Minimizing the Effects of Social Isolation of Horses by Contact with Animals of a Different Species: The Domestic Goat as an Example

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study examined whether the company of goats in a paddock helps to limit the effects of the social isolation of horses. Four short tests were performed, which examined horses in a herd without goats, horses isolated from the herd without goats, horses in a herd with goats, and horses isolated from the herd with goats. The duration of standing, walking, trotting, and cantering, and the horses’ emotions were determined in each test. The results showed that the company of goats in the paddock only partially limited the effects of the social isolation of horses and reduced their restlessness. However, the horses’ emotions change positively only when goats accompany horses in a herd. Therefore, goats can be used for the planned limiting of movements of isolated horses in paddocks and as an element of environment diversification for horses in a herd. The resulting relaxation helps to reduce the horses’ negative behavior. ABSTRACT: This study aimed to perform a comparative analysis of the horses’ heart rate parameters and locomotor activity in a herd or isolation, with or without the company of goats. Twenty horses were tested in a paddock, accompanied (or not) by three goats. The experiment comprised four tests (a control test of a herd of horses without goats, a horse isolation test without goats, a test of a herd of horses with goats and a test of an isolated horse with goats). The horse’s locomotor behavior, and the HR, RR, rMSSD, LF, HF, and LF/HF were recorded. The data analysis included a 15-min rest, procedural and recovery HR/HRV periods, and a 5-min period at the beginning of the test. The duration of the horses standing in the company of goats increased significantly. The rMSSD parameter was the significantly lowest in the test of a herd of horses with goats. The company of goats in a paddock does not eliminate the emotional effects of the phenomenon. However, the locomotor behavior decreases. Goats in a paddock can provide a positive distraction for horses in a herd as a decrease in emotional excitability can be regarded as having a relaxing impact on a different animal species.