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Noémie Hennes
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Noémie Hennes

Noémie Hennes

Doctorante

Formation:

  • Depuis octobre 2022 : Doctorat en Comportement et Bien-Etre animal « Cognition Ethologie Bien-être » (CEB – INRAE Nouzilly)
  • 2021-2022 : Responsable d’équipe chatterie – Pet Center Royal Canin – Aimargues
  • 2019-2021 : Animatrice Bien-Etre et Comportement Félin – Pet Center Royal Canin - Aimargues
  • 2018-2019 : Service civique : superviseur habituation d’un groupe de Chimpanzés sauvages – Wild Chimpanzee Foundation – Djouroutou, Côte d’Ivoire
  • 2018 : Stage sur le développement social des jeunes chevaux de sport – CNRS Strasbourg, équipe Ethologie Cognitive et Sociale
  • 2016-2018 : Master Ethologie mention écologie – Université Jean Monnet de Saint Etienne
  • 2014-2016 : Licence Sciences de l’environnement – Institut Universitaire Jean-François Champollion, Albi

Recherche:

Sujet de thèse : Bien-être du cheval de courses : état des lieux et propositions d’amélioration

Chez le cheval domestique, deux principales sources d’altération du bien-être sont décrites dans la littérature. La première concerne les systèmes d’hébergement, qui peuvent être plus ou moins contraignants au regard des besoins naturels de l’espèce. La seconde concerne leurs conditions d’utilisation par l’homme. Les contraintes liées à l’hébergement sont aujourd’hui reconnues pour avoir de multiples répercussions sur le bien-être et c’est également le cas pour la façon dont le cavalier monte son cheval. Par exemple, la façon dont le cavalier  place la tête de son cheval pendant le travail est un sujet qui a fait l’objet de plusieurs dizaines d’études depuis 2010. Dans la filière des courses hippiques, tous les chevaux ne sont pas tous soumis aux mêmes contraintes. Par exemple, on sait empiriquement que certains centres d’entrainement de trotteurs gardent leurs chevaux au pré, en groupe sociaux, et avec du foin à volonté tandis que dans d’autres centres, les chevaux vivent en boxes individuels. Il en est de même pour les conditions de travail : certains centres limitent au maximum l’usage de la cravache et des enrênements, tandis que d’autres les utilisent de façon systématique. Cependant, en France, nous ne connaissons pas précisément la prévalence de chacune de ces pratiques chez le cheval de course.  De plus, certaines pratiques contraignantes sont souvent justifiées par leur impact supposé sur les performances, mais est-ce réellement le cas ?

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'évaluer scientifiquement le bien-être du Cheval de course, trotteur et galopeur, dans ses différentes activités (à l'écurie, à l'entrainement et en courses) puis de faire des recommandations pour faire évoluer concrètement les pratiques des acteurs des courses lorsque cela permet d'améliorer le bien-être des chevaux.

 

HAL : Dernières publications

  • [hal-05190243] Poor welfare indicators may be associated with performance limitations in racehorses

    Welfare is defined as the state of an animal, which includes both its emotional and physical condition. Monitoring it for racehorses is of fundamental importance to prevent poor welfare, which is deleterious to the animal's integrity but might also affect performance. This study aims to evaluate the welfare of French racehorses, and to explore potential links between compromised welfare and race placing. 52 trotters and 32 gallopers were evaluated for welfare using the AWIN horse protocol with behavioural observations using the scan sampling method in order to detect abnormal behaviours (stereotypies, alert posture, inactivity or other abnormal behaviours). The horses' race placing was also recorded for a six-month period around the study (percentage of races in which the horse finished in the top three, in the top five or in which it was disqualified (trotters)). Linear models were constructed to identify significant horse-centred welfare indicators affecting race placing. Results demonstrated a discrepancy in the welfare indicators evaluated in the two populations of horses, especially for environmental indicators that indicate a more restrictive management in gallopers than trotters in terms of social interactions and frequency of free exercise. Furthermore, the study identified risk variables associated with racehorses' welfare, including mouth corner lesions, which were observed in 23.1 % of trotters and 18.8 % of gallopers. Additionally, 40.4 % of trotters and 25.0 % of gallopers exhibited limb skin lesions. The prevalence of these four abnormal behaviours was observed across both groups, with percentage observations ranging from 0.3 % to 3.5 % across the scans. The results also identified a negative relationship between inactivity and finishing positions in trotters for the three race placing indicators (linear models; p < 0.05), emphasising the importance of this behaviour in evaluating their welfare and finishing positions. No such correlation was observed in gallop horses. Further research is needed to explore the complex relationships between welfare, including concepts like positive mental states and enjoyment, and racehorses' race placings.

    ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Noémie Hennes) 28 Jul 2025

    https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05190243v1
  • [hal-04837219] Forage, freedom of movement, and social interactions remain essential fundamentals for the welfare of high-level sport horses

    Societal concerns for animal welfare extend to all domestic species, including high-level sport horses. The welfare of these horses, notably highlighted during the recent Olympics, has garnered significant public interest, prompting inquiries into their living conditions. Animal welfare studies have emphasised three key needs crucial to equine welfare: unlimited access to forage, freedom of movement, and social interactions with peers, commonly referred to as the “3Fs”—access to Forage, Freedom of movement, and interactions with Friend conspecifics. However, the feasibility and benefits of satisfying these needs specifically for sport horses remain unexplored. Indeed, they may face unique challenges such as high physical workload, extensive travel, limited time in their home stables, weight management, and high economic value necessitating careful handling. Consequently, restrictions on feeding, freedom of movement, and social contact are often deemed necessary. This field study aims to assess the actual level of implementation of welfare in high-level sport horses by evaluating body condition, injury risk, and behavioural welfare indicators in their home stable. To achieve this objective, the welfare of 56 high-level sport horses competing internationally was assessed using behavioural indicators of welfare through scan sampling (abnormal behaviours, i.e., stereotypies, aggression towards humans, withdrawn behaviour, and alert behaviours; positions of the ears in a backward position while foraging, watching behaviours, and through other Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) protocol measures). This study shows that there exists a large variability among horses regarding their access to the 3Fs, with some of them having a lot of restrictions and others not, meaning it is possible to respect them while competing at a high level. Second, we observed that the fewer restrictions the horses experience regarding the 3Fs while in their home stables, the better their welfare, as demonstrated by the indicators we assessed. These results undeniably support the fact that unrestricted access to forage, the ability to move freely outdoors, and the opportunity to interact socially with conspecifics are fundamental needs of horses that could be provided to horses, also to high-performance ones. It is therefore essential that solutions are put in place to ensure that these conditions are met.

    ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Romane Phelipon) 13 Dec 2024

    https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04837219v1
  • [hal-04667798] Behaviours exhibited during training predict physical tiredness in harness trotter horses

    Physical activity, especially high-intensity training (HIT), leads to physiological and behavioural changes. The objectives of this randomized cross-over study were to investigate i) the effects of physical exercise on weight, behaviours, and head and ear positions on the days after low-intensity training (LIT) or high-intensity training; and ii) to explore if behaviours, and/or physiological parameters (sweat, salivation and blood lactate levels) during training can predict post-training behaviours. A total of nineteen French trotter horses housed in four different training centres were studied the day before (D pre ) and after LIT or HIT (afternoon after training (D training ) and 2 days after training (D1 Post and D2 Post )). The results showed that horses exhibited i) longer durations of resting and head below the withers (HBW) on D training and D1 Post than on D pre and ii) shorter eating durations on D1 Post and D2 Post than on D pre after HIT. This was associated with significant weight loss on D 2 Post . Several behaviours associated with discomfort ( e.g ., head conflict behaviours, nose behind the vertical, and open mouth), as well as amount of sweat, seemed to predict the durations of resting, HBW and eating on D1 Post . Thus, behaviours are impacted by training, and a combination of behaviours and visible physiological parameters exhibited during training have the potential to predict physical tiredness in harness racing horses.

    ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Noémie Hennes) 05 Aug 2024

    https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04667798v1

 

Contact:

Noémie HENNES

Fédération Nationale des Courses Hippiques

UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction & des Comportements
Centre INRAE Val-de-Loire
37380 Nouzilly
France

Courriel : noemie.hennes@inrae.fr

Date de modification : 07 février 2025 | Date de création : 29 novembre 2022 | Rédaction : Fabien Cornilleau