Insect-repelling behaviour in horses in relation to insect prevalence and access to shelters

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00027014%3A_____%2F22%3AN0000009" target="_blank" >RIV/00027014:_____/22:N0000009 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60460709:41210/22:91013

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/reader/pii/S0168159122000181/pdf" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/reader/pii/S0168159122000181/pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105560" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105560</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Insect-repelling behaviour in horses in relation to insect prevalence and access to shelters

Original language description

Pasture access is key to equine quality of life and recommendations state that horses should be given daily access to pasture (see e.g. EU guide for keeping of horses, 2019). During summer, however, insects can cause periodic discomfort in pastured horses. We found that shePasture access is key to horse welfare, but during summer biting insects can cause discomfort and lead to health issues related to transmission of diseases and allergies. To measure the level of discomfort and whether access to shelters or other indoor areas may help prevent biting insect nuisance, we studied 39 horses: n = 21 with free indoor access (five groups) and n = 18 without indoor access (four groups) and recorded horse position (e.g., inside or outside), insect-repelling behaviour (e.g., tail swishing and head tossing), faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), weather conditions, and insect prevalence through trap catches (e.g., tabanids which are known to attack horses). Data were collected one day per week per group for eight weeks during midsummer. Tail swishing (mean occurrence: 29.4 ±1.1 per min) and skin shivering (mean occurrence: 13.8 ±0.6 per min) were the most frequently recorded behaviours. The total frequency of insect-repelling behaviour was affected by treatment (indoor access vs. no access) and tabanid trap catches in interaction (F1,281 = 8.08, P = 0.005), as more repelling behaviour was shown by horses without indoor access with increasing tabanid prevalence. Horses with indoor access were inside on 69% of recordings on days with a high tabanid prevalence vs. 14% on days with low tabanid prevalence. Concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites did not differ between days with low vs. high tabanid prevalence. The following year, we conducted a small follow-up study on 13 horses (6 with indoor access and 7 without) and recorded behaviour and saliva cortisol on horses on four selected summer days with either low or high insect prevalence (2 ‘low’ and 2 ‘high’ days). On ‘high’ insect days, saliva cortisol increased significantly in horses without indoor access, suggesting that biting insect nuisance is reflected in saliva cortisol concentrations. We conclude that access to shelters or other indoor areas during summer reduce nuisance by biting insects and thereby can improve horse welfare.ter access reduced insect-avoidance behaviour and conclude that shelter access may improve horse welfare during periods of high insect activity.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10614 - Behavioral sciences biology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

ISSN

0168-1591

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

247

Issue of the periodical within the volume

February

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

8

Pages from-to

Article Number: 105560

UT code for WoS article

000789613600013

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85123786641