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Horses can tolerate cold very well. Make them wear a rug if you're worried about cold. |
Feral horses are very social, and their
survival depends on strong social bonds between families or bachelors. For
example, the (early) detection of a predator and the following flight are
important defence mechanisms for a group of horses. There is strong evidence
that our modern sports horses still have a very basic need for social contact
(from now on, when I speak of social contact, I mean social contact with other
horses, not with other species including humans): former domesticated horses
that have become feral display many social interactions and a very structured
social organization. However, a main difference between feral horses and
domesticated horses is that our domesticated horses generally do not choose
their own social groups (we decide what individuals share a paddock) and
paddock space may be limited. In addition, in domesticated horse groups there are
generally more males (geldings) than in feral groups.
So what kind of social behaviours do horses
engage in? First of all, there are agonistic interactions that help determining
the hierarchy in the group. All social groups form hierarchies to determine
which individuals get first access to the best food, shelter and mates.
Hierarchies also ensure that it is “clear” what individuals have the highest
rank in the group, which then minimizes aggression. The main agonistic
behaviours that horses show are 1) threat behaviours consisting of attack,
bite, threat to bite, and approach with ears flattened and 2) submissive
avoidance behaviour. Kicking with the hind legs is used both while attacking
and while defending from an attack, and is therefore context dependent.
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This is my 21 year old (now retired) horse. He always had plenty of time at pasture with his friends, even when competing at advanced level dressage (a long time ago...). |
Another important social behaviour is
allogrooming when two horses groom each other. Foals start allogrooming within
the first two weeks of life, usually with their mother or brothers and sisters.
Research has shown that allogrooming is rewarding for horses, meaning that it
results in the release of “pleasure” hormones (endorphins). Horses that are
housed in single pens with minimal social contact are very keen to have
physical head and neck contact with an unfamiliar horse. However, when two
grooming horses were separated after 5 min of the social contact, the horses
showed physiological and behavioural signs of frustration, again showing that
allogrooming is important for horses. Play is most likely an equally important
and rewarding behaviour in foals and geldings, although it may be less
important for mares.
So does your horse suffer when it cannot
experience the joys of allogrooming and play, or perhaps any other social behaviour
that is rewarding? Unfortunately, very few studies have investigated this
question directly and little data is available. However, it is known that
chronic stress in horses leads to stereotypic behaviours which are repetitive
behaviours that seemingly have no function, such as weaving, wind sucking, crib-biting,
box-walking and wood-chewing. Stereotypic behaviours are generally interpreted
as a sign of poor welfare. Several studies have shown that individual housing,
irregular social contact and limited access to pasture are among the highest risk
factor for developing stereotypic behaviours. Therefore, it is likely that
limited social contact leads to suffering in horses.
To ensure the welfare of your horse, give
it plenty of access to pasture and allow it to play and interact with other
horses!
Reference: Vandierendonck et al., 2012.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 138, 194-202.
great site - great research - well done
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