Om du var din häst, skulle du gilla livet?
Väldigt många hästar står alldeles för länge i boxar, en och en. Kan verkligen känna hur förändringens vindar blåser över europa just nu. Alla fiffiga lösningar med ”active stable”, lösdrift, flera hästar i samma box mm.
Denna artikel är både läs- och tänkvärd!
Why horses say neigh to their stables: Research shows animals are left miserable and stressed by single boxes because they do not like living alone
- Stables prevent horses interacting with their neighbours, scientists say
- Isolated animals suffer higher stress levels and become harder to manage
- Nottingham Trent University study shows horses are happiest in paddock
We think it provides them with a warm and cosy sanctuary – but apparently horses hate being saddled with stables.
The beasts find them a miserable and stressful experience, research reveals.
As a herd animal, horses prefer to be in groups and stables prevent them interacting with their neighbours, according to a study by Nottingham Trent University.
Scientists found animals that were isolated had higher levels of stress hormones and became difficult to manage.
The findings, published in the journal Physiology and Behaviour, showed that horses are at their happiest in a paddock.
RELATED ARTICLES
Is this proof that Nessie exists? Tourist’s tantalising…
Forget the Walrus of Love, male HORSES use their deep voices…
Shocking pictures show how cockfighting birds have…
’Pathetic’ council officers order £3,000 bridleway be torn…Scientists found the animals’ stress levels – measured by the hormone corticosterone – rose and they became difficult to manage as they became increasingly isolated.
These stress levels could also lead to sickness and disease, the study published in the journal Physiology and Behaviour found.
Equine welfare expert Kelly Yarnell told the Daily Telegraph: ‘To the human eye, the stable appears safe and inviting and is based on the belief of what the horse finds comfortable.
‘However, for a social animal that spends most of its time in close contact with other horses, the isolation brought about by single housing could activate an equine stress response.’
She said equine welfare would be improved by shared housing. In the wild, horses live in herds that move over up to 30 sq miles while domestic horses often spend most of the day inside.
Lee Hackett, director of equine policy at The British Horse Society, said the study should change the way we keep horses.
He said: ‘It is fairly obvious that keeping any animal in a domestic setting could potentially compromise it, whether that be a hamster in a cage or a lion in a zoo.’
No Comments