Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, University of Bologna, Ozzano Emilia, Italy.
oqhorses, progettazione etologica centri equestri, OQ Project, Bondeno, Italy.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2021 Apr-Jun;24(2):200-213. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2020.1857252. Epub 2020 Dec 22.
The increasing interest in animal welfare and the knowledge of equine physiological and ethological needs have led to the development of different types of horses' management and housing systems. The research presented here aimed to assess the daytime activity budget of horses. Focal animal sampling was used as an observational sampling method, and the five animals were observed for a total of 9920 minutes in the paddock and inside the stall. The results showed that horses spent most of the daytime in foraging behaviors, followed by resting behaviors, and locomotion. Social behaviors (s.e. allogrooming, olfactory investigation) were rare, and the stereotypic behaviors (s.e. oral and locomotor stereotypies) occupied 2.74%±2.74% of the total time. The percentage of time spent in foraging, resting, and locomotion, reflects the activity budget observed in free-roaming feral horses. However, the rare occurrence of positive social interactions and the presence of some stereotypies could be aspects to ameliorate. This kind of housing facility could be considered a good alternative to traditional management; indeed, it might offer a better trade-off between the needs of the horse and the management goals from humans.
人们对动物福利日益关注，也越来越了解马的生理和行为需求，这促使出现了不同类型的马匹管理和饲养系统。本研究旨在评估马的日间活动预算。本研究采用了焦点动物取样法，在围场和马厩中观察了五匹马，总共 9920 分钟。结果表明，马在白天大部分时间都在觅食，其次是休息和运动。社交行为（如相互理毛、嗅觉探索）很少，刻板行为（如口腔和运动刻板行为）占总时间的 2.74%±2.74%。觅食、休息和运动所花费的时间百分比反映了在自由放养的野马中观察到的活动预算。然而，积极的社交互动很少发生，存在一些刻板行为，这可能是需要改善的方面。这种饲养设施可以被认为是传统管理的一种很好的替代方案；事实上，它可能在满足马的需求和人类管理目标之间提供更好的平衡。
