Encountering the Other: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Horse/Human Interaction

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorVan Daalen-Smith, Cheryl
dc.contributor.advisorFawcett, Leesa
dc.contributor.advisorMacDonald, Suzanne
dc.creatorGartner, Hana
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-01T13:57:06Z
dc.date.available2018-03-01T13:57:06Z
dc.date.copyright2017-07-24
dc.date.issued2018-03-01
dc.date.updated2018-03-01T13:57:06Z
dc.degree.disciplineInterdisciplinary Studies
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMA - Master of Arts
dc.description.abstractThis thesis asks how and why a serendipitous and spontaneous personal encounter with a being from another species created an ongoing bond. Through the lens of three intersecting disciplines: environmental studies, animal behaviour and health science, I explore how the horse, over time, has gone from warrior and labourer to serving humans as teacher and therapist. Much of the existing literature extols the benefits of human-animal interaction (HAI), reinforcing an intuitive instinct that animals are good for humans. However researchers still cannot explain the mechanisms through which these benefits are delivered. This study examines the correlation between horse and human heart rates recorded on portable activity trackers during equine assisted learning sessions. We found no correlation of heart rate variability between humans and horses. With little available empirical evidence and mixed outcomes, researchers are unable to make conclusive statements about the beneficial effects of HAI in the long term.
dc.description.abstractThis thesis asks how and why a serendipitous and spontaneous personal encounter with a being from another species created an ongoing bond. Through the lens of three intersecting disciplines: environmental studies, animal behaviour and health science, I explore how the horse, over time, has gone from warrior and labourer to serving humans as teacher and therapist. Much of the existing literature extols the benefits of human-animal interaction (HAI), reinforcing an intuitive instinct that animals are good for humans. However researchers still cannot explain the mechanisms through which these benefits are delivered. This study examines the correlation between horse and human heart rates recorded on portable activity trackers during equine assisted learning sessions. We found no correlation of heart rate variability between humans and horses. With little available empirical evidence and mixed outcomes, researchers are unable to make conclusive statements about the beneficial effects of HAI in the long term.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/34313
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectPublic health
dc.subject.keywordsHorse
dc.subject.keywordsEquine-assisted learning
dc.subject.keywordsEquine-assisted therapy
dc.subject.keywordsHuman-animal interaction
dc.subject.keywordsInter-species communication
dc.subject.keywordsHuman-horse bond
dc.titleEncountering the Other: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Horse/Human Interaction
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Gartner_Hana_2017_Masters.pdf
Size:
2.05 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.83 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
YorkU_ETDlicense.txt
Size:
3.38 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Interdisciplinary Studies

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.