Grouping horses according to gender--Effects on aggression, spacing and injuries
2009
Jørgensen, Grete Helen Meisfjord | Borsheim, Linn | Mejdell, Cecilie Marie | Søndergaard, E (Eva) | Bøe, Knut Egil
Many horse owners tend to group horses according to gender, in an attempt to reduce aggressive interactions and the risk of injuries. The aim of our experiment was to test the effects of such gender separation on injuries, social interactions and individual distance in domestic horses. A total of 66 horses were recruited from 4 different farms in Norway and Denmark and divided into six batches. Within each batch, horses were allotted into one mare group, one gelding group and one mixed gender group, with most groups consisting of three or four animals. After 4-6 weeks of acclimatisation, a trained observer recorded all social interactions using direct, continuous observation 1h in the morning and 1h in the afternoon for three consecutive days. Recordings of the nearest neighbour of each horse were performed using instantaneous sampling every 10min. The horses were inspected for injuries before grouping, day 1 after grouping and after 4-6 weeks. No significant effect of gender composition was found on social interactions (P >0.05), spacing (P >0.07) or injuries (P >0.23). Eighty percent of all aggressive interactions recorded were threats, not involving physical contact. Horses with the smallest space allowance showed the highest mean number of aggressive interactions (28.6±6.1 interactions per 6h) compared to the mean of all the other batches (8.3±1.0 interactions per 6h). Very few injuries were found and most were superficial. In conclusion, gender composition does not seem to have any effect on aggression level, spacing or injuries. However, the early social experience of horses, management of feeding and space allowance probably represents more important factors for successful group housing of domestic horses.
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