Behavior of horses kept in different types of stalls in the semiarid region of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Maria Dulcinéia da Costa, Cinara da Cunha Siqueira Carvalho, Wemerson Fábio Gomes Ribas, Virgílio Mesquita Gomes, Alvimara Felix dos Reis, Sara Guedes de Paula, Vicente Ribeiro Rocha Junior, Ricardo Rodielle Rodrigues Gomes, Flávio Pinto Monção
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the feeding and agonistic behavior of Quarter Horses kept in different types of stalls in the semiarid region of Minas Gerais. A completely randomized design with two treatments (two types of stalls) and seven replicates (seven days of evaluation) was used. Four Quarter Horse mares and four stallions were used per treatment. Behavioral observations were made at 10-minute intervals for 24 hours. The stall environment was characterized by the following variables: air temperature, relative humidity, and black globe temperature for subsequent estimation of the wet-bulb globe temperature. Feeding behavior variables included: time spent eating concentrate and time spent eating roughage (hours), bite rate (bites/min), and the number of daily bites (bites/day). Zinc-roofed stalls had higher air temperatures than clay-roofed stalls and the external environment, averaging 28.2, 27.0, and 27.4 ºC, respectively, while relative humidity was significantly lower in the external environment (65.80%). Horses housed in zinc-roofed stalls had longer feeding times (8.32 h) than animals kept in clay-roofed stalls (7.22 h). Approximately 94% of the total feeding time was spent eating roughage and 73% of the time was spent resting and walking, regardless of the covering type. Although environmental variables showed thermal discomfort, the roofing material did not alter the feeding behavior of stabled horses in the semiarid region of Minas Gerais, suggesting an adaptation to the studied conditions. The feeding frequency should be increased to avoid a long resting time.
Keywords
References
Antunes FZ (1994) Caracterização climática. Informe Agropecuário 17:15-19.
Baêta FC, Souza CF (2010) Ambiência em edificações rurais: conforto animal. 2.ed. EDUFV,Viçosa, MG.
Brandi RA, Furtado CE (2009) Importância nutricional e metabólica da fibra na dieta de equinos p. 246-258. In: Anais da 46ª Reunião Anual da Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia, Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia, Maringá.
Buffington DE, Collazo – Arocho A, Canton GH, Pitt D (1981) Black globe humidity index (BGHI) as a comfort equation for dairy cows. Transactions American Society Agricultural Engineers 4:711-714.
Canal JR A (2015) Influência do tempo de estabulação no comportamento de equinos da raça crioula. Unoesc & Ciência 6:203-210.
Detmann E, Souza MA, Valadares Filho SC, Queiroz AC, Berchielli TT, Saliba EOS, Cabral LS, Pina DS, Ladeira MM, Azevedo JAG (2012) Métodos para análise de alimentos. UFV, Viçosa, MG.
Harris PA (2009) Feeding management of elite endurance horses. The Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice 25:137-153.
Hodgson J (1985) Ingestive behaviour. p.113-138. In: Herbage intake handbook . Leaver JD ed. The British Grassland Society.
INMET- Instituto Nacional De Meteorologia (1992) Normas climatológicas aparentes (1961-1990). INMET, Brasília.
McCall C. Solving behavior problems in horses. Equine Practive 15:30-31.
McDonnell SM (2002) Behaviour of Horses. p.119-130. In: The Ethology of Domestic Animals. Per Jensen. CABI Publishing, UK.
McGreevy PD, Cripps PJ, French NP, Green LE, Nicol CJ (1995) Management factors associated with stereotypic and redirected behavior in Thoroughbred horse. Equine Veterinary Journal 27:86-91.
Mills DS (2005) Repetitive movement problems in the horse. p.212-227. In: The domestic horse: the evolution, development and management of it´s behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Morgan K. (1996) Short-term thermoregulatory responses of horses to brief changes in ambient temperature. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Departament of Agricultural Engineering, Uppsala, 09-51.
NRC - National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Horses (2007) National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. 341p.
Perissinoto M, Moura DJ (2007) Determinação do conforto térmico de vacas leiteiras utilizando a mineração de dados. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia de Biossistemas, 1:117-126.
Rezende MJM, Mcmnus C, Paludo GR, Martins RD, Oliveira LPG, Fuck BH, Louvandini H (2006b) Comportamento de equinos das raças Bretã e Percheron estabulados. Ciência Animal Brasileira 7:17-25.
Rezende MJM, McManus C, Martins RD, Oliveira LPG, Garcia JAS, Louvandini H (2006a) Comportamento de equinos estabulados do exército brasileiro em Brasília. Ciência Animal Brasileira 7:327- 337.
Santos EM, Zanine AM, Parente HN, Ferreira DJ, Almeida FQ, Cecon PR (2006) Comportamento ingestivo de eqüinos em pastagens de grama batatais (Paspalum notatum) e braquiarinha (Brachiaria decumbens) na região centro-oeste do Brasil. Ciência Rural 36:565-1569.
Sevegnani KB, Ghelfi Filho H, DA Silva IJO (1994) Comparação de vários materiais de cobertura através de índices de conforto térmico. Scientia Agricola 51:01-07.
Thorne JB, Goodwin D, Kennedy MJ, Davidson HPB, Harris P (2005) Foraging enrichment for stabled horses: practicality and its effect on behaviour. Applied Animal Behavior Science 94:149-164.
Submitted date:
07/13/2021
Accepted date:
08/14/2021
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
LinkedIn
Mendeley
StumbleUpon
CiteULike
Reddit
Email