Majecka Katarzyna, Klawe Aneta
a Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology , Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź , Poland.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2018 Jan-Mar;21(1):8-16. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2017.1360773. Epub 2017 Aug 18.
The aim of this study was to explore whether the size of paddocks affected social interactions within a group of horses. Furthermore, the effects of the gender composition in groups on social behavior were investigated. The research was done in a horse-riding center. A total of 78 horses and ponies, forming 3 groups, were included in the study. The time of the observation was divided into 2 periods. The data obtained from the 1st period (the horses were on relatively small paddocks) and the 2nd period (the paddocks were significantly bigger) were compared. The findings uniformly indicated that an enlargement of grass paddocks resulted in a significant decline in the number of social interactions, both agonistic and play types, in all studied herds. A likely principal reason for a change in the number of social interactions seems to be feeding management and how it changed between seasons, rather than paddock size. No effect of group composition on social interaction was found in terms of aggressive interaction, and only 1 group differed regarding friendly interaction.
本研究的目的是探讨围场大小是否会影响一群马之间的社交互动。此外，还研究了群体中的性别组成对社交行为的影响。该研究在一个马术中心进行。共有78匹马和小马，分成3组，纳入了本研究。观察时间分为2个阶段。比较了从第一阶段（马在相对较小的围场）和第二阶段（围场明显更大）获得的数据。研究结果一致表明，草地围场面积的扩大导致所有研究马群中社交互动的数量显著下降，包括争斗型和玩耍型互动。社交互动数量变化的一个可能主要原因似乎是饲养管理以及其在不同季节的变化，而非围场大小。在攻击性互动方面，未发现群体组成对社交互动有影响，在友好互动方面，只有1组存在差异。
