Year Students Number (%) | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Correct evaluation of horse’s behaviour | 56 (52%) | 55 (79%) | 0.001 |
Positive term selected | 26 (23%) | 3 (4%) | 0.002 |
Body parts used | |||
Back | 6 (5%) | 3 (4%) | 0.75 |
Ears | 76 (67%) | 66 (93%) | 0.0002 |
Eyes | 36 (32%) | 17 (24%) | 0.27 |
Front legs | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | 0.74 |
Hind legs | 74 (65%) | 59 (83%) | 0.009 |
Mouth | 6 (5%) | 10 (14%) | 0.05 |
Neck | 21 (18%) | 18 (25%) | 0.26 |
Nostrils | 8 (7%) | 9 (13%) | 0.2 |
Tail | 91 (80%) | 64 (90%) | 0.07 |
Other | 4 (4%) | 4 (6%) | 0.5 |
Learning theory principles–perceived knowledge of the following: | |||
Learning theory | 39 (35%) | 41 (60%) | 0.001 |
Positive reinforcement | 97 (86%) | 71 (100%) | 0.002 |
Negative reinforcement | 90 (80%) | 69 (98%) | 0.004 |
Positive punishment | 53 (47%) | 67 (94%) | 9.6 × 10−8 |
Negative punishment | 68 (61%) | 68 (96%) | 1.5 × 10−5 |
Score ≥ 50% (practical examples) | 50 (44%) | 63 (89%) | 4.8 × 10−8 |
Variables | First-Year Students Number (%) | Fourth-Year Students Number (%) |
---|---|---|
Self-assessed equine handling skills (good, and above) | ||
General equine handling skills | 41 (36%) | 46 (65%) |
Putting a head collar on a horse | 41 (36%) | 60 (85%) |
Leading a horse | 48 (42%) | 60 (86%) |
Grooming a horse | 41 (36%) | 51 (73%) |
Lifting front feet of a horse | 40 (35%) | 55 (77%) |
Lifting hind feet of a horse | 38 (33%) | 46 (66%) |
Putting a rug on a horse | 39 (34%) | 50 (71%) |
Interpretation of Equine Behaviour (Reference = Incorrect) – AIC = 152.4 | AOR | 95% CI | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Year: | |||
First | Reference | ||
Fourth | 3.02 | 1.33–7.17 | 0.01 |
Presence of pets: | |||
No | Reference | ||
Yes | 4.89 | 1.3–23.78 | 0.027 |
Horses on their family property: | |||
No | Reference | ||
Yes | 4.46 | 1.86–11.62 | 0.001 |
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Guinnefollau, L.; Gee, E.K.; Bolwell, C.F.; Norman, E.J.; Rogers, C.W. Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students’ Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills. Animals 2019, 9, 620. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090620
Guinnefollau L, Gee EK, Bolwell CF, Norman EJ, Rogers CW. Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students’ Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills. Animals. 2019; 9(9):620. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090620
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuinnefollau, Lauréline, Erica K. Gee, Charlotte F. Bolwell, Elizabeth J. Norman, and Chris W. Rogers. 2019. "Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students’ Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills" Animals 9, no. 9: 620. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090620
APA StyleGuinnefollau, L., Gee, E. K., Bolwell, C. F., Norman, E. J., & Rogers, C. W. (2019). Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students’ Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills. Animals, 9(9), 620. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090620