Investigating equine ingestive, maternal, and sexual behavior in the field and in the laboratory

Bite and kick injuries in horses: prevalence, risk factors and prevention

REASON FOR PERFORMING STUDY

Studies on the prevalence and predisposing factors of bite and kick injuries in horses have not been reported in a population-based data sample.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence of bite and kick injuries in horses and associated risk factors in a representative sample of horses in Switzerland.

METHODS

A questionnaire on the incidence of disease and injury, which included the frequency of bite and kick injuries and their association with breed, housing, use and feeding regime, was sent to 2559 horse owners randomly selected throughout Switzerland.

RESULTS

The data of 2912 horses with 897 disorders diagnosed by a veterinarian were analysed. There were 231 injuries, 50 (21.6%) caused by a bite or kick from another horse; this number corresponded to 5.6% of all diseases and injuries and concerned only 1.7% of all the horses evaluated. Warmblood, Thoroughbred and Arabian horses had a 4.3 times higher risk of bite or kick injuries than horses of other breeds. Eighteen per cent of injuries were associated with a change in housing management and occurred regardless of whether horses were kept in groups permanently or sporadically.

CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE

A stable group hierarchy and a housing system that provides adequate space and is adapted to horse-specific behaviour are important factors in prevention and kick and bite injuries.

The use of blended positive and negative reinforcement in shaping the halt response of horses (Equus caballus)

Twenty horses were paired for age, sex and breed and placed into one of two groups. The horses in Group A (control) were reinforced using only negative reinforcement (NR) while those in group B (treatment) were reinforced with both positive reinforcement (PR) and NR concurrently. All horses were shaped for the halt response while being driven in long-reins over a period of 5 consecutive days. On day I, all horses were given a baseline test of 20 random halts while being long-reined in an indoor arena. On days 2-4, the shaping of the halt response continued with horses being reinforced according to the group to which they had been allocated. On day 5 of testing the baseline test was repeated (final test). During the baseline and final tests, behavioural responses and accuracy of completion of the halt response were recorded. Heart rates were recorded continuously during testing. One-way analysis of variance in randomised blocks and analysis of covariance using baseline data as a covariate showed no effect on latency to halt. However, horses reinforced with both NR and PR shook their heads vertically less and were more likely to lick their lips than those reinforced with NR only. There was also a trend for an increase in roundness of outline of the horses that were reinforced with both PR and NR. These results suggest that the implementation of PR effectively into equitation training may improve the welfare of the horse.