Area and Resource Utilization of Group-Housed Horses in an Active Stable
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Area and Resource Utilization of Group-Housed Horses in an Active Stable. / Hildebrandt, Frederik; Buettner, Kathrin; Salau, Jennifer; Krieter, Joachim; Czycholl, Irena.
I: Animals, Bind 11, Nr. 10, 2777, 10.2021.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Area and Resource Utilization of Group-Housed Horses in an Active Stable
AU - Hildebrandt, Frederik
AU - Buettner, Kathrin
AU - Salau, Jennifer
AU - Krieter, Joachim
AU - Czycholl, Irena
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Simple SummaryHorses are increasingly being kept in group stables where they are given the opportunity to move freely and to contact conspecifics. This study examined how the horses of a large group move in an active stable and which areas or resources they use over a period of 7.5 months with the help of linear mixed models. Therefore, a grid with the size of 3 x 3 m per square was applied. The horses used, on average, 53.2 +/- 19 different squares per hour. It was shown that observation day (p < 0.001) and covariate age (p < 0.001) had significant effects on squares visited per hour. Sex (p = 0.30) and breed (p = 0.65) had no significant effects. A large variation in the squares visited per hour was determined for the individual horses. Most frequently visited were the individual resources, such as the feed stalls or lying halls. An open tarp skin lying hall was preferred over a metal hall. The shelters were only partly popular. An overview of the usage frequency of the paddock could be created by using heatmaps. Overall, specific conclusions about the use of individual areas and potential for improvement could be pointed out.The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization of different stable areas of a total of 52 group-housed horses as well as their preferred stable parts and the use of resources. The study was situated in a "HIT Active Stable(R) " in Northern Germany for a period of 227 observation days. After dividing the whole farm area in a grid of 3 x 3 m, the dataset was examined with and without the pasture area. Furthermore, linear mixed models were applied. On average, horses used 53.2 +/- 19 different squares per hour. The observation day (p < 0.001) and the covariate age (p < 0.001) had significant effects on the different squares visited per hour. No significant effects were found for sex (p = 0.30) and breed (p = 0.65) as only geldings and no stallions were part of the group and the distribution of the breeds was unfavorable. The random effect animal showed that the horse-individual estimates from -19.2 to 17.6 different squares visited per hour were quite large. Furthermore, it could be shown that the horses used resources such as feed stalls with a frequency of up to 0.14% more than other paddock areas without resources. Open lying halls with tarp skin were also preferred over the metal hall. The shelters were only partly popular. Use could be visualized with the help of heat maps. This study gives a good overview of the use of individual areas and resources and possible improvements.
AB - Simple SummaryHorses are increasingly being kept in group stables where they are given the opportunity to move freely and to contact conspecifics. This study examined how the horses of a large group move in an active stable and which areas or resources they use over a period of 7.5 months with the help of linear mixed models. Therefore, a grid with the size of 3 x 3 m per square was applied. The horses used, on average, 53.2 +/- 19 different squares per hour. It was shown that observation day (p < 0.001) and covariate age (p < 0.001) had significant effects on squares visited per hour. Sex (p = 0.30) and breed (p = 0.65) had no significant effects. A large variation in the squares visited per hour was determined for the individual horses. Most frequently visited were the individual resources, such as the feed stalls or lying halls. An open tarp skin lying hall was preferred over a metal hall. The shelters were only partly popular. An overview of the usage frequency of the paddock could be created by using heatmaps. Overall, specific conclusions about the use of individual areas and potential for improvement could be pointed out.The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization of different stable areas of a total of 52 group-housed horses as well as their preferred stable parts and the use of resources. The study was situated in a "HIT Active Stable(R) " in Northern Germany for a period of 227 observation days. After dividing the whole farm area in a grid of 3 x 3 m, the dataset was examined with and without the pasture area. Furthermore, linear mixed models were applied. On average, horses used 53.2 +/- 19 different squares per hour. The observation day (p < 0.001) and the covariate age (p < 0.001) had significant effects on the different squares visited per hour. No significant effects were found for sex (p = 0.30) and breed (p = 0.65) as only geldings and no stallions were part of the group and the distribution of the breeds was unfavorable. The random effect animal showed that the horse-individual estimates from -19.2 to 17.6 different squares visited per hour were quite large. Furthermore, it could be shown that the horses used resources such as feed stalls with a frequency of up to 0.14% more than other paddock areas without resources. Open lying halls with tarp skin were also preferred over the metal hall. The shelters were only partly popular. Use could be visualized with the help of heat maps. This study gives a good overview of the use of individual areas and resources and possible improvements.
KW - horse
KW - group housing
KW - active stable systems
KW - area utilization
KW - GPS
KW - PHYSIOLOGICAL-RESPONSES
KW - SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR
KW - YOUNG HORSES
KW - AGGRESSION
U2 - 10.3390/ani11102777
DO - 10.3390/ani11102777
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34679799
VL - 11
JO - Animals
JF - Animals
SN - 2076-2615
IS - 10
M1 - 2777
ER -
ID: 328014294