ABSTRACT

The conclusion drawn from the previous discussion is that the horse has had to continuously adapt to changing living conditions for millions of years. Again and again this adaptation was successful; at times, however, the limitations of adaptability were exceeded. As a result, during evolution, when natural selection dictated survival, entire sidelines became extinct due to a lack of adaptability. This is not the case for horses under human care today, except when one considers possible breeding failures. Does this mean that behavioral problems are to be taken less seriously? According to the concept of need satisfaction and damage avoidance of Tschanz (1993), living creatures are capable of establishing and maintaining themselves, and can therefore actively and passively avoid damage. Their success or failure can be assessed by evaluating whether body and body organs as well as behavior are within the normal range of a group of individuals having the same characteristics and belonging to the same breeding community. Behavioral abnormalities can impair self-establishment and self-maintenance or even make it impossible. Therefore, behavioral abnormalities attributable to inadequacies in management and handling are signs that must be taken seriously. They are a signal that under the circumstances in question, the limitations of a horse’s adaptability have been exceeded. They are further an indication of living conditions that would make survival more difficult or even impossible for the horse.