Hayfeeders and other tools can improve health, welfare of stabled horses

Simple items like hay feeders, giant rubber activity balls and shatter-proof mirrors can improve the health and welfare of stabled animals while also reducing frustration behaviors, according to University of California, Davis, research published in the journal Animals. 

The findings offer a low-cost way for owners to keep horses engaged while reducing the risk of ulcers, fragile leg bones and other health and behavioral issues. 

“Just like humans, animals can be bored, so enrichment can be a way to stimulate the mind,” said lead author Miranda Brauns, who conducted the research as a master’s student studying animal biology at UC Davis. “These enrichment tools really are improving the behaviors of animals, and by improving behavior, they’re also improving the animal’s physical and mental health.”

Wild vs. stabled horses 

On a normal day, wild horses walk up to 20 miles and spend at least half of that time grazing. Stabled horses spend most of their days in stalls without many opportunities to forage for food, but their natural instincts and needs do not go away, said Amy McLean, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, who oversaw the research. 

“A lot of horses, as well as zoo animals held in captivity or in these smaller confined spaces, may display behaviors that are not wanted as a way of coping with their environment that has less stimulation in it,” McLean said. “We can improve the environment so it’s not compromising their health just standing in one spot.”

The research was a collaboration with the UC Davis Intercollegiate Equestrian Team.

“We had a lot of student athletes who were monitoring behavior and assisted throughout those studies,” McLean said. “I love working with the equestrian team, and I think that’s important for the student athletes to have that research opportunity as well.”

Smart halters and video monitoring 

Nine competition horses — American Quarter and American Paint — were fitted with smart halters that measured heart and respiratory rates. 

“Incorporating the physiological parameters was a way that we get insight into the emotional state of the animal,” said Brauns, who is now a primate technician at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina. 

Four times each day over four weeks student athletes, volunteers and Brauns brought out the enrichment items. The interactions were observed and videotaped daily, amounting to 720 hours of video to review. 

Enrichment timing matters

During midday when food wasn’t present, researchers saw increases in heartbeat, grazing and movement and decreases in frustration behavior, such as stomping, kicking and tail swishing. One horse, number 39, managed to pick up the activity ball and move it around. Others kicked around the hay feeder. Mares tended to dislike the mirrors while Geldings seemed more interested.

“I see that as a positive response, because the horse is interacting with the enrichment tool,” McLean said. “If you know in between feedings or in between exercise, your horse may be a little bored in a stall or confined space, that's when you should offer a hay ball, or the jolly ball. By introducing these various tools at certain times of the day, I think it really can improve equine welfare for the industry.”

During the last week of the research, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was played. That component of the research was not included in this paper, though McLean’s lab has done subsequent experiments on the effects of noise on horses and hopes to continue that work. 

Ahmed Ali at Clemson University and Jeannine Berger at Sacramento Veterinary Behavior Services also contributed to this research.