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

Elke Hartmann,Claudia Von Brömssen,Richard J Hopkins,Kristina Dahlborn

doi:10.1186/s13028-015-0135-x

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.

Highlights

Provision 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
The same pattern was observed for relative humidity (RH) and temperature humidity index (THI) during daytime
This was a lower percentage of shelter use compared to that reported by Holcomb et al [4], possibly related to the differences in paddock size and the corresponding area that was occupied by shelters

Summary

Introduction

Provision 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. Studying the benefits of providing man-made shelters for horses during the summer months has until recently received little scientific attention. This topic has been thoroughly addressed in other livestock, such as dairy cattle, presumably due to the direct positive effects the provision of shade has on productivity [1,2,3]. Shade, provided by a shelter with a roof and open on all four sides benefited horses in physiological terms, this shelter layout seemed insufficient to lower insect avoidance behaviour [4, 5]. A shelter with closed sides may give better protection because it becomes more difficult for insects to visually locate the horse

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