Short communication A note on behaviour and heart rate in horses differing in facial hair whorl Aleksandra Go ´recka a, * , Malgorzata Golonka b , Michal Chruszczewski c , Tadeusz Jezierski a a Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Jastrze ˛biec 05-552, Wo ´lka Kosowska, Poland b Warsaw Agricultural University, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland c Warsaw University, Faculty of Psychology, Stawki 5/7, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland Accepted 21 May 2006 Available online 27 June 2006 Abstract The relationship between facial hair whorl position and reactivity, as assessed by behavioural measures (handling score = HS; startle reaction to a suddenly appearing novel object = SR; latency to touch a novel object = LNO) and heart rate measures (mean HR; increase in heart rate = IHR) were studied using 55 Konik horses reared either under conventional stable conditions or in the forest reserve. Horses were classified into four groups according to the whorl position and/or shape: (1) high, single whorl above the top eye line, n = 9; (2) medium, single whorl between the top and the bottom eye line, n = 30; (3) low, single whorl below the bottom eye line, n = 10; and (4) elongated or double whorl, n = 6. Horses with a high whorl position demonstrated a lesser degree of manageability as expressed by a lower HS compared to individuals with medium (P = 0.002) or low whorl positions (P = 0.016). Horses with different whorl positions did not differ significantly in their startle response to a suddenly appearing novel object (P = 0.685). The horses with an elongated or double whorl, which appeared only in the forest group, took significantly longer to approach the novel object than horses with medium (P = 0.006) or low (P = 0.005) whorl positions. No significant differences in mean HR and IHR between groups (HR: P = 0.629 and IHR: P = 0.214) were found. In conclusion, this study supports the relationship between the position of the hair whorl on the horses’ head and their manageability during handling, as well as the latency to approach an unknown object. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Horse; Hair whorls; Behavioural tests; Reactivity; Heart rate www.elsevier.com/locate/applanim Applied Animal Behaviour Science 105 (2007) 244–248 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 22 756 17 11x273; fax: +48 22 756 16 99. E-mail address: A.Gorecka@ighz.pl (A. Go ´recka). 0168-1591/$ – see front matter # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.013