Mary Allen
Just in time for the feeding time, there is a lot of banging in many stable aisles, and many a horse has been injured when kicking excitedly. Some restructuring can help reduce stress on animals at mealtimes.
When the food truck drives into the stable, it gets noisy in many places. Horses kick against their box walls, whinny, or bite the bars. A spectacle that can have far-reaching consequences: the horse can easily injure itself when pedaling and climbing. In the long term, the excitement at the trough – just like scuffles at the hay rack in the open stable – is a stress factor that can affect mood, weaken the immune system and promote the formation of stomach ulcers.
To understand why domesticated horses are stressed about feeding in the first place, one must understand their natural feeding behavior. The horse and its digestive tract are designed to constantly consume small amounts of feed. In the wild, the hierarchy in their herd is arranged and in the wide steppe, there is enough space to avoid unloved conspecifics.
In stable operations, however, the horse may have been in the box for half a night with an empty stomach when the person finally arrives – in the worst case even later than usual – with the concentrated feed. But then it first has to watch how the bay from across the street gets its ration, although it is far below in the ranking on the pasture, so it should therefore also be later. And then the unloved pit neighbor kicks against the wall.
There is often no ad hoc solution in this situation. However, numerous measures can noticeably reduce stress at the time of meals. Horses should never starve for more than four hours – not even at night. Close-meshed hay nets help prolong feed intake. Hay should also be on the menu before the concentrated feed is served, at least 15 minutes in advance. On the one hand, that satisfies the greatest hunger, on the other hand, it usually stays much calmer in the boxes when the roughage is given.
Computer Solution in an Open Stable
The concentrated feed rations should be divided into at least three small portions a day and fed as punctually as possible. Horses quickly get used to feeding times and become restless if they are not adhered to. Postural improvements such as daily exercise can reduce the general stress level. It is also important that the pit neighbors get along well. Horses that are already not green in a large paddock are much more likely to snap or kick at one another just before breakfast than good buddies.
Even more important are careful herd management and good infrastructure in open stables. Because especially low-ranking animals otherwise suffer from stress and sometimes simply hunger if they are constantly chased from their feeding place. Sufficiently large and numerous hay racks and the avoidance of narrow paths or dead ends solve the roughage problem. As with box housing, the concentrated feed should be divided into as many small portions as possible throughout the day – a task that takes a lot of time in traditional open stables, in which the horses are fed in individual feeding stalls.
The simplest and most time-saving solution, although not the cheapest, is a computer-controlled feeding system in a well-designed active pen. Each horse is identified by a transponder when it enters the feed stand and can call up the individually allocated concentrated feed and, if necessary, roughage in small portions every hour.
There is no food envy and the resulting scuffles, and it is also avoided that a high-ranking horse eats most of the hay while a lower-ranking fellow stands hungry next to it. This rules out long breaks in feeding and peaceful coexistence is much more likely.