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

Kód výsledku v 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>

Nalezeny alternativní kódy

RIV/60460709:41210/22:91013

Výsledek na webu

<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>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

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

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

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.

Název v anglickém jazyce

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

Popis výsledku anglicky

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.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10614 - Behavioral sciences biology

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2022

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

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

Název periodika

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

ISSN

0168-1591

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

247

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

February

Stát vydavatele periodika

NL - Nizozemsko

Počet stran výsledku

8

Strana od-do

Article Number: 105560

Kód UT WoS článku

000789613600013

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85123786641