Evaluation of behaviour in stabled draught horse foals fed diets with two protein levels

Abstract

The present work is aimed at evaluating the behaviour of Italian Heavy Draught Horse (IHDH) foals reared in semi-covered stables and fed two isoenergetic total mixed rations with different dietary protein levels (13.2% and 10.6% of CP on dry matter). The study was prompted by the restrictions for nitrate emissions in farms of the European Nitrate Directive. One suggested solution is to reduce dietary protein while maintaining normal performance and welfare, but there is a lack of literature in studies of horses. The behaviours of 20 foals of 437 ± 60 kg of BW, aged 379 ± 37 days and stabled in four pens by sex (S) and diet (D) were video recorded and analysed to build a suitable ethogram including 18 behaviours in six categories: ingestion, resting, maintenance, movement, social activities, other. The percentage of the daily time spent in each behavioural category and single behaviours was analysed via a single traits GLM including S, D and their interaction. Daily activity was consistent with existing literature: foals spent about 33% of the day in ingestion activities and 41% in resting, whereas social interactions constituted 8% of the time and individual maintenance <2%. Concerning diet, foals fed high protein spent more time in movement (19.62 ± 0.73% of day v. 10.45 ± 0.73% in low-protein (LP) foals; P ⩽ 0.001), whereas the LP group increased resting (43.42 ± 1.12% v. 38.02 ± 1.12%; P ⩽ 0.001). No stereotypies were found, and daily activity followed the typical values for draught breeds for foals in both dietary groups, a result that suggests the maintenance of well-being after dietary protein reduction. This result, together with the findings of a companion study showing no changes in growth performances of foals, showed that a reduction of CP in foal diet is reconcilable with the maintenance of performance and welfare.

Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease

“…Furthermore, as the present study quantified time budgets and did not qualitatively assess the horses' behaviour, further studies evaluating stereotypical behaviours and social interactions under different husbandry conditions are essential to fully assess their welfare implications. Surprisingly, considering the geriatric and orthopedically challenged equine demographic, the mean overall time budget for movement of 19% in this study is on the upper end of the reported 4.1-19.1% range for domestic horses and higher than the 4.3-13.4% observed in free-ranging conspecifics [13,16,[23][24][25][26]36,[40][41][42][43][44][45]. The time budgets for movement can only be compared with caution due to differences in methodology, the low number of studies measuring the 24 h movement time budget in horses and the unclear distinction between foraging and movement in the few studies that did [1,13,66].…”

“…The overall time budget for resting of 39%, which included periods of inactivity and sleep, was higher compared to free-ranging conspecifics (12.9-29.3%) but well within the 15.6-66% range reported for domestic horses [13,16,[23][24][25][26]36,[40][41][42][43][44][45]. As horses divide their day mostly between eating and resting behaviour, the time budget for resting expectedly correlated negatively with eating (p < 0.0001, r = 0-0.655) and thus was highest in stabled (mean 47.97% ± 14.62% s.d.)…”

“…Horses in this study were eating 42% of their day, which is within the wide range of 10-64% measured in domestic horses but below the 50.82-66.6% reported for semi-feral horses [13,16,[23][24][25][26]36,[40][41][42][43][44][45]. Coinciding with the literature reporting 60-70% day-time and 30-40% night-time feeding [46], eating times were highest in the morning and the afternoon and lowest in the night and very early morning hours, even in horses that were turned out on pasture overnight during high summer temperatures.…”

Recumbency as an Equine Welfare Indicator in Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease

“…The duration of lying, and with it the quality and length of sleep, is affected by various environmental influences, including the availability of a suitable lying area, space allowance, the presence and type of bedding, and lighting conditions [ 11 , 14 , 19 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 36 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Also, age influences the lying times with foals (up to 53.1% in domestic foals [ 10 ] and up to 15% in semi-feral foals [ 48 ]) and young horses (<2 years; up to 27% in domestic horses raised for meat production [ 49 , 50 ]; up to 8% in semi-feral horses [ 27 ]), who spend more time in recumbency than adults (3–15% in domestic and semi-feral horses [ 1 , 7 , 12 , 16 , 20 , 21 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 51 , 52 ]); however, the influence of old age on lying times has not yet been reported. In addition, painful conditions can modify lying times [ 4 , 18 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ].…”

“…The individual variation of the equine behavioral circadian rhythm requires detailed surveillance over several successive days [ 12 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. However, to date, only a few studies, four in (semi-)feral and five in domesticated horses, measured recumbency times for a minimum of 24 continuous hours [ 12 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Recent advances in biotelemetry, and biologging, using wearable automated tracking equipment, provide increased objectivity and new opportunities to remotely quantify behavior at scales and temporal resolutions that were not previously possible [ 12 , 64 ].…”