Do you stable your horse? Do you experience unwanted behaviours as a result, possibly caused by the incarceration? You are not alone.
Movement in pastured and feral horses
A huge insight into the deficits of our housing systems on horses is seen by the information that horses are built to move up to 65-80km per day. Feral horse home-ranges have been found to vary from 0.6 to 78km² across 13 studies undertaken in Argentina, Canada, New Zealand, UK and the USA (1).
An estimated daily average for pastured horses is 20km of locomotion (2). It is little wonder therefore, that horses frequently show explosions of energy when ridden, led out, or upon release from the stable.
Benefits of exercise on explosive behaviours
How should one handle these behaviours, known as ‘post-inhibitory rebound’? A recently released Australian study showed the benefit of at least an hour’s exercise for boxed horses – on a walker, treadmill, turn-out, or by being ridden (3). The 24 horses in the study acted as their own control in matched treatments. There are some questions over the researchers’ choice of tasks (e.g. loading into a horse trailer) as a true measure of the effects.
Turnout showed the most improvement of all the exercise types, reducing the number of canter steps, bucks and rolls undertaken by the horses. Additionally, exercise significantly reduced the problem behaviours shown during routine tasks, including vocalisations (often shown when under stress).
The findings of the Australian study confirm what horsemen and women have endeavoured to undertake for years, but at least the framework of science can lead to an improvements in the way horses are kept.
When I worked in European stable, owned a three-day event rider and veterinarian, the rule was that each horse was to ‘move’ three times a day – be it ridden, on the walker, lunged or turned out. We didn’t experience any discernible stabling-related behaviour problems, despite many of the horses being competition-ready, fit eventers, including several stallions.
The importance of movement also raises the possibility of value of open housing systems which allow increased movement and social interaction when horses are housed together with room to move. Norway and Scandinavian countries seem to be leading the research on the effects of group-housing.
Practicalities – what to do regarding movement in stabled horses?
- Get stabled horses to move as much as possible – at least once per day, to alleviate the ‘rebound effect’.
- Increase turn-out.
- Consider group housing as a possibility.
- Realise that stabling can add to or produce ‘behavioural problems’- this may have flow-on effects to ‘wastage’ (i.e. culling of otherwise healthy horses due to ‘problem’ behaviours’).
- Seek to consider the evolution of the horse, including his evolved behaviours when choosing how best to manage domesticated horses.
References:
(1) Boyd, L, Keiper, R. Behavioural ecology of feral horses. In Mills, D. & McDonnell, S. (Eds) The Domestic Horse – the evolution, development and management of its behaviour (pp.55-82)
(2) Fraser, A.F. (1992). The behaviour of the horse. London : CAB International.
(3) Freire R, Buckley P & Cooper, JJ (2009). Effects of different forms of exercise on post inhibitory rebound and unwanted behaviour in stabled horses. Equine Veterinary Journal, 41, 487-492.
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Thank you for writing this. I am fortunate, as are my two horses, that I live where pasture turnout is available. This was my primary reason for choosing to board where I do – the 40 acre general pasture. Recently a young Azteca gelding joined the small herd. He was given to a friend because he was considered explosive and unpredicatable. She has ridden him in many circumstances and keeps asking, when is he going to explode? Two months later and still waiting. What is the difference? He was previously incarcerated in a box stall 24/7. This is a highly intelligent, sensitive, responsive horse. He was going crazy. He absolutely loves the herd, the 40 acres, and his new life.