Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease
Housing and management conditions strongly influence the health, welfare and behaviour of horses. Consequently, objective and quantifiable comparisons between domestic environments and their influence on different equine demographics are needed to establish evidence-based criteria to assess and opti...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1867 |
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| author | Zsofia Kelemen Herwig Grimm Claus Vogl Mariessa Long Jessika M. V. Cavalleri Ulrike Auer Florien Jenner |
| author_facet | Zsofia Kelemen Herwig Grimm Claus Vogl Mariessa Long Jessika M. V. Cavalleri Ulrike Auer Florien Jenner |
| author_sort | Zsofia Kelemen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Housing and management conditions strongly influence the health, welfare and behaviour of horses. Consequently, objective and quantifiable comparisons between domestic environments and their influence on different equine demographics are needed to establish evidence-based criteria to assess and optimize horse welfare. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure and compare the time budgets (=percentage of time spent on specific activities) of horses with chronic orthopaedic disease and geriatric (≥20 years) horses living in different husbandry systems using an automated tracking device. Horses spent 42% (range 38.3–44.8%) of their day eating, 39% (range 36.87–44.9%) resting, and 19% (range 17–20.4%) in movement, demonstrating that geriatric horses and horses suffering from chronic orthopaedic disease can exhibit behaviour time budgets equivalent to healthy controls. Time budget analysis revealed significant differences between farms, turn-out conditions and time of day, and could identify potential areas for improvement. Horses living in open-air group housing on a paddock had a more uniform temporal distribution of feeding and movement activities with less pronounced peaks compared to horses living in more restricted husbandry systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:08:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-90d73f16055b4bb695d3790d120bb69b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:08:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-90d73f16055b4bb695d3790d120bb69b2023-11-22T01:21:38ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-06-01117186710.3390/ani11071867Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic DiseaseZsofia Kelemen0Herwig Grimm1Claus Vogl2Mariessa Long3Jessika M. V. Cavalleri4Ulrike Auer5Florien Jenner6Equine Surgery Unit, University Equine Hospital, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Ethics and Human-Animal-Studies, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Ethics and Human-Animal-Studies, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaEquine Internal Medicine Unit, University Equine Hospital, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaAnaesthesiology and Perioperative Intensive Care Medicine Unit, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaEquine Surgery Unit, University Equine Hospital, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, AustriaHousing and management conditions strongly influence the health, welfare and behaviour of horses. Consequently, objective and quantifiable comparisons between domestic environments and their influence on different equine demographics are needed to establish evidence-based criteria to assess and optimize horse welfare. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure and compare the time budgets (=percentage of time spent on specific activities) of horses with chronic orthopaedic disease and geriatric (≥20 years) horses living in different husbandry systems using an automated tracking device. Horses spent 42% (range 38.3–44.8%) of their day eating, 39% (range 36.87–44.9%) resting, and 19% (range 17–20.4%) in movement, demonstrating that geriatric horses and horses suffering from chronic orthopaedic disease can exhibit behaviour time budgets equivalent to healthy controls. Time budget analysis revealed significant differences between farms, turn-out conditions and time of day, and could identify potential areas for improvement. Horses living in open-air group housing on a paddock had a more uniform temporal distribution of feeding and movement activities with less pronounced peaks compared to horses living in more restricted husbandry systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1867horseequineactivitytime budgetbehaviour |
| spellingShingle | Zsofia Kelemen Herwig Grimm Claus Vogl Mariessa Long Jessika M. V. Cavalleri Ulrike Auer Florien Jenner Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease Animals horse equine activity time budget behaviour |
| title | Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease |
| title_full | Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease |
| title_fullStr | Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease |
| title_short | Equine Activity Time Budgets: The Effect of Housing and Management Conditions on Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease |
| title_sort | equine activity time budgets the effect of housing and management conditions on geriatric horses and horses with chronic orthopaedic disease |
| topic | horse equine activity time budget behaviour |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1867 |
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