Student assignment. (requirement for course by Peter Kabai)

Julie Vardal Wulfsberg

WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2006:

Abnormal behaviour in stable horses

The feral horse is a free ranging creature, at ease in open spaces, constantly on the move and eating food. In the domesticated horse we have restricted its environment to the inside of a stable or the limited boundaries of a paddock. We have reduced the amount of time it can spend eating; a concentrated ration is consumed in two or three hours when the wild horses can graze for 16 hours a day. As far as movement is concerned, feral horses have been shown to travel on open ranges to waterholes up to 65-80 kilometres in a day. Horses that are managed at pastures can move quite freely, but we find many horses that spend most of their time inside the stable, with the amount of exercise at a very low level. And by shutting the horse in a stable, we also restrict their contact with other companions. How has this change in natural environment affected the horse?

A recent survey looked at the time that dressage and endurance horses spent in the stable and the frequency of abnormal behaviours in these horses. Dressage horses was the group spending the most time inside the stable, and about 1/3 showed abnormal behaviour. The endurance horses spent more time outside than the dressage horses and had an incidence of only 1/5. Several studies have also shown that more than 80% of racehorses have gastric ulcers and that many crib-bite in an attempt to regularise their digestion.

A horse, crib biting and windsucking We can say that behaviours that do not appear in feral horses are probably abnormal. The types of abnormal behaviours that we generally see in the stabled horse include stereotypes like crib-biting, wind-sucking, weaving, box walking and other behaviours such as wood chewing and bed-eating. Stereotypic behaviours are characterised by being repetitive and apparently functionless.

Since the stable horse is deprived a natural stimuli, we should not be surprised if it attempts to replace it with the closest available alternative. We may say that wood chewing, bed-eating and wind-sucking can represent the urge to graze continuously, and weaving and box walking may be a replacement of the continual onward movement of the feral horse.

A crib-biting horse grasps a fixed object, aches its neck so the soft palate is forced open and then gulps air. Studies have shown that crib-biting affects up to one in ten stabled horses. Affected horses often damage their teeth and other horses sometimes copy the behaviour. Its believed that horses start crib-biting as a reaction to being denied the opportunity to graze. Crib-biting may also function to reduce acidity of the digestive tract because this activity may result in increased salivary flow.

Taking all of these pieces of behaviour together, the risk of a horse performing an abnormal behaviour is increased under a number of circumstances. If the amount of forage per day is to low, and also when bedding types other than straw is used there can be a rise in abnormal behaviour. When the total number of horses in the yard is small we can see a similar increase, and if the box designs does not allow contact with neighbouring horses more abnormal behaviour is shown. The time spent in the stable is another important risk factor.

Stereotypic activities are often treated by preventing the performance of the activity, for example by using anti-weaving grilles or anti-cribbing collars, rather than to resolve the underlying problems. This prevention can lead to even more stress for the animal involved. Evidence show that prevention of stereotypic activity can lead to raised heart rate and other unhealthy symptoms.

Studies show that by offering horses relatively high amounts of roughage at frequent intervals, we can find a reduction in abnormal behaviour. Supplying horses with roughage other than hay can also decrease the risk. Since the horses are used to a large variation of food on the pasture, feeding chaff and hay as roughage seems to be better than feeding hay alone, as this better approximates this variation. Housing horses on beddings that increase opportunity of foraging behaviour, such as straw, reduce the incidence of stereotypes compared with non-straw bedding. The risk is also reduced if horses are socialized or at least allowed to have a view of other horses in the yard, and also with increasing the social contact between neighbouring horses inside the stable. To say it easy; the best way to prevent stereotypic and abnormal behaviour is to give the horse the most natural life as possible.

Sources:

The article:

- Behavioural adaptation in the domestic horse: potential role of apparently abnormal responses including stereotypic behaviour by Jonathan J. Cooper*, Melissa J. Albentosa

Other sources:

- http://www.equusite.com/articles/behavior/behaviorBadHabits.shtml

- http://www.usyd.edu.au/publications/news/011214News/1412_horse.html

- http://www.equusite.com/articles/behavior/behaviorDrMcGreevy.shtml

- http://www.animalbehaviour.net/JudithKBlackshaw/Chapter3a.htm

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Julie Vardal Wulfsberg WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2006: Abnormal behaviour in stable horses The feral horse is a free ranging creature, at ease in open spaces, constantly on the move and eating food. In the domesticated horse we have restricted its environment to the inside of a stable or the limited boundaries of a paddock. We have reduced the amount of time it can spend eating; a concentrated ration is consumed in two or three hours when the wild horses can graze for 16 hours a day. As far as movement is concerned, feral horses have been shown to travel on open ranges to waterholes up to 65-80 kilometres in a day. Horses that are managed at pastures can move quite freely, but we find many horses that spend most of their time inside the stable, with the amount of exercise at a very low level. And by shutting the horse in a stable, we also restrict their contact with other companions. How has this change in natural environment affected the horse? A recent survey looked at the time that dressage and endurance horses spent in the stable and the frequency of abnormal behaviours in these horses. Dressage horses was the group spending the most time inside the stable, and about 1/3 showed abnormal behaviour. The endurance horses spent more time outside than the dressage horses and had an incidence of only 1/5. Several studies have also shown that more than 80% of racehorses have gastric ulcers and that many crib-bite in an attempt to regularise their digestion. We can say that behaviours that do not appear in feral horses are probably abnormal. The types of abnormal behaviours that we generally see in the stabled horse include stereotypes like crib-biting, wind-sucking, weaving, box walking and other behaviours such as wood chewing and bed-eating. Stereotypic behaviours are characterised by being repetitive and apparently functionless. Since the stable horse is deprived a natural stimuli, we should not be surprised if it attempts to replace it with the closest available alternative. We may say that wood chewing, bed-eating and wind-sucking can represent the urge to graze continuously, and weaving and box walking may be a replacement of the continual onward movement of the feral horse. A crib-biting horse grasps a fixed object, aches its neck so the soft palate is forced open and then gulps air. Studies have shown that crib-biting affects up to one in ten stabled horses. Affected horses often damage their teeth and other horses sometimes copy the behaviour. Its believed that horses start crib-biting as a reaction to being denied the opportunity to graze. Crib-biting may also function to reduce acidity of the digestive tract because this activity may result in increased salivary flow. Taking all of these pieces of behaviour together, the risk of a horse performing an abnormal behaviour is increased under a number of circumstances. If the amount of forage per day is to low, and also when bedding types other than straw is used there can be a rise in abnormal behaviour. When the total number of horses in the yard is small we can see a similar increase, and if the box designs does not allow contact with neighbouring horses more abnormal behaviour is shown. The time spent in the stable is another important risk factor. Stereotypic activities are often treated by preventing the performance of the activity, for example by using anti-weaving grilles or anti-cribbing collars, rather than to resolve the underlying problems. This prevention can lead to even more stress for the animal involved. Evidence show that prevention of stereotypic activity can lead to raised heart rate and other unhealthy symptoms. Studies show that by offering horses relatively high amounts of roughage at frequent intervals, we can find a reduction in abnormal behaviour. Supplying horses with roughage other than hay can also decrease the risk. Since the horses are used to a large variation of food on the pasture, feeding chaff and hay as roughage seems to be better than feeding hay alone, as this better approximates this variation. Housing horses on beddings that increase opportunity of foraging behaviour, such as straw, reduce the incidence of stereotypes compared with non-straw bedding. The risk is also reduced if horses are socialized or at least allowed to have a view of other horses in the yard, and also with increasing the social contact between neighbouring horses inside the stable. To say it easy; the best way to prevent stereotypic and abnormal behaviour is to give the horse the most natural life as possible. Sources: The article: - Behavioural adaptation in the domestic horse: potential role of apparently abnormal responses including stereotypic behaviour by Jonathan J. Cooper*, Melissa J. Albentosa Other sources: - http://www.equusite.com/articles/behavior/behaviorBadHabits.shtml - http://www.usyd.edu.au/publications/news/011214News/1412_horse.html - http://www.equusite.com/articles/behavior/behaviorDrMcGreevy.shtml - http://www.animalbehaviour.net/JudithKBlackshaw/Chapter3a.htm

Notes (if any) by Peter Kabai: