Animals, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 15(7), P. 905 - 905
Published: March 21, 2025
Therapeutic programs involving human-horse interactions are gaining popularity as a means of enhancing human well-being. Understanding the physiological responses both humans and horses during these is essential for evaluating effectiveness such programs. This study examined effects specific interactive activities on by monitoring changes in oxytocin cortisol levels. Six participants six took part study. The engaged three distinct activities, each lasting 15 min: (1) resting alone without horse (resting), (2) standing near physical contact (standing), (3) gently rubbing horse's neck withers (rubbing). Saliva samples from blood were collected at time points activity: T0 (before activity), T1 (at end T2 (15 min after activity ended). results indicated that levels significantly increased following while remained unchanged across all activities. These findings suggest interactions, particularly rubbing, may foster social bonding eliciting stress response either species.
Language: Английский