Can diet impress horse behaviour?

Abstract

Along with domestication, various changes in nutrition and digestion have occurred in horses as well as in all species. Our review aims to compile existing studies examining the role of nutrition and digestion in the emergence of undesirable behaviours in domestic horses. The success achieved in species with high adaptability has not been sustained by the change in breeding purposes over the years. Welfare, defined as the physical and mental health of animals. The responses of animals to various stimuli are defined as behaviour. Since the behaviour of animals plays a primary role in monitoring welfare, studies on animal behaviour have intensified. The development of undesirable behaviours complicates the care and management practices and negatively affects the welfare of the animals in the following periods, resulting in negative consequences for both the animal and its environment. Stereotypes, which are among the unwanted behaviours and exhibited in the form of purposeless, repetitive movements, are one of the biggest behavioural problems of horse breeding. Oral stereotypes impede food intake, locomotor stereotypes impede mobility and are instrumental in the emergence of chronic and more complex health problems. Other undesirable behaviours may also harm the horse's keeper and other horses kept together in the same box, resulting in serious injury. It is known that nutrition and nutrients affect the development of undesirable behaviours in horses. It is known that anticipatory behaviour creates a basis for repetitive behaviours as a result of inhibition when feeding time and nutrient content are out of preference or insufficient. The effect of nutrition and nutrient content on the emergence of stereotypes and undesirable behaviours has not been fully addressed and the subject remains up-to-date. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief discussion of studies conducted to assess the effect of nutritional imbalances on stereotypic behaviour in horses. The PRISMA 2020 guidelines were applied to the review using systematic review rules.