HORSES AN IMPORTANT SPECIE IN CHARRERIA, ITS MANAGE-MENT AND WELFARE IN THE STATE OF GUERRERO, MEXICO

Abstract

The management practices provided to charrería horses in the state of Guerrero, Mexico were described and were related to animal welfare. Sixty-four owners of charrería horses were interviewed and 10% underwent an evaluation according to the protocol of the Welfare Quality ®. The most used breeds are Creole, Quarter Horse, Aztec, Spanish and Arabian. The starting age in charrería is 2 to 4 years, with workdays between two to four hours a day (81.2% of horses). Hoof shoeing is done every 8 to 12 weeks in 54.3%. The diet is based on forage and commercial feed (82.8%). Deworming is every six months (60.9%), 17.1% are vaccinated against tetanus, rabies, and influenza and very few owners (48.4%) request veterinary care. The most frequent diseases are digestive and locomotor, skin and respiratory. The stereotypes presented were rocking, nodding the head, kicking doors, chewing wood, and walking in circles. Body condition is good (3/5) (33.3%), fat (4/5) (33.3%), moderate (2/5) (16.6%) and Poor (1/5) in 16.6% of the animals. The majority had white hairs on their withers and back, because of injuries caused by their harnesses. The findings observed in the horses indicate that the welfare conditions were affected, which led to the development of vices, poor body condition, sick animals, and skin lesions in the animals