Monitoreo de la variación del ritmo cardíaco equino en la manada bajo diferentes circunstancias sociales utilizando el pulsómetro digital

Abstract

Heart rate synchronization was evaluated as a physiological indicator of herd social behavior and animal welfare. For this purpose, it was assumed that the higher the variability in heartbeats, the lower the synchronization, and vice versa. As these values become more similar, the herd's heartbeats system exhibits greater synchrony, identical to what naturally occurs at an individual level. Therefore, this statistical parameter was evaluated in five experiments in which the animals were exposed to five different types of stimuli: Rest, Grazing, Flight, Work, and the Presence of another Human. Four Endurance horses that have lived together for more than two years in the same herd were used, whose cardiac activity was monitored through a digital chest heart rate monitor before and after each stimulus. The Coefficient of Variation (CV%) was analyzed before and after the experiment, determining the percentile change. It was observed that in response to a stressor event, the variance in the herd's heart rate increases. In contrast, in the presence of social behaviors or group work, this variance decreases. It is an indicator of heart rate harmonization, making herd heart rate monitoring a plausible indicator of animal welfare. It can be considered in both sports competitions and technical animal welfare assessments in equine breeding systems. Keywords: herd, Endurance horses, heart rate, animal welfare, variance