Researchers Study Indicator of Chronic Stress in Horses

Horses showing signs of compromised welfare had low cortisol levels, indicating it could be a chronic stress indicator.
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Researchers Study Indicator of Chronic Stress in Horses
Horses showing signs of compromised welfare had low cortisol levels, indicating it could be a chronic stress indicator. | Photo: Courtesy Dr. Martine Hausberger
Cortisol is generally considered to be a “stress hormone” because its levels rise during episodes of acute stress. Yet, its relationship to chronic stress is less clear.

Recently, however, researchers from the Éthologie Animale et Humaine laboratory (Université de Rennes 1/Université of Caen, both in France) and the Research Institute for Environmental and Occupational Health (Université de Rennes 1), in collaboration with the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, linked lower cortisol levels to states of chronically poor welfare in adult horses observed under their usual living conditions. Their findings are published in PLoS ONE.

Cortisol allows us to cope with important events and imminent threats. A spike in cortisol levels mobilizes necessary resources—such as by tapping into our body’s reserves to produce energy—and then allows us to return to a stable state. But can our bodies cope with prolonged or repeated stress in the same way? Some studies report lower cortisol levels in humans —or other mammals—subject to chronic stress, while other studies contradict these findings. In light of this, is cortisol still a reliable stress indicator?

To answer this question, the researchers studied 59 adult horses (44 geldings and 15 mares) from three different riding centers, under their usual living conditions. Horses were kept in individual stalls that are both spatially and socially restrictive and ridden by inexperienced equestrians—both potential stressors that, if recurrent, can lead to chronically compromised welfare. The scientists monitored various behavioral and sanitary indicators of the horses’ welfare and measured cortisol levels using blood and stool samples. The equine subjects had all been living under the stated conditions for at least a year at the start of the study, and they were observed for several weeks

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