[Horses in Switzerland: results of a representative survey of population, housing and use in 2004].

A survey of 2559 stables, representative for Switzerland, was conducted in the year 2004, with questions related to age, sex, breed, housing conditions, social contact, use, feeding, ability to move freely on the one hand, and health prophylaxis and health disorders in the past 12 months on the other. With a respond rate of 30.9% to the questionnaire, data for 2912 horses and ponies were recorded. The data were compared to a previous survey of 1997 (Bachmann & Stauffacher, 2002). In this study, data on population, housing and use were analysed. The proportion of horses kept individually, especially in tie-stalls, had substantially decreased since 1997, whereas the proportion of horses living in group housing systems had increased. In 2004, Warmblood and Thoroughbred were kept more often individually than in groups in comparison to other breeds. Swiss Franches-Montagnes horses were kept more often tied up than horses of all other breeds. Access to pasture or paddock was available more often in horses kept in structured group housing systems, but in general more restricted in the winter season. A correlation between use or intensity of use and frequency of pasture/paddock access was not evident. Even though horses older than 20 years were more rarely used or intensively used, they were not stabled differently from younger horses.