Behavior of Icelandic horses in low wall boxes. The effect of box-size and having a companion on lying, eating, aggressive and allogrooming behavior

Many horses are housed good part of the year and many people have a high investment in horse stalls. With that in mind, urprisingly few studies have been conducted on the effect of housing on horses, especially the effect of different box sizes and number of horses in a box. The aim of this study was to study the effect of different box size and individual vs. pair boxes on social, eating and lying behavior of horses. 16 Icelandic horses were used in the experiment. The individual boxes were of four different sizes 3, 4, 6 and 8 m² per horse. The pair boxes were 6, 8, 12 and 16 m² in total floor space. The horses were able to groom with horses in adjoining boxes. This study showed that, when in company of others, horses spent less time eating their ration. Overall, there was a little change in allogrooming and recumbency between one or two in a box, but recumbency increased with box size, more so in the individual boxes. Most aggressive behavior was shown when the horses were feeding in the morning. This study indicates that welfare of horses kept in 3m² is compromised, and welfare of horses in 4m² is also affected. In pair boxes, the size of the box seemed to affect the welfare of the horses in a more complex way. When designing boxes in stables it is feasible to have them with low walls.

Author dc:creator

• Sigtryggur Veigar Herbertsson 1978-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/7076

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/7076