Differences in grazing behavior of horses and cattle at the feeding station scale on woodland pasture.

This research investigates the differential grazing behaviors between horses and cows, and how these behaviors affect foraging activities on woodland pastures. The study reveals similar foraging hierarchies in horses and cows, but showcases unique, scale-dependent grazing practices in horses compared to cows, suggesting that larger grazing animals might present more similarities in their foraging strategies at larger scales.

Comparative Study of Grazing Behavior

• The study aimed to examine the differences in grazing behavior between horses and cows on woodland pastures. A notable focus was the foraging hierarchy, which relates to how these animals organize their feeding activities.
• Two groups of animals were observed for the study: a horse group consisting of 12 native Hokkaido horses and a cow group of 5 Hereford cows. The chosen pasture for these animals predominantly contained Sasa nipponica, a type of bamboo grass.
• Grazing behavior was studied at different scales, mainly at a feeding station (FS) scale. The FS scale refers to the specific locations where animals feed. Three focal animals were chosen from each group for detailed observation.

Findings on Bite Frequency and Feed Patch Scale

• The observations revealed that mares typically take one bite per FS at a larger percentage of FSs (24.3%). In contrast, cows tend to take one, two, and three bites per FS at resembles rates (20.3%, 19.2%, and 15.4% respectively).
• This study defined a feeding patch (FP) as a group of feeding stations. Interestingly, despite the bite frequency differences, both horses and cows exhibited similar FP length and grazing behavior at the FP scale.

Movement Between Feeding Stations and Patches

• Mares were observed to take a larger number of steps between two adjacent FSs or FPs compared to cows. This might suggest different foraging movement patterns between the two species.

Conclusion

• The findings suggested that horses and cows possess similar foraging hierarchies at the bite to FP scale. Despite this, there are significant differences in their grazing behavior at the FS scale.
• Grazing behavior of larger herbivores may have more common ground when examined within larger foraging hierarchies. This insight can be beneficial for environmental management strategies for sustainable grazing.