References
Optimised environments for horse health and wellbeing: the use of alternative grazing
Abstract
Despite the role of the horse having changed from working and sporting toward leisure, types of management have remained similar for the past century, with horses still being kept in small stables and paddocks which were predominantly designed for rest and recuperation after hard work. Many of the UK's major equine welfare challenges, such as stress and obesity, can now be traced towards management that does not fit well with horses' ethological needs. Some UK horse owners are now using creative strategies to manage their horses' welfare in a domestic setting, by structuring their turnout areas in ways that are designed around the horses' three key needs of ‘forage, friends and freedom’. Owners suggest that these management systems can be particularly useful for managing some of the most common equine health and wellbeing challenges, including equine metabolic syndrome, laminitis, stress or behavioural issues and arthritis. A better understanding of these systems could therefore be particularly useful to veterinary professionals who commonly need to assist owners in managing those conditions. This article describes the most frequently used alternative grazing systems, and the common advantages and pitfalls of each.
The UK's horse population has undergone a significant change in the past century, from being working or sporting animals to being predominantly leisure and companion animals. The role of the leisure horse is to primarily be a recipient of care, to be much loved and lightly exercised by amateur owners (Furtado et al, 2020). Despite the level of care, time and money dedicated to leisure horses, preventable welfare issues remain. As an example, the UK is in the midst of an epidemic of equine obesity, and unrecognised stress is also high on the list of wellbeing issues determined by professionals (Horseman et al, 2016, 2017).
These welfare issues may be partly caused by a lack of management change to match the significant role change. Despite the fact that horses have become gradually less active, their management has remained relatively similar to that of working horses. Stables and small paddocks, which would traditionally have been places for hard-working horses to rest, eat and recuperate after significant energy expenditure, are still commonly used for horses who rarely work up a sweat (Hockenhull and Creighton, 2015).
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