2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Development of techniques for selecting small horses suitable for animal assisted intervention
| Project/Area Number |
20K06367
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 42010:Animal production science-related
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| Research Institution | Kitasato University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
菊 佳男 酪農学園大学, 農食環境学群, 教授 (70370179)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | 動物介在介入 / 与那国馬 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Therapy horses for animal assisted intervention are best suited for small ponies with calm and obedient characters. Yonaguni ponies are used for horse trekking in shallow sea water and are trained in a rational manner from the viewpoint of ethology.
Various behavioral and physiological measures were compared for the two groups, the trekking in shallow sea (S) group and the trekking in field (F) group. The results showed that the change in respiratory rate tended to be larger in the S group than in the F group when touched by a stranger; the S group was found to have a lower stress tolerance, contrary to expectations. Underwater, dangerous behaviors of horses such as jumping and kicking are inhibited, and there is no risk of accidents from falling horses. It was found that trekking in shallow sea is an effective utilization even for difficult-to-handle horses and can be a desirable form of animal assisted intervention for animals as well.
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| Free Research Field |
animal behavior
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
研究開始時点では、与那国馬は海中ホーストレッキング用のトレーニングを通して高い従順性をもつように調教あるいは選抜されていると考え、小格馬の中からセラピーホースとして高い適性をもつ個体を選抜する手法の開発を目指していた。しかし本研究の結果、海中ホーストレッキング用の調教を受けた個体は安全に活用されているものの必ずしも扱い易いウマではないことが分かった。温暖化がますます深刻になるなか、海中ホーストレッキングはウマの利活用を大幅に拡大し、暑熱ストレスの軽減にもつながるため、人にも動物にも優しい乗馬療法の一形態となる可能性が見出された。
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