The Effect of Different Bedding Materials Used in Stable on Horses Behavior

Simple SummaryHorses are mainly housed in individual boxes. This housing system is reported to be highly detrimental with regard to welfare and could trigger the expression of four behavioural indicators of a compromised welfare state: stereotypies, aggressiveness toward humans, unresponsiveness to the environment, and stress-related behaviours. The aim of this study was to investigate whether several factors commonly observed in boxes (e.g., the presence of a window toward the external environment) and management practices (e.g., time spent being ridden) could alleviate the negative effects of individual boxes on welfare. The results show that the majority of the factors studied did not influence the expression of the indicators. In addition, the longer the horses spent in individual boxes, the more likely they were to express unresponsiveness to the environment. Overall, the main conclusion of this study is that the detrimental effects caused by the spatial, social, and dietary deprivations of this housing system could not be alleviated by small facilities in the box or changes in management practices. To preserve the welfare of horses, it seems necessary to allow free exercise, interactions with conspecifics, and fibre consumption as often as possible, to ensure the satisfaction of the species’ behavioural and physiological needs.AbstractHorses are mainly housed in individual boxes. This housing system is reported to be highly detrimental with regard to welfare and could trigger the expression of four behavioural indicators of a compromised welfare state: stereotypies, aggressiveness toward humans, unresponsiveness to the environment, and stress-related behaviours. The aim of this study was to identify housing and management factors that could alleviate the detrimental effects of individual boxes on welfare. A total of 187 horses were observed over 50 days by scan sampling. The impact of 12 factors was investigated on the expression of the four behavioural indicators in three different analyses. The results show that the majority of factors tested did not influence the expression of the behavioural indicators. Only three (straw bedding, a window opening onto the external environment, and a reduced quantity of concentrated feed) would have beneficial, although limited, effects. Furthermore, the longer the horses spent in individual boxes, the more likely they were to express unresponsiveness to the environment. To preserve the welfare of horses, it seems necessary to allow free exercise, interactions with conspecifics, and fibre consumption as often as possible, to ensure the satisfaction of the species’ behavioural and physiological needs.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Housing Horses in Individual Boxes Is a Challenge with Regard to Welfare

Ruet

Lemarchand

Parias

et al. 2019

“…As mentioned by the authors, confinement and lack of social interactions, which are known factors of alterations of welfare, were predominant in the populations studied [10,23,49]. It is therefore surprising that behavioral signs of altered welfare were so limited, especially as obviously a number of stalls had no straw bedding (e.g., [64,65]). Despite these restricted conditions, only 19% and less than 1%, respectively, of the horses observed presented stereotypies.…”

Section: Accuracy Of On-farm Welfare Assessments and Suggestions For mentioning

confidence: 94%

On-Farm Welfare Assessment of Horses: The Risks of Putting the Cart before the Horse

Hausberger

Lerch

Guilbaud

et al. 2020

Although the question of animal welfare has been an important source of concern in the scientific community for several decades, many aspects are still under debate. On-farm assessments have to be rapid, acceptable to farmers and safe for both the assessors and animals. They are thus very demanding, with multiple decisions to make, such as the choice of appropriate indicators, sampling methods and scoring. Research has moved from resource-based to animal-based criteria, which reflects the subjective welfare state of an animal rather than relying upon external indices. In the present review, we describe two major (i.e., the most frequently/recently tested or disseminated) protocols: one in low-/middle-income countries, and the other in high-income countries, for on-farm assessments of horses, using animal-based resources; we evaluate their strengths and limitations, and then we compare their results with those obtained by various other studies. We propose lines of improvement, particularly in view of public dissemination, and offer suggestions for further refinement or new protocols. We emphasize the high risks of putting the cart before the horse, i.e., proposing protocols that rely upon indicators and sampling methods that need to be refined, as this could lead to under-evaluation (or less likely over-evaluation) of current welfare problems. Because welfare is a subjective experience, the true representation of an individual’s actual welfare status has to be evaluated by using objective assessment tools (that are validated and have a scientific basis) used by well-trained observers.

“…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.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Kelemen

Grimm

Long

et al. 2021

Recumbency is a prerequisite for horses achieving rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and completing a full sleep cycle. An inability to lie down due to environmental insecurities or pain results in REM sleep deficiency, which can cause substantial impairment of welfare and health. Therefore, the present study used wearable automated sensor technology on 83 horses housed in an animal sanctuary to measure and compare the recumbency, locomotion, and standing time budgets of geriatric horses with and without chronic lameness to younger adult sound and lame horses. Recumbency times ranged from 0 to 319 min per day with an overall mean of 67.4 (±61.9) minutes; the time budget for locomotion was 19.1% (±11.2% s.d.) and for standing 75.6% (±13.1 s.d.). Interestingly, neither age nor lameness due to chronic orthopedic disease had a significant influence on recumbency times in this study. Eight horses showed symptoms of REM deficit. These horses had significantly shorter lying times (7.99 ± 11.4 min) and smaller locomotion time budgets than the other horses enrolled in this study (73.8 ± 61.8 min), indicating a general compromise of well-being. Thus, wearable sensor technology can be used to identify horses with low recumbency times at risk for REM sleep deficiency and to assess and monitor equine welfare objectively.