24-h sheltering behaviour of individually kept horses during Swedish summer weather

Abstract

BackgroundProvision of shelter for horses kept on summer pasture is rarely considered in welfare guidelines, perhaps because the benefits of shelter in warm conditions are poorly documented scientifically. For cattle, shade is a valued resource during summer and can mitigate the adverse effects of warm weather on well-being and performance. We found in a previous study that horses utilized shelters frequently in summer. A shelter with a roof and closed on three sides (shelter A) was preferred and can reduce insect pressure whereas a shelter with roof and open on three sides was not utilized. However, shelter A restricts the all-round view of a horse, which may be important for horses as flight animals. Therefore, we studied whether a shelter with roof, where only the upper half of the rear wall was closed (shelter B), would be utilized while maintaining insect protection properties and satisfying the horses’ sense for security. A third shelter was offered with walls but no roof (shelter C) to evaluate whether the roof itself is an important feature from the horse’s perspective. Eight Warmblood horses were tested each for 2 days, kept individually for 24 h in two paddocks with access to shelters A and B, or shelters A and C, respectively. Shelter use was recorded continuously during the night (1800–2400 h, 0200–0600 h) and the following day (0900–1600 h), and insect defensive behaviour (e.g., tail swish) in instantaneous scan samples at 5-min intervals during daytime.ResultsSeven horses used both shelters A and B, but when given the choice between shelters A and C, shelter C was scarcely visited. There was no difference in duration of shelter use between night (105.8 ± 53.6 min) and day (100.8 ± 53.8, P = 0.829). Daytime shelter use had a significant effect on insect defensive behaviours (P = 0.027). The probability of performing these behaviours was lowest when horses used shelter A compared to being outside (P = 0.038).ConclusionsHorses only utilized shelters with a roof whilst a shelter with roof and closed on three sides had the best potential to lower insect disturbance during daytime in summer.

Post‐operative pain behaviour associated with surgical castration in donkeys (Equus asinus)

“…Defensive behaviours against insects are characteristic to reduce annoyance 23 . In horses bothered by insects, rapid rotation of one or both ears, the tail swinging from top to bottom and from one side to the other, biting, licking or rubbing any part of the body and rapid rotation of the head and neck are also observed 24 . In this way, the act of shaking the tail in isolation should not be considered as characteristic of pain, since this behaviour may be related to restlessness 2 .…”

Horse Transport to Three South American Horse Slaughterhouses: A Descriptive Study

“…Due to the lack of a reference framework with limit values for heat stress in horses [38,39], the THI is tested against the values used for dairy cattle. A THI of 72-78 is labelled as mild heat stress, while a THI between 79 and 89 stands for severe heat stress in dairy cattle [40][41][42] (Appendix A, Figure A1).…”