Acclimatisation of horses to a novel feeding system

Abstract

Horses housed in small enclosures perform minimal exercise. A novel feeder system may promote exercise but may have behavioral consequences. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of horses to learn to use a novel feeding system and determine the behavioral effects of its use. A dynamic feed station was developed to force horses to exercise to continuously access feed. The behaviour of five groups of two horses was assessed while being housed for three days in either a control (contained a simple hay rack) and research (with the novel feeder) paddock. In the research paddock on day 1, horses were taught to use the feeder by the observer. On day 2 (feeder operational) and day 3 (feeder nonoperational) horses were observed for 4 hours per day to determine speed of learning and incidence of aggressive behaviours between horses. Horses quickly learnt to use the feeder system. Learning was affected by domination relationships between horses. Dominating horses learnt faster and aggressive behaviours appeared to be amplified when the feeder was operational. To reduce the stress impact of the feeder system on horses, horses housed together should be well matched to avoid strong domination relationships. The dynamic feeder system could then be utilized more successfully to increase exercise in horses housed in small paddocks.