What is it about?
In the equestrian world, two different types of management can be distinguished: traditional management and natural boarding. The study has showed a most favourable endocrine framework found in horses kept in natural boarding. This suggests that this management conveys most with ethological and physiological needs of the species. Moreover, for the first time, this study validates the assay of DHEA in horsehair.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
The research underlines the need of a modification of horses’ traditional husbandry systems and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the determination of animal welfare. It is the first study that validates the assay of DHEA in horsehair.
Perspectives
The results of this research highlight that horses kept under two different kinds of management present different endocrine milieu, caused probably by a chronic stress condition. This study would like to encourage further studies to complete the assessment of equine welfare in different management conditions, such as behavior evaluation and incidence of diseases. This research wants to underline the importance of a multidisciplinary approach on the definition of animal condition and the need of scientific research for the improvement of animal management.
Giovanna Marliani
Universita degli Studi di Bologna
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Natural Horse Boarding Vs Traditional Stable: A Comparison of Hormonal, Hematological and Immunological Parameters, Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, September 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2019.1663737.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
