Effect of feeder style on behavior and cortisol concentrations in group-fed horses

Abstract

Equines play an important role in the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 384 randomly selected (78 donkeys and 306 horses) working equines from January 2021 to July 2021 in Shashamene town and its surroundings to investigate the welfare and health status of working equines in the study area. Management and related information on equines was gathered by interviewing equine owners using a structured questionnaire. The welfare of working equines was determined by closely observing the study animals for the prevalence of lameness, injuries, and other diseases of carthorses in association with body condition, age, and behavior. The assessment was carried out at the veterinary clinics, field, market, and around the homestead.According to the respondents, approximately 13% of cart horses and 72% of donkeys were kept in the open air without shelter. In addition, approximately 78% of the studied donkeys showed behavioral changes, of which approximately 44% were anxious, 3% were depressed, and 19% were found to be not friendly. Similarly, nearly 70% of carthorses demonstrated a behavioral change, of which 64% were anxious, 2% were depressed, and 3% were not friendly. The overall prevalence of injury was approximately 61% in donkeys and 63% in cart horses. Incidences of external injuries were significantly associated with poor body condition (p ≤ 0.001) and anxious behavior (p = 0.03) in working equines. Lameness occurred in nearly 23% of the working equines, of which approximately 9% of the donkeys and 27% of carthorses were lame. A significantly high prevalence of lameness was recorded in cart horses (p = 0.01) in comparison to donkeys. Other major health problems identified in the veterinary clinics, field level, market, and around the homestead were respiratory diseases, colic, and epizootic lymphangitis.Thus, the study revealed that working equines in the study area are experiencing multiple welfare problems.