Effects of bedding material on the lying behavior in stabled horses.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of straw, sawdust, coconut husk (husk), and coconut fiber (fiber) on the welfare of stable horses by observing their resting behavior. Twenty horses with ages ranging from 3 to 21 years were used at the Equine Research Institute of the Japan Racing Association, Utsunomiya, Japan. Five horses were allocated to each bedding condition. The behavior of each horse was recorded by video camera for 3 days and was continuously sampled from 17:00 to 05:00. The total duration, the number of bouts, and the mean and the maximum duration of bouts in standing rest, sternal lying, and lateral lying were calculated and analysed by the Kruskal-Wallis test and post hoc Steel-Dwass test. There was no difference in the standing rest and the sternal lying among beddings. Significant differences were observed in these values in the lateral lying among the different beddings (P<0.05). The values of the means of the total duration, the number of bouts, and the mean and the maximum duration of bout in the lateral lying were greater when husk was used as the bedding material than when sawdust were used (P<0.05). The results of the observations show that the new bedding materials would be as usable as straw. However, lateral lying was observed less frequently when sawdust were used as bedding; this indicates that use of sawdust as bedding material will decrease the welfare of stabled horses.
United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.
Shigeru
S
Ninomiya
Faculty of Agricultural Science, Utsunomiya University, 350 Mine, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan.
Masato
M
Aoyama
Faculty of Agricultural Science, Utsunomiya University, 350 Mine, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan.
Yumiko
Y
Ujiie
Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 321-4 Tokami, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
Ryo
R
Kusunose
Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 321-4 Tokami, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
Atsutoshi
A
Kuwano
bedding; lying; stabled horse; welfare