The effect of a foraging device (a modified ‘Edinburgh Foodball’) on the behaviour of the stabled horse

Winskill, LC; Waran, NK; Young, RJ

Abstract

Horses that are stabled under confined conditions may develop stereotypies (e.g. stall-walking), which may be caused by the inability of horses to express foraging behaviour. The objective of this study was to determine whether horses will use a foraging device (modified version of the ‘Edinburgh Foodball,’ British Patent No. 9200499.3) and if so, whether it has an effect on their overall time budget. The Foodball comprised a cylinder shaped casing with a food dispensing hole and an internal food store. Five Standardbred, individually stabled horses were subjected to the following three consecutive test periods as follows. Baseline (B): the animals were observed in their stable under normal management practises for three consecutive days; Foodball (F): for the following five consecutive days the Foodball, containing 4 kg of a high fibre pelleted diet was introduced to the horse and was refilled morning and evening; and Post enrichment (P): for the following three consecutive days the Foodball was removed from the stable. The horses were video recorded between 19:00 h and 12:00 h for the duration of the experimental period (allowing the horses outside for 7 h per day in order to allow exercising and grazing) and behavioural data were collected by time sampling every 2 min.

Citation

Winskill, L., Waran, N., & Young, R. (1996). The effect of a foraging device (a modified ‘Edinburgh Foodball’) on the behaviour of the stabled horse. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 48(1-2), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591%2895%2901021-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 1996-06
• Deposit Date: Jul 15, 2023
• Journal: Applied Animal Behaviour Science
• Print ISSN: 0168-1591
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 25-35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591%2895%2901021-1