Stable management refers to the systematic approach to maintaining the health, safety, and well-being of horses within a stable environment. It encompasses various practices and protocols designed to ensure optimal living conditions for horses, including feeding, grooming, exercise, and health monitoring. Effective stable management involves regular cleaning and maintenance of stalls, proper ventilation, and management of waste to minimize the risk of disease and enhance the horses' comfort. This topic includes research on best practices for stable design, the impact of stable conditions on equine behavior and health, and the implementation of management strategies that promote the welfare of horses. The page provides access to peer-reviewed studies and scholarly articles that analyze different aspects of stable management and its influence on equine care.
Briefer Freymond S, Briefer EF, Von Niederhäusern R, Bachmann I.Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established,...
Onmaz AC, Stoklas-Schmidt C, van den Hoven R.The aim of the study was to analyse the day-to-day variability of the respiratory resistance (R(rs)) and the reactance (X(rs)) in 5 horses in a status of remission of recurrent airway obstruction by forced oscillometry system (FOS). Furthermore, the effects of stabling, outdoor and room temperature and humidity on these parameters were determined. Mean R(rs) at oscillation frequencies 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 Hz were all significantly higher in the morning than in the afternoon, while X(rs) was not significantly affected by time of the day. R(rs) was significantly different on various sampling days at ...
Wagnerová P, Sak B, Květoňová D, Buňatová Z, Civišová H, Maršálek M, Kváč M.Faecal samples were collected from 377 horses on 23 farms with varying management systems in the Czech Republic. Microsporidia were found on 16 farms and the overall prevalence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon cuniculi was 17.3% (66/377) and 6.9% (26/377), respectively. The prevalence of E. cuniculi in horses over 3 years of age was significantly higher (10.0%) compared to younger horses (4.0%). No significant differences in prevalence were observed among stallions, geldings, and mares for both microsporidia. Significantly higher infection rates of E. bieneusi and E. cuniculi wer...
Rosanowski SM, Rogers CW, Cogger N, Benschop J, Stevenson MA.A survey was conducted to investigate biosecurity practices on non-commercial horse properties, to describe the number of visits by horse professionals and any protocols that visitors were required to follow before interacting with resident horses. Data were collected in November 2009 during a cross-sectional study of non-commercial horse properties, in New Zealand, selected using generalised random-tessellated stratified design and a self-administered postal questionnaire. Data were described and the associations between property-level factors and biosecurity practices were analysed using log...
Filby M, Jackson C, Turner M.The horseracing training industry has largely been ignored in terms of active occupational health research. Objective: To provide baseline statistics on the specific nature and type of accidents that occurred in English horseracing stables during 2008. Methods: All 716 training yards/stables registered with the British Horseracing Authority were contacted in April/May 2009 to complete the Racing Injury Accident Statistical Survey. The survey asked respondents to detail all recorded accidents and injuries during 2008. Results: Two hundred and fifty-six yards (36%) provided usable responses. The...
Graper M, Fischer AT.Practicing at a referral center makes one aware of the necessity for consistent clear communication with the referring veterinarians. The referring veterinarian is ultimately the primary client of the referral center and should be respected as such. Once the necessary care has been provided, the client and horse should be returned to the care of the referring veterinarian. It is important that the referring veterinarian stay involved in the case and communicate if they wish for more or less contact with the referral center.
Hockenhull J, Creighton E.UK leisure horses are owned primarily for riding. Ridden behaviour problems may compromise the use of the horse in this role and lead to harsh redress or relinquishment of the horse. Despite the consequences of these problems little is known about their prevalence or the working lives of UK leisure horses. Objective: To generate data on the work undertaken by leisure horses, the equipment and training practices used with them and prevalence of ridden behaviour problems. Methods: An internet survey was used to generate horse-level data from a convenience sample of leisure horse carers. Responde...
Millerick-May ML, Karmaus W, Derksen FJ, Berthold B, Holcombe SJ, Robinson NE.Accumulations of tracheal mucus assessed by endoscopic examination are associated with poor performance in racehorses. The air quality in horses' stalls may contribute to this visible tracheal mucus. Objective: To determine whether the concentration and number of airborne particulates in stalls are associated with visible accumulations of tracheal mucus and with the number of inflammatory cells in tracheal aspirates. Methods: We studied 107 racehorses from 3 stables, in 3 different months, and measured airborne particulate matter 3 times daily in each of the stalls. On each monthly visit, hors...
Hoffmann G, Bentke A, Rose-Meierhöfer S, Berg W, Mazetti P, Hardarson GH.Horses are often stabled in individual boxes, a method that does not meet their natural needs and may cause psychical and musculoskeletal diseases. This problem is particularly evident in Iceland, where horses often spend the long winter periods in cramped boxes. The aim of this study was to analyze the suitability of a group housing system in Iceland, but the results are also applicable to horses of other regions. Eight Icelandic horses were observed in an active stable system, and their behavior and time budget were recorded. Movement and lying behavior were studied with ALT (Activity, Lying...
Wartell BA, Krumins V, Alt J, Kang K, Schwab BJ, Fennell DE.Substantial stall waste is generated from horses on softwood bedding. The methane potential (G(pot)) of horse manure and constructed mixtures of stall waste with softwood bedding was determined at 35°C. G(pot) of 68, 191 and 273 mL/g volatile solids (VS) were estimated for three separate batches of horse manure, indicating variability in the material. Cumulative energy production over 20-40 days ranged from 3.11 ± 0.92 to 8.45 ± 5.42 × 10(5)kJ/metric ton wet weight horse manure alone, and from 1.69 ± 0.39 to 3.91 ± 0.47 × 10(5)kJ/metric ton wet weight horse manure plus softwood stall be...
Urschel KL, Geor RJ, Hanigan MD, Harris PA.Stable isotope infusion methods have not been extensively used in horses to study protein metabolism. The objectives were to develop infusion and sampling methodologies for [1-(13)C] phenylalanine and apply these methods to determine whether the addition of supplemental amino acids to a control diet affected whole-body phenylalanine kinetics in mature horses. Arabian geldings were studied using a 6-h primed (9 μmol/kg), constant (6 μmol · kg(-1) · h(-1)) i.v. infusion of L-[1-(13)C] phenylalanine, with blood and breath sampled every 30 min, to measure whole-body phenylalanine kinet...
Holcomb KE, Stull CL, Kass PH.Nonprofit equine rescue organizations in the United States provide care for relinquished horses and may offer adoption programs. With an estimated 100,000 "unwanted" horses per year and few municipal shelters providing wholesale euthanasia, there is a need to minimize the number of unwanted horses and maximize their successful transition to new caregivers. This study's objectives were to characterize the relinquishing and adoptive owners interacting with nonprofit rescue organizations. Nonprofit organizations (n = 144) in 37 states provided information by survey on 280 horses relinquished betw...
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Geden CJ, Hogsette JA.The ability of Spalangia cameroni Perkins, Spalangia endius Walker, and Muscidifurax raptorellus Kogan and Legner to locate and attack stable fly hosts was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Postfeeding third-instar stable fly larvae were released and allowed to pupate in two arena types: large 4.8 liter chambers containing a field-collected, soiled equine bedding substrate; or 120-ml plastic cups containing wood chips. At the time of fly pupariation, parasitoids were released and permitted 72 h to locate and attack hosts. On average, parasitism rates of freely accessible stable fly pupae ...
Lönnell C, Roepstorff L, Egenvall A.Lameness is the most commonly diagnosed condition in equine veterinary practice. To examine whether variations in management and husbandry strategies in riding schools could influence wastage due to orthopaedic injury schools with high (HUIO) or low (LUIO) insurance claims for orthopaedic injuries (as an indirect measure of wastage) were compared epidemiologically using an extensive questionnaire and field study visits. Schools differed in management strategies and these influence injury rate and longevity. For horses in the LUIO schools a significantly longer time period had elapsed since acq...
Kuzmina TA.Analysis of the influence of horse-keeping conditions by contamination of the environment (pastures, paddocks, and stalls) by the strongylid infective larvae (L(3)) was carried out at various types of horse farms, hippodromes, and riding clubs in Ukraine. A total of 1,237 horses from three types of horse-keeping conditions were examined. Epidemiological studies of stall and grazing area (pasture and paddocks) contamination by L(3) were performed at hippodrome (stalled horse-keeping) and horse farms with stall/paddock-keeping and stall/pasture-keeping conditions. Grass and stall litter samples ...
Campana MG, Stock F, Barrett E, Benecke N, Barker GW, Seetah K, Bower MA.Despite the Icelandic horse enjoying great popularity worldwide, the breed's gene pool is small. This is because of a millennium of isolation on Iceland, population crashes caused by natural disasters and selective breeding. Populations with small effective population sizes are considered to be more at risk of selection pressures such as disease and environmental change. By analysing historic and modern mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear coat colour genes, we examined real-time population dynamics in the Icelandic horse over the last 150 years. Despite the small gene pool of this breed, w...
Komar S, Miskewitz R, Westendorf M, Williams CA.Our objective in this study is to compare 4 of the most common bedding materials used by equine operations on the chemical and physical characteristics of composted equine stall waste. Twelve Standardbred horses were adapted to the barn and surrounding environment for 2 wk before the start of the study. Groups of 3 horses were bedded on 1 of 4 different bedding types (wood shavings, pelletized wood materials, long straw, and pelletized straw) for 16 h per day for 18 d. Stalls were cleaned by trained staff daily, and all contents removed were weighed and stored separately by bedding material on...
Williams S, Tucker CA, Green MJ, Freeman SL.Management regimes have been identified as risk factors for equine intestinal motility disorders. However, it is not known how management factors affect gastrointestinal motility. Objective: Large intestinal motility was similar in horses on a stabled and a pastured management regime. Objective: To investigate the effect of 2 different management regimes on large intestinal motility assessed with ultrasonography. Methods: A within-subjects crossover design was used to compare large intestinal motility between a stabled and a pastured regime in 16 working horses. Group A was managed under a sta...
Cui Z, Shi J, Li Y.The spent wheat straw from horse stall bedding has lower cellulose and hemicellulose contents, but higher volatile fatty acid content than raw wheat straw. Biogas production from solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of spent wheat straw and raw wheat straw was compared in this study. The SS-AD tests were conducted at 22% total solids (TS) content using inoculum from a liquid AD system at three feedstock-to-inoculum (F/I) ratios of 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0. Daily methane yields of spent wheat straw peaked 8 and 3 days earlier than those of raw wheat straw at F/I ratios of 2.0 and 4.0, respectively....
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Hogsette JA, Geden CJ, Tenbroeck SH.Beginning in November 2007 and continuing until December 2009, weekly stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), surveillance was conducted at four equine facilities near Ocala, FL, by using alsynite sticky traps for adults and by searching immature developmental sites for pupae. Adult stable fly trap captures were highly variable throughout the year, ranging from 0 to 1,400 flies per trap per farm. The greatest adult stable fly activity was observed during the spring months of March and April, with weekly three-trap means of 121 and 136 flies per farm, respectively. The importance of cultural cont...
Owen KR, Singer ER, Clegg PD, Ireland JL, Pinchbeck GL.Traumatic injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the horse and consequently pose a serious threat to horses' wellbeing. To date, there have been no published studies assessing the frequency of injuries in the general horse population of the UK. Objective: To obtain information regarding husbandry management strategies and injury prevalence in horses aged ≤15 years, with the aim of identifying predisposing risk factors for injury. Methods: A postal questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample of horse owners across north-west England, Midlands and north Wales....
Moran G, Buechner-Maxwell VA, Folch H, Henriquez C, Galecio JS, Perez B, Carrasco C, Barria M.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO, also known as equine heaves) is an inflammatory condition similar to human asthma caused by exposure of susceptible horses to poorly ventilated stable environments. The disease is characterized by neutrophilic airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion and reversible bronchoconstriction. This inflammatory process is mediated by several factors, including antibodies, cytokines, resident cells of the airway and inflammatory cellular components that arrive in the respiratory tract. An increasing body of evidence has lent support to the concept that a dysregulatio...
Hinney B, Wirtherle NC, Kyule M, Miethe N, Zessin KH, Clausen PH.Control strategies for horse helminths are controversially discussed, and no ideal strategy exists. Presently, the spreading of anthelmintic resistance against all three classes of anthelmintics is of special concern. Advice on how to slow the development of anthelmintic resistance does not seem to have reached the majority of horse owners yet. In our study, we wanted to capture the current standard of helminth control and to analyse the effectiveness of these control strategies. Seven hundred horse farms in Brandenburg, Germany were sent a questionnaire in June/July 2006 asking various questi...
Holcomb KE, Stull CL, Kass PH.Nonprofit equine rescue organizations in the United States provide care for relinquished horses and may offer adoption programs. With an estimated 100,000 "unwanted" horses per year and few municipal shelters providing wholesale euthanasia, there is a need to minimize the number of unwanted horses and maximize their successful transition to new caregivers. This study's objectives were to characterize the relinquishing and adoptive owners interacting with nonprofit rescue organizations. Nonprofit organizations (n = 144) in 37 states provided information by survey on 280 horses relinquished betw...
Burgess BA, Bauknecht K, Slovis NM, Morley PS.Salmonella enterica is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections in veterinary hospitals - with outbreaks of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella among equine cases resulting in high case fatality rates and substantial financial cost. Objective: Study objectives were to 1) investigate factors associated with shedding of MDR-Salmonella enterica and 2) evaluate the effect shedding may have on health outcomes of previously hospitalised horses and their stablemates. Methods: Retrospective case-control study with prospective cohort study. Methods: Analysis of medical records (N = 37...
Dittmann MT, Latif SN, Hefti R, Hartnack S, Hungerbühler V, Weishaupt MA.The use of horses in competitive sports receives increasing criticism from the public, mainly due to the potential for injury. However, it is unclear if orthopedic and other health issues are more common in competition horses than those in leisure horses. The aim of this study was to assess husbandry, use, and orthopedic health in Swiss riding horses and to compare these aspects between horses owned by self-identified competitive riders (CR) and leisure riders (LR) in Switzerland. A total of 237 owners completed an online survey providing information on their athletic ambitions, their horse's ...
Dosi MCMC, McGorum BC, Kirton RD, Cillán-García E, Mellanby RJ, Keen JA, Hurst EA, Morgan RA.Vitamin D deficiency is common in humans and is increasingly linked to the pathogenesis of a multitude of diseases including obesity and metabolic syndrome. The biology of vitamin D in horses is poorly described; the relative contribution of the diet and skin synthesis to circulating concentrations is unclear and associations with the endocrine disease have not been explored. Objective: To determine the relationship between management, season and endocrine disease and vitamin D status in horses. Methods: Cross-sectional cohort study. Methods: Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25(O...
Bradshaw-Wiley E, Randle H.Increasing interest in equine welfare has emphasised the need for objective and reliable behavioural indicators of horses' affective state. However, research has yielded mixed results regarding behaviours suited for industry use largely because they are subject to anthropomorphic interpretation. Stabling is commonly used to manage domesticated horses despite research indicating that it can negatively impact horse welfare, but its effect on their affective state is yet to be quantified. Ten adult horses (11.8 ± 4.4 years) were observed either on a day- (DS) or night-stabling (NS) schedule over...
Houpt KA.Stable vices include oral vices such as cribbing, wood chewing, and coprophagia, as well as stall walking, weaving, pawing, and stall kicking. Some of these behaviors are escape behaviors; others are forms of self-stimulation. Most can be eliminated by pasturing rather than stall confinement. Trailering problems include failure to load, scrambling in the moving trailer, struggling in the stationary trailer, and refusal to unload. Gradual habituation to entering the trailer, the presence of another horse, or a change in trailer type can be used to treat these problems.
Popescu S, Lazar EA, Borda C, Blaga Petrean A, Mitrănescu E.Despite an increase in awareness of their essential needs, many stallions continue to be kept in conditions limiting their social interactions and movement. To supplement the studies which highlight the effects of these practices on selected aspects of equine mental and physical wellbeing, we aimed to monitor a group of 32 adult intact stallions during their transition from tethered housing with limited outdoor access to free group housing through the lens of their overall welfare, perceived emotional status, and docility toward humans. Over three visits (before the management change, two week...
Carrasco L, Tarradas MC, Gómez-Villamandos JC, Luque I, Arenas A, Méndez A.Invasive pulmonary mycosis caused by Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer is reported in a 2-year-old horse, one of three that died after being housed in a disused, uncleaned stable. Lesions were characterized by thrombosis of the blood vessels with haemorrhage and tissue necrosis. Fungal hyphae were observed both in thrombosed vessels and in adjacent necrotic tissue. In culture media inoculated with lung samples and samples from the bedding hay, two types of colony were recorded and identified as A. niger and R. stolonifer. This study is the first description of equine pulmonary mucormyc...
Wartell BA, Krumins V, Alt J, Kang K, Schwab BJ, Fennell DE.Substantial stall waste is generated from horses on softwood bedding. The methane potential (G(pot)) of horse manure and constructed mixtures of stall waste with softwood bedding was determined at 35°C. G(pot) of 68, 191 and 273 mL/g volatile solids (VS) were estimated for three separate batches of horse manure, indicating variability in the material. Cumulative energy production over 20-40 days ranged from 3.11 ± 0.92 to 8.45 ± 5.42 × 10(5)kJ/metric ton wet weight horse manure alone, and from 1.69 ± 0.39 to 3.91 ± 0.47 × 10(5)kJ/metric ton wet weight horse manure plus softwood stall be...
Souza CM, Miotto BA, Bonin CP, Camargo MM.Quantity and variety of environmental antigens, age, diet, vaccine protocols, exercising practice and mucosal cytokine microenvironment are factors that influence serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels. IgA, IgG, IgG(T) and IgM were quantified in 60 horses, which were classified into two groups, 'intensive' or 'relaxed', according to sanitary standards of the facilities and physical exercise to which animals were subjected to. The 'intensive' group presented lower means for all isotypes, but only IgA presented a significant (P < 0.0064) difference when compared to the 'relaxed' group. T...
Pascoe RR.A survey of 568 horses in training and 2,535 horses on breeding farms has shown 32 percent of the horses in training to be clinically affected while only 1.1 percent of breeding horses were affected with pathogenic dermatophytes. The majority of lesions on racing horses were located on the girth areas. Trichophyton equinum var. autotrophicum, M. canis and M. equinum were found to be restricted to racing horses only. M. gypseum occurred in racing, riding and breeding horses.
Whittaker AG, Love S, Parkin TD, Duz M, Hughes KJ.Regulation of pH homeostasis in the equine lung is poorly understood. Measurement of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH provided a simple, highly repeatable and noninvasive method for the longitudinal investigation of changes in airway pH in response to environmental changes. Stabling of horses was found to lead to a small (approximately 100-200 parts/billion) but significant (P < 0.001) increase in ambient ammonia concentration when compared to pasture. This increase in exposure to ambient ammonia concentration was associated with significant (P = 0.002) increases in EBC pH and exhaled amm...
van den Boom R, Ducro B, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.An Internet-based questionnaire among horse owners was carried out to identify factors affecting the incidence of insect bite hypersensitivity (IBHI) among horses in the Netherlands. Information was obtained for 794 horses of various breeds, but the breed distribution was not representative for the Dutch horse population. Of the horses for which information was available, 56% suffered from IBH and 44% did not. The most common clinical symptoms were pruritus, scaling, and hair loss, occurring mainly at the base of the tail and along the mane. Breed, age, region (and local habitat), stabling, ty...
Snow DH, Gash SP, Cornelius J.The effects of oral administration of high doses of ascorbic acid on plasma concentrations were investigated in both experimental Thoroughbred horses and those within racing stables. A single oral dose (20 g) did not result in any increase in plasma concentrations. However, daily administration of either 4.5 g or 20 g doses resulted in significant increases in plasma concentrations. Monthly variations in plasma ascorbate concentrations were found in both supplemented (20 g daily) and unsupplemented stables. It is concluded that oral supplementation with ascorbic acid is a satisfactory route to...
Bockisch F, Aboling S, Coenen M, Vervuert I.Vitamin-D intoxication by yellow oat grass is often reported under the syndrome of enzootic calcinosis in ruminants in the upper regions of the Alps. The intake of Trisetum flavescens in ruminants and horses induces calcification of soft tissue, including vessels, tendons and ligaments, lung, heart and kidneys. Clinical symptoms, including a reluctance to move, inappetence, body-weight loss and impaired organ function, are frequently observed. To date, there are only a very few case reports about yellow-oat-grass intoxication in horses. The present case report describes Vitamin-D intoxication ...
Goodwin D, Davidson HP, Harris P.To investigate the choices of foraging location of horses, 10 to 12 horses were introduced for five minutes into each of two similar stables containing a single forage or six forages, in four replicated trials. The horses were then removed and released into the gangway between the stables, and allowed five minutes to choose between the stables. Their initial and final choices, mean duration in each stable and proportional frequency of change of location were compared. Most of the horses initially entered the closest stable on release (P<0.05); if the closest stable contained a single hay, m...
Ross M, Proudfoot K, Merkies K, Elsohaby I, Mills M, Macmillan K, Mckenna S, Ritter C.Limited research has assessed the "human dimension" of horse care. The aims of this study were to (1) understand horse owner attitudes toward horse welfare when kept outdoors versus indoors and in groups versus individually, (2) compare horse owner attitudes toward horse welfare with the ways in which they house their horses, and (3) explore horse owner reasons for and challenges with their horses' housing. Seventy-six horse owners in Prince Edward Island, Canada completed a questionnaire. Non-parametric tests and quantitative content analysis were used for data analysis. Consistent with the w...
Williams S, Tucker CA, Green MJ, Freeman SL.Management regimes have been identified as risk factors for equine intestinal motility disorders. However, it is not known how management factors affect gastrointestinal motility. Objective: Large intestinal motility was similar in horses on a stabled and a pastured management regime. Objective: To investigate the effect of 2 different management regimes on large intestinal motility assessed with ultrasonography. Methods: A within-subjects crossover design was used to compare large intestinal motility between a stabled and a pastured regime in 16 working horses. Group A was managed under a sta...
Junkkari R, Simojoki H, Heiskanen ML, Pelkonen S, Sankari S, Tulamo RM, Mykkänen A.Newly weaned horses in Finland are often moved to unheated loose housing systems in which the weanlings have free access to a paddock and a shelter. This practice is considered to be good for the development of young horses. The daily temperatures can stay below - 20 °C in Finland for several consecutive weeks during the winter season. However, the effect of unheated housing in a cold climatic environment on the respiratory health of weanlings under field conditions has not been studied before. This investigation was an observational field-study comprising 60 weanlings among 11 different vo...
Dyson S, Greve L.Several studies have shown that there is a high prevalence of ill-fitting saddles. Many riders do not have saddle fit professionally assessed on at least an annual basis. Back dimensions can change considerably over the period of a year and therefore saddle fit should be assessed several times yearly, especially if work intensity has been altered. Saddle fit should be evaluated before and after exercise because back dimensions can change during work. Ideally, horses should be ridden in individual purpose-fitted saddles, rather than the same saddle being used on several horses. There remains li...
Jonckheer-Sheehy VS, Houpt KA.Horses and ponies are used for experimental research in a variety of fields, but there is little published scientific literature that describes current or evidence-based recommendations for keeping and managing these species for research purposes. Equine species require particular environmental conditions and allowances to accommodate their behavior and physiology. Here the authors review studies and common practices for ambient facility conditions; provision of bedding, food and water; opportunities for exercise and environmental enrichment; allocation of facility spaces and resources; and de...
Zeyner A, Bessert J, Gropp JM.Our hypothesis was that, because horses have not evolved as fat eaters, there may be negative metabolic long-term effects of feeding a high fat diet. The objective of the present study was to identify these long-term effects and compare them with the effects of isoenergetic long-term high starch feeding. This randomised block study with 20 exercised horses looked at the effect of feeding either a high starch (HS) or a high fat (HF) diet type in 3 periods during stabling (Stable 1), pasture, and stabling (Stable 2) over 390 days. The horses received a HS or HF concentrate, straw, hay and 6 h pa...
Ninomiya S, Anjiki A, Nishide Y, Mori M, Deguchi Y, Satoh T.In stabled horses, behavioral responses to frustration are often observed, especially around feeding time. These behavioral responses are a useful indicator of their welfare. In this study, we investigated the association between this behavioral indicator and DRD4 gene polymorphisms in stabled horses. Twenty one horses housed in two stables were used. The horses were observed for approximately 4 h around feeding over three or more days using focal-sampling and instantaneous-sampling. Horses were genotyped for the A-G substitution in the DRD4 gene. The effects of the A-G substitution (with or w...
McGill S, Hayes M, Tumlin K, Coleman R.Equine farms are building both stables for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses (Kidd et al., 1997). For many of these farms, an outdoor arena that has an all-weather footing is the first working facility built. During inclement weather the ability to train in the outdoor arenas is inhibited, which in turn means the trainers, riders, and farms lose income as money is only made when horses are working, training, and competing. Indoor arenas allow for horses to continue to be worked no matter the weather conditions. The equine industry contributes a total of $...
Hartmann E, Hopkins RJ, von Brömssen C, Dahlborn K.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. 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, sh...
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Geden CJ, Hogsette JA.The ability of Spalangia cameroni Perkins, Spalangia endius Walker, and Muscidifurax raptorellus Kogan and Legner to locate and attack stable fly hosts was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Postfeeding third-instar stable fly larvae were released and allowed to pupate in two arena types: large 4.8 liter chambers containing a field-collected, soiled equine bedding substrate; or 120-ml plastic cups containing wood chips. At the time of fly pupariation, parasitoids were released and permitted 72 h to locate and attack hosts. On average, parasitism rates of freely accessible stable fly pupae ...
Sutton DG, Bahr A, Preston T, Christley RM, Love S, Roussel AJ.Disordered gastric motility may be a significant factor in the pathogenesis of many equine conditions. Although tests for liquid phase emptying rate have been validated in the horse, there are no effective tests for solid phase emptying measurement that can be performed routinely in the field. Objective: The objective of this study was the assessment of a novel stable isotope technique, the 13C-octane acid breath test (13C-OABT), for the measurement of gastric emptying of solid ingesta, by direct comparison with the optimum method of gastric scintigraphy. Methods: To facilitate dual measuremen...
Geburek F, Deegen E, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Ohnesorge B.In the present field study the skin of the feet of 37 heavy draught horses of different breeds showing verrucous pastern dermatitis was examined clinically. Included were the degree of severity of the disease and the prevalence of anatomically normal structures associated with the skin: fetlock tufts of hair ("feathering"), ergots, chestnuts, bulges in the pastern region, cannon circumference. Each horse was examined for Chorioptes sp. skin mites. Information was also collected on the development of the skin alterations and housing conditions and feeding. These individual data were correlated ...
