Blink rate assessment as an indicator of brain activity in populations of domestic and semi feral native pony breeds
Martin, Susan (2023) Blink rate assessment as an indicator of brain activity in populations of domestic and semi feral native pony breeds. Masters thesis, Royal Agricultural University.
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Sue Martin Thesis - Submitted Final Version Original SS final.pdf - Accepted Version Download (2MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Spontaneous Bink Rate (SBR) has been used as an inferred measure of dopamine (DA) transmission in humans for a number of decades, in order to learn more about dopamine related disorders such as Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. More recently, SBR has been correlated with both stress levels, emotional state and welfare, cognitive indicators and stereotypic behaviours in domestic horses (Roberts et al 2016). However, in order for SBR to be used effectively in this species for diagnostic and research purposes, it is critical to first establish accurate base line values. Generating this data became a primary objective for this work. In addition, in order to 1) validate SBR quantification methods that can be applied to free-roaming horses and 2) to ascertain the potential effects of domestication, both semi-feral and domestic herds from various UK breeds were sought as research subjects. A total of 128 individuals were studied between September 2019 and October 2022, with animals recruited from free living semi-feral herds with a minimum of human contact and domestic populations kept under traditional management regimes with a mixture of stabled and turnout livery. The study group consisted of UK breeds including New Forest, Exmoor, Shetland, Welsh section A and Eriskay ponies. Full blinks, partial blinks and eyelid flutters were measured for 15 seconds on 10 separate but consecutive occasions for each horse. Irrespective of breed, domestic horses exhibited significantly lower full blink values (mean 0.974 ± 0.6215 s.d) than semi-feral equivalents (mean 1.678 ± 0.855 s.d). However, domestic animals displayed higher SBR (mean 9.813 ± 3.890 s.d) than semi-feral counterparts (mean 8.1625 ± 3.274 s.d) for partial blinks. The baseline values for full blinks from domestic horses can now be used to inform future research. However, further investigation needs to be carried out to verify the partial blinks with respect for comparison of the results, to verify that partial blinks can be used for dopamine tone, welfare and stress level indication. At breed level, domestic Eriskay ponies exhibited lower full blinks compared to the semi-feral equivalents. With reference to partial blinks, New Forest semi-feral horses recorded significantly higher values than domestic animals of this breed. Finally, no significant effects were observed, where season or time of day were concerned. The data obtained in this research during the 15 seconds collection time, show significant results that are present for semi-feral herds. This procedure could be utilised as a non-invasive welfare tool for monitoring dopamine levels and therefore stress and welfare during annual procedures for “drifting” or group penning during medical monitoring or sales for any semi-feral living herds.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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| Keywords: | Blink rate, Ponies, Brain activity |
| Divisions: | Agriculture, Science and Practice |
| Depositing User: | Ms Susan Baker |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2026 14:15 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2026 14:15 |
| URI: | https://rau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17115 |
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