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A group of stallions enjoying social contact on pasture. Photo: Agroscope, Schweizer Nationalgestüt, Switzerland https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051317
Many stallions lead largely solitary lives, but it need not be that way, the authors of a just-published review have concluded.
Researchers with the Free University of Berlin concluded that many stallions could be kept safely in groups, provided key conditions are met.
“It only poses a risk for injuries if the necessary requirements for this type of husbandry are not taken into account,” Heidrun Gehlen, Katrin Krumbach and Christa Thöne-Reineke wrote in the open-access journal
Animals.
Crucial elements for safety include the absence of mares, a suitably sized area or pasture that provides good escape routes, suitable groupings that take into account the character of the stallions, multiple feeding and drinking places, as well as suitable lying and resting areas.
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How to use slow-feed haynets and slow feeders without endangering your horse’s limbs, hooves, and teeth
If you’re using a slow feeder, it’s probably because you want the best for your horse. You know horses in the wild graze and browse up to 16 hours a day, and you want to offer a way for your horse to have a similar feeding regimen in his domestic environment. Good for you! And all the better for your horse.
Occasionally, though, slow feeders create health or welfare issues of their own. It’s important to keep the risks in mind (and mitigate them) as you choose, monitor, and maintain your slow feeding equipment.