By: Larissa Cox
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Freedom from hunger, thirst, and malnutrition
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Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort
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By prevention of rapid diagnosis and treatment
Freedom to express most normal behaviour
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By providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a
comfortable resting area
Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
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By ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health
and vigour
By providing space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s
own kind
Freedom from fear and distress
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By ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental
suffering
Mills and Clarke (2003) suggest assessing housing and management strategies
based on the Five Freedoms which encompass not only physical, but social and
emotional welfare.
Krzak et al. in 1991 found that
wood chewing primarily
happens at night as a probable
consequence of an empty stomach
from restricted feeding in stabled
environments.
 Changes in management can impact water
intake. A study by Welford et al. in 1999 found
up to a 7% drop in Thoroughbreds as a
consequence of changes to care schedule.
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http://www.horsebabble.com/images/HorseChewing2.jpg
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Morgan et al. in 1997 showed that horses could
comfortably withstand temperatures from -3°C
to 37.5°C
Morgan in 1998 found the horse’s
thermoneutral zone (heat production = heat
loss) was between 5°C and 25°C
Mills and Clarke (2003) emphasize that ventillation
should not be compromised to keep a stable
warmer in cold temperatures. They offer the
solutions of rugging the horse more, or installing
quartz heaters.
Respiratory diseases caused by bedding and poor ventilation
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Feige et al. in 2002 showed a random population of Swiss
horses 54% suffered from a subclinical to moderate chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by
hypersensitivity of the respiratory tract to spores of fungi
and thermophil actinomyces.
Causes (Webster et al. 1987; Vandenput et al. 2008):
o
o
o
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Poorly maintained bedding
Poor ventilation in facility (American barns < individual stables)
Poor quality hay and straw bedding
Buechner-Maxwell et al. in 2007 examined six normal horses
for evidence of airway mucosal inflammation after being
stabled for a month, and found no signs of airway disorder.
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Locomotory behaviour is key aspect of horse’s
behaviour. If only exercised when ridden,
horse may succumb to strain and related
problems and diseases (Minero & Canali, 2008)
Restrained movement and social contact may
increase likelihood for developing abnormal
behaviours and stereotypies (McGreevy et al.,
1995)
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Beerda et al. in 1999 evaluated hormonal and immunological
responses in dogs subjected to social and spatial restriction.
Increased response of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)and
cortisol to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
o Increased responsiveness of pituitary–adrenal axis to a sudden
sound blast
o To investigate: increased urinary catecholamines, increased
lymphocyte proliferation.
o
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Visser et al. in 2008 compared,over 12 weeks, invidual
housing for horses (10.5 m2) vs paired housing (48 m2 for
two horses) on young horses stabled for the first time.
Depression caused by desensitisation of hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis
o Increase in stress-related behaviours like neighing, pawing,
nibbling and snorting
o Sudden isolated stabling is stressful to young and naïve horses,
resulting in a high prevalence of stereotypies and abnormal
behaviours.
o
Lesimple et al. in 2011 looked at the emotional and
cognitive abilities in riding school horses correlated
with housing conditions.
 Horses in boxed housing exhibited “high locomotary
patterns” when turned out in an arena, which could
correlate to nervousness or flightiness undersaddle.
These horses are more likely to behave in an
unpredictable and exaserbated manner.
Odber and Bouissou in 1999
discovered that 66.4% of horses
sent to slaughter in Italy were
because of “behavioural problems”.
http://www.theartofdressage.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/02/horse-bucking.jpg
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Involves the practice of increasing the physical,
social and temporal complexity of captive
environments
Encourages normal behaviour
May help animals to cope by increasing
sensory stimulation, muscular and skeletal
activity and sense of control.
Usually try to increase complexity of stimuli
available from environment
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Locomotory behaviour in horses has positive
physical and mental effects and should be
taken into consideration when managed. (Mills
& Clarke, 2002; Minero & Canali, 2008)
Horses develop less abnormal behaviours and
stereotypies when turned out (McGreevy et al.,
1995).
Horses in group housing are easier to break in
(Rivera et al., 1999).
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Enriching the stable environment through the provision
of multiple forages to the horse decreased foraging on
straw bedding and increased foraging motivation
behaviour, which points to increased welfare (Goodwin
et al. 2002)
Horses managed on enriched forage diets kept increased
foraging behaviour for 7-day trial (Thorne et al. 2005)
http://www.cowgirldiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/buckskinhorse.jpg
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Cooper et al. (2000) found that stable design incorporating two or more
visual horizons (eg: front and rear views to stable and fields) decreased
stereotypic behaviour. It was hypothesized this could increase
environmental monitoring or social interaction that are denied by the
conventional stable that only has one panal open to the horse.
McAfee et al. (2002) found that the provision of a mirror significantly
reduced the incidence of both stereotypic weaving (P<0.001) and nodding
(P<0.05) for the 5 weeks of treatment.
Mills and Riezebos (2005) found that a life-size poster of a horse’s head in
the stable decreased weaving and nodding. The horse also spent more
time alert (p < 0.001), and looking at the poster (p < 0.05).
Henderson and Warant (2001) investigated the foraging device/stable toy,
'The Equiball™’ on effects to abmormal behaviour. They found that the
Equiball could contribute to an environment less likely to lead to
stereotypic behaviours.
http://www.link.vet.ed.ac.uk/equinescience/images/equiball.jpg
The stabled environment can have potential to be detrimental to a horse’s
welfare.
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Expose animal to a wide variety of stressors
Reduces behaviour diversity
May increase diseases associated with strain or respiratory function
Animals may use only a limited amount of space in poorly designed
environments
Causes increase in abnormal behaviours
To help alleviate stress associated with stabled environment,
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Turn horses out, or stable in paired or group housing
Provide multiple forages
Provide several visual horizons, or mirrors/pictures of conspecifics
Provide stable toys
Beerda, B., Schilder, M., Bernadina, W., Van Hooff, J., De Vries, H., & Mol, J. (1999). Chronic
stress in dogs subjected to social and spatial restriction. II Hormonal and immunological
responses. Physiology & Behavior , 66 (2), 243-254.
Clements, J., & Pirie, R. (2007). Respirable dust concentrations in equine stables. Part 2: The
benefits of soaking hay and optimising the environment in a neghbouring stable.
Research in Veterinary Science , 83 (2), 263-268.
Cooper, J., McDonald, L., & Mills, D. (2000). The effect of increasing visual horizons on
stereotypic weaving: implications for the social housing of stabled horses. Appl. Anim
Behav Sci , 69 (1), 67-83.
Goodwin, D., Davidson, H., & Harris, P. (2002). Foraging enrichment for stabled horses:
effects on behaviour and selection. Equine Vet. J. , 34 (7), 686-691.
Heleski, C., Shelle, A., Nielsen, B., & Zanella, A. (2002). Influence of housing on weanling
horse behavior and subsequent welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science , 78 (2), 291-302.
Henderson, J., & Warant, N. (2001). Reducing equine stereotypies using an Equiball. Animal
Welfare , 10 (1), 73-80.
Krzak, W., Gonyou, H., & Lawrence, L. (1991). Wood chewing by stabled horses: diurnal
patter and effects of exercise. Journal of Animal Science , 69 (3), 1053-1058.
Lesimple, C., Fureix, C., LeScolan, N., Richard-Yris, M., & Hausberger, M. (2011). Housing
conditions and breed are associated with emotionality and cognitive abilities in riding
school horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science , 129 (2-4), 92-99.
McAfee, L., Mills, D., & Cooper, J. (2002). The use of mirrors for the control of stereotypic
weaving behaviour in the stabled horse. Applied Animal Behaviour Science , 78 (2-4), 159173.
Mcgreevy, P., Cripps, P., French, N., Green, L., & Nicol, C. (1995). Management factors
associated with stereotypic and redirected behaviour in the Thoroughbred horse. Equine
Veterinary Journal , 27, 86-91.
Mills, D., & A., C. (2002). The Welfare of Horses - Chapter 4 Housing, Management and Welfare.
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Morgan, K. (1998). Thermoneutral zone and critical temperatures of horses. Journal of Thermal
Biology , 23 (1), 59-61.
Morgan, K., Ehrlemark, A., & Sallvik, K. (1997). Dissispation of heat from standing horses
exposed to ambient temerpatures between -3C and 37C. Journal of Thermal Biology , 22 (3),
177-186.
Rivera, E., Nielsen, B., Shelle, J., & Zanella, A. (1999). The effect of housing environment on
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Thorne, J., Goodwin, D., Kennedy, M., Davidson, H., & Harris, P. (2005). Foraging enrichment
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Vandenput, S., Duvivier, D., Votion, D., Art, T., & Lekeux, P. (1998). Environmental control to
maintain stabled COPD horses in clinical remission: effects on pulmonary function. Equine
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Visser, E., Ellis, A., & C.G., V. R. (2008). The effect of two different housing conditions on the
welfare of young horses stabled for the first time. Applied Animal Behaviour Science , 114 (34), 521-533.
Webster, A., Clarke, A., Madelin, T., & Wathes, C. (1987). Air hygiene in stables 1: Effects of
stable design, ventilation and management on the concentration of respirable dust. Equine
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Welford, D., Mills, D., & Murphy, K. (1999). The effect of changes in management scheduling
on water intake by the Thoroughbred horse. Equine Veterinary J. Suppl.