An attempt to assess the welfare of horses maintained in herd systems

The aim of the study was to assess the welfare, using the Welfare Quality criteria, of horses maintained in natural conditions. The study material was a herd of Hucul horses, consisting of 14 mares with offsprings and a stallion, maintained in a herd system on pastures. The research was conducted in the months of March, July and November in 2010 and 2012. Nutrition assessment was based on access to feedstuff, water, including their state. Analysis of levels of maintenance involved evaluating prevailing weather conditions, stocking rate as well as horses’ freedom of movement in the delineated land area. Assessment of the herd’s health condition was based on interviews with the supervising veterinarian. Horses’ behaviour was assessed through observations that relied on their social, affiliative and agonistic behaviours. The condition of the horses was influenced by the period of year, with the best being in November (P≤0.01). Maintenance conditions and exploitation affected the herd’s state of health, with no illnesses or injuries being reported over the analysed period. Seasons of the year had impacts on the horses’ behaviour (P≤0.01). In summer, grazing took place in the late evenings and early mornings, with animals kept under sheds. Intensified feeding was observed in November. No stereotypical behaviours were observed. Heart rate measurements were a pointer to the animals’ emotional balance and attitudes towards people. The observed high level of horses’ welfare suggested that a natural herd system of management ought to be preferred and propagated.


Introduction
The horse population on farms, based on estimates of the Central Office of Statistics (GUS -Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture 2012), has witnessed a steady decline reaching 222 210 in 2012 of which 152 406 are three or more years old. The use of horses in agriculture is minimal, but their use as saddle horses, mainly for recreational and sporting purposes, has become dominant. There is a growing tendency of horses', especially primitive breeds and herbivorous species, use for landscape management, for example grazing environmentally valuable lands (Loucougaray et al. 2004, Tichit et al. 2005, Stewart & Pullin 2008, Socher et al. 2013. Declining horse population and changes in its exploitation has encouraged social commitment aimed at improving the welfare and treatment of horses (vanDierendonck et al. 2009, Fureix et al. 2012, Visser & van Vijk-Jansen 2012.
Animal welfare is based, according to Broom (1991) and Botreau et al. (2007), on five freedoms. Paying attention to the varied needs, i.e. nutrition, movement, relaxation and companionships, including social and reproductive as well as grooming of animals, encourages improvements in maintenance and use (Mellor & Bayvel 2008, Tadich et al. 2008, Phillips et al. 2009, Rushen et al. 2011. Various health indicators and physiological parameters, including behaviour and productivity, serve to measure animal welfare. In an attempt to standardize different systems of evaluation, 12 criteria that complement the existing five freedoms were developed (Jones & Manteca 2009, OIE 2009, Vapnek & Chapman 2010. The results are accepted definitions of parameters concerning animal nutrition, maintenance and behaviour as well as animal-human relationships.
The objective of the research study was an attempt to evaluate the welfare of horses maintained in natural conditions in accordance with Welfare Quality criteria.

Location and research material
The research material consisted of Hucul horses maintained in natural conditions, on pastures with access to sheds that offered protection against unfavourable weather conditions. The farms are located in south-east Poland (49°18'13"N and 22°34'33"E), an area covered by the Natura 2000 conservation Program. The prevailing climatic conditions in this area can be described as alpine with strong continental features. For about 60 % of the year the area is battered with polar-marine air mass, while 26 % constitute polar-continental inflows. The hottest month is July, while the coldest is February. Average annual precipitation for the area is 800-1 000 mm, of which 40 % is in the summer months. Mean annual temperature is +6 °C, reaching +17 °C in summer and −6 °C in winter. The vegetative growth period lasts about 190 days (Monthly Climate Monitoring Bulletin 2010-2012).
The pastures, on which the animals were kept, were securely protected with a wooden fence. Every quartered area had accessible water source to which the animals had unlimited access. The stocking density and pastures carrying capacity was in accordance with standards of the agri-environmental program being implemented (shocking density not exceeding 1 animal unit evaluation/ha, maximum grazing pressure not exceeding 10 animal unit evaluation/ha).
The herd population was made up of 14 mares with their offspring and a stallion. The average age of horses in 2010 was 10.4 years. While animals made use of available pastures and were exploited based on the agri-environmental program being implemented, they were only moved to next lawn after the old area had been grazed. They were fed hay-silage in winter. Oats served as source of nutritive forage. Salt was also provided in form of salt licks. They were used as saddled horses between spring and late autumn. Foot correction and deworming were regularly carried out.

Welfare evaluation criteria for horses
The research study was conducted in the months of March, July and November 2010 and 2012. The welfare quality criteria and assumptions (Jones & Manteca 2009) listed below were adopted for the welfare assessment: 1. Good nutrition. Access to water and feed was assessed. Health assessment was based on a five point scale (Carroll & Huntington 1988). 2. Good housing. The stocking density and pressure of pasture were assessed while analysing their comfort at rest and freedom of movement. The herd's spatial distribution was also analysed in course of the observations. Prevailing weather conditions were also accounted for. 3. Good health. Information about the herd's healthiness was obtained by way of interview with the owner and veterinary doctor responsible for supervising the stable. 4. Appropriate behaviour. In order to assess horses' behaviour, the herd was observed fortnightly at 7.00 and 19.00. Observed types and categories of behaviour (according to McDonnell 2003) were noted using a stopwatch as well as videos and a camera. The observations were conducted by two people within a distance of between five and ten metres. The horses were accustomed to human presence. Measurements of heart rate, at rest and while daily operations were conducted by a foreign person, were done using the Polar Equine RS800CX piece of equipment to assess their emotional state.

Statistical analysis
The data were analysed statistically using the W. Shapiro-Wilk tests to determine the normality of distribution while the ANOVA tests were applied for the mean and standard deviation. The calculations were achieved using the statistical package STATISTICA 9.0 (StatSoft, Inc. Tulsa, OK, USA).

Health condition of Hucul horses as an indicator of proper nutrition
The health condition of animals in a pasture management system is an indication of propriety of ad-lib feeding. It is also a key criterion in the assessment of animals' welfare. The health condition of Hucul horses ranged between 2.46±0.41 in spring and 4.08±0.33 in autumn ( Table 1). The differences were statistically significant (P≤0.01).

Assessing maintenance conditions for Hucul horses
Prevailing atmospheric conditions were typical for the region over the period of research. The month of March 2010 was slightly warm, while July was rather extremely hot and although higher insolation was noted in July 2012, the mean temperature was lower than the monthly average (Table 2). With the availability of about 25-30 ha of pasture land area, the animals are guaranteed the comfort of rest and freedom of movement. The herd's health condition Conditions of maintenance and propriety of exploitation have contributed to the attainment of high health status of the horses, with no illnesses, injuries or skin damages over the period covered by the study. The mares were characterized by high fertility and successful weaning of foals.

Hucul horses and their behaviour in natural conditions
The period of year had impact on the behaviour of horses maintained in natural conditions (P≤0.01). Intensive feed intake and greater locomotor activities were observed in November, but in summer months when temperatures are usually higher, the same activities were rather observed in late evenings or early mornings (Table 3). Resting in a lying position by adults was occasionally observed. More time was clearly devoted to body-care treatments in July. Less frequent affiliated behaviours but slightly higher agonistic behaviours that were noted in March (Figure 1) could be linked to the proximity of mares' foaling activities in April and May.

Discussion
Attention was paid, in course of the studies, to the propriety of horse feeding, to the need for a precise estimation of its demand, especially in animals either intensively exploited or for reproduction purposes (Martin-Rosset et al. 2006, Coenen et al. 2011. It is noteworthy, however, that the best indicator of this propriety is the animal's condition, whose assessment requires knowledge and experience (Christie et al. 2006). Dawson & Hone (2012) provide in their studies that the regularity of this condition is depended on the productivity of pastures.
Results of this research also showed that increased intensity of feed intake in November was also associated with improved conditions of the horses. The pre-winter increase in body weight could be accepted as typical for primitive races managed in natural conditions. A herd usually has possibility of free exploration if stocking rates and pastures carrying capacities are maintained. The rest in comfort and freedom of movement criteria were fulfilled in the herd studied. Having synchronized the observed behavioural categories, no overcrowding of animals was noted. In similar studies conducted by Jaworski (2003) and Topczewska (2013), prevailing atmospheric conditions had significant impact on horses' activity in the summer. Heleski & Murtazashvili (2010) as well as Rose-Meierhöfer et al. (2010) confirmed that horses sought shelter in sheds to avoid strong winds and intensive rainfall. The results of this research corroborate this fact as the herd only sought shelter in adverse weather conditions.
If it is assumed that the indicator of good health is the absence of trauma and injuries associated with conditions of maintenance and exploitation, then it should be noted that none of such disorders were observed in the flock over two consecutive seasons of the research. Regular de-worming and hoof correction, freedom of movement, space, as well as proper exploitation contributed to the herd's high level of health. Such a system of maintenance enhances the attainment of excellent reproductive rates (Topczewska & Krupa 2013). It is emphasized that the most important indicator of high level of welfare is behaviour that is consistent with the specie-pattern as well as human-animal relationships (Boissy et al. 2007, Parker et al. 2008, Grandgeorge & Hausberger 2011. In the studies conducted similar pattern-specific behavioural category was also observed ( Table 3). The occurrence of affiliated behaviours resulted in strengthening social bonds as well as less frequent and mild forms of agonistic behaviours. The absence of stereotypes, being the result of stress due to the limitation of possibilities for the observed horses to express their natural behaviours, is noteworthy (Sergiel et al. 2012).
Personality traits, character and animal's behaviour crucial for safety of exploitation are essential to both breeders and those maintaining intimate contact with horses (Lansade & Bouisson 2008, Graf et al. 2013. Tests of the heart rate as well as low concentration of cortisol in saliva (König von Borstel et al. 2011, Young et al. 2012 are useful in assessing the animal's emotional state, despite the susceptibility of cardiac activity to the impacts of weather conditions prevailing at the time of measurement. The results obtained from this study suggest the existence of balance in Hucul horses. Maintenance systems do not, very often, take into consideration strong desires for social contacts among horses (vanDierendonck et al. 2009, Fureix et al. 2012. Lack of exercise and social isolation are current issues that demand urgent attention. Consequent upon the prevalence of high agricultural land price, the lack of sufficient land area for pasture and paddocks has become a familiar issue on many farms with livestock.
In conclusion, maintaining a herd of horses under pasture conditions and on extensive land area can be considered optimal in ensuring the species' natural needs. The noticeable good conditions of the horses, their high state of health and the absence of stereotypes are hallmarks for a high level of welfare. Of equal importance was the evidence of proper attitude towards humans during handling and exploitation.