Mejía Jhonny Alberto Buitrago, Jaramillo Jairo Alejandro Navarro, Corrales Natalia Uribe
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lasallian University Corporation (Unilasallista), GIVET Research Group, Caldas, Antioquia, Colombia.
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Remington University Corporation (Uniremington), Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia.
Vet World. 2022 Apr;15(4):1113-1120. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1113-1120. Epub 2022 Apr 27.
The current stable housing of Colombian Creole Horses severely restricts the animals' locomotion and natural behaviors. In addition, their feed consists of a combination of high-energy concentrates with considerably little forage which potentially leads to locomotor or oral stereotypies. This study aimed to report the frequency of locomotor and oral stereotypies in Colombian Creole Horses in Girardota (Antioquia, Colombia) and associated risk factors.
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 2019 to 2020, in which 102 stabled horses aged 28 months and older participated. A questionnaire was developed to collect information on the horses' daily barn routines. The horses were observed twice a day for 2 h for 3 consecutive days to record information related to stereotypy behaviors. The Fisher's exact test and the Mann-Whitney U test were utilized for data analyses. Associations were considered statistically significant at p<0.05.
Among the horses evaluated, 32.35% presented at least one stereotyped behavior. The most common was crib-biting (i.e., cribbing), with 17.65% exhibiting this behavior. Age, weight, gender, type of feeding, visual contact between horses, and natural lighting were all associated with oral stereotypies. Crib-biting was most common in young horses (U=1.36, p≤0.05), wind-sucking was more common in lighter weight animals (U=1.45, p=0.01), and lip-smacking was more common in stallions (χ=9.10, p≤0.01). It is noteworthy that their feeding diet included bran, molasses, and gopher. Horses that did not have visual contact with other horses and those that did not have natural lighting were associated with pica (χ=9.52, p≤0.02; χ=3.72, p≤0.05; and χ=3.72, p≤0.05, respectively). Of locomotor stereotypies, kicking the wall was significant in young animals (U=1.54, p=0.03) and walking in circles in lactating mares (χ=13.20, p≤0.02).
Housing conditions in this study were found to have several risk factors affecting horses that exhibit stereotypic behaviors, and all these factors resulted in a higher frequency of stereotypies. Establishing risk factors for the presentation of abnormal behaviors allows for the implementation of better management practices in the production systems of the Creole Colombian Horse and will help improve their overall welfare.
目前哥伦比亚克里奥尔马的稳定圈舍严重限制了马匹的活动和自然行为。此外，它们的饲料由高能量浓缩饲料和极少的草料混合而成，这可能导致运动性或口部刻板行为。本研究旨在报告哥伦比亚吉拉尔多塔（哥伦比亚安蒂奥基亚省）克里奥尔马的运动性和口部刻板行为的频率以及相关风险因素。
2019年至2020年进行了一项前瞻性横断面研究，102匹年龄在28个月及以上的圈养马匹参与其中。编制了一份问卷以收集有关马匹日常厩舍生活的信息。连续3天每天对马匹进行两次观察，每次观察2小时，以记录与刻板行为相关的信息。采用Fisher精确检验和Mann-Whitney U检验进行数据分析。p<0.05时，关联被认为具有统计学意义。
在评估的马匹中，32.35%至少表现出一种刻板行为。最常见的是咬栏（即 cribbing），17.65%的马匹表现出这种行为。年龄、体重、性别、饲养类型、马匹之间的视觉接触和自然采光均与口部刻板行为有关。咬栏在年轻马匹中最为常见（U=1.36，p≤0.05），吮气在体重较轻的动物中更为常见（U=1.45，p=0.01），咂嘴在种马中更为常见（χ=9.10，p≤0.01）。值得注意的是，它们的饲料包括麸皮、糖蜜和地鼠。与其他马匹没有视觉接触以及没有自然采光的马匹与异食癖有关（χ=9.52，p≤0.02；χ=3.72，p≤0.05；χ=3.72，p≤0.05，分别）。在运动性刻板行为中，踢墙在年轻动物中显著（U=1.54，p=0.03），在泌乳母马中绕圈行走显著（χ=13.20，p≤0.02）。
本研究发现圈舍条件存在若干影响表现出刻板行为马匹的风险因素，所有这些因素导致刻板行为的频率更高。确定异常行为出现的风险因素有助于在哥伦比亚克里奥尔马的生产系统中实施更好的管理措施，并将有助于改善它们的整体福利。
