Relative occurrence of stereotypic type behaviours in pastured horses in Australia

Abstract

Anecdotally, Australian horses are typically managed on small acreage pastures (paddocks) all year round and may be confined to stables or yards for certain periods. Even where horses have considerable access to pasture, they remain largely dependant upon humans for pasture management and the timing, selection and delivery of supplementary feeds. Horses are usually fed in ways that involve minimal foraging; and typically comprise homogenous hay, and/or energy-dense, low fibre foods. In situations where roughage or pasture is limited, opportunity to forage is also reduced and it has been suggested that this could make horses more susceptible to digestive and behavioural problems (Nicol, 1999). Stereotypic behaviours are repetitive, purposeless behaviours, which are indicative of welfare issues. Some examples in horses include crib-biting, weaving and chewing of stable bedding. Occurrences of stereotypies in horses have been predominantly reported in stable environments, but have also been observed at pasture. An Australian study by Pell and McGreevy (1999) indicated that the prevalence of such behaviours at pasture was not lower than the prevalence reported in a UK study (McGreevy et al., 1995). It is unclear what factors may play a role in to this observation. Therefore, as part of a survey-based study, the relative occurrence of stereotypic type behaviours of Australian horses at pasture was examined and key aspects of husbandry, feeding management and pasture conditions assessed.