Impact of feeding strategies on the welfare and behaviour of horses in groups: an experimental study

Impact of feeding strategies on the welfare and behaviour of horses in groups: an experimental study

We conducted a cross-over study with 18 mares divided into four groups to compare three feeding strategies: “traditional” (3 of 2-hours meals during daylight, TD), “portioned” (6 of 1-hour meals spread over 24h, PO) and “slow-feeding” (ad libitum hay covered by a net, SF).

We continuously recorded social interactions for 15 hours and noted the position and activity of all horses every 15 minutes. We also recorded injuries periodically and measured the lying behaviour using accelerometers.

Five (5) datasets were created and used for the analysis : AffiAgoBehaviour_PerOBS,AffiAgoBehaviour_PerQuarter, InjuriesLocation, LyingBehaviour_PerDay and TimeBudget. Additional information about each dataset (data collection and explanation of each column) is given in the "how to read the X dataset"