Farm Atmosphere: Calm Attention and Mobility Characterise Positive Horse Welfare.

Overview

• This study investigates how observing horses’ behavior patterns using time budgets can help assess their welfare on farms with diverse management practices.
• It identifies specific calm and attentive behaviors as indicators of positive welfare and suggests an efficient observation method for practical welfare evaluations.

Introduction and Research Context

• Equine welfare assessment on farms is complex due to diverse management styles, including different housing and activity regimes.
• Traditional welfare indicators include stereotypic behaviors (repetitive, abnormal movements), ear positions during foraging, and neck shape—each signaling different welfare states.
• The study aims to evaluate time budget measures — the proportion of time horses spend in different activities — as a complementary welfare assessment tool.

Study Design and Methodology

• Sample: 174 horses across 8 different equine facilities, observed in their home environments.
• Data Collected:
  • Management practices and conventional welfare measures for each horse.
  • Behavioral data collected using scan sampling method: 1-minute scans every minute for 30 minutes, generating 33 data points per session.
• Two-part study:
  • Part 1: Validation of time budget measures as correlates of welfare at the individual horse level, considering the observation context (e.g., time of day, activity).
  • Part 2: Analysis at the farm level by averaging behavioral and welfare data across all horses in each facility to identify farm-specific welfare patterns.

Key Findings

• Positive welfare indicators were correlated with:
  • Time spent feeding.
  • Exploratory walking behavior.
  • Observation behavior, implying calm attention.
• Negative welfare indicators were associated with:
  • Time spent standing immobile and resting.
  • Fixed attention—suggesting heightened alertness or stress rather than relaxed attention.
  • Negative social interactions.
• Significant variation in time budgets among different facilities reflected differences in welfare and management, such as feeding routines and working practices.

Implications and Recommendations

• Time budget observation provides a practical and insightful tool for evaluating local welfare “atmosphere” on horse farms.
• The study advises conducting observations during calm periods with three sessions of 10 minutes each to obtain a reliable welfare assessment.
• Highlights the importance of distinguishing between types of attention (e.g., calm vs. fixed attention) for interpreting an animal’s internal state.
• Offers new methodological insights by combining behavioral time budgets with classical welfare indicators for a more comprehensive welfare analysis.

Conclusion

• Behavioral time budgets, particularly calm attentive behaviors and mobility patterns, are effective indicators of positive horse welfare.
• Carefully timed and methodical observations can provide actionable information on the welfare status within diverse farm environments.
• The research encourages integrating time budget analysis into routine welfare assessments to enhance understanding and improve management practices.