Abstract: The guidelines of the Federal Ministry of User Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture (BMVEL) regarding “horse keeping with respect to animal welfare” are from 1995 (BMELF, 1995). Therefore, they are not suitable for modern horse keeping. The Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare (TVT) held it to be necessary to rework the guide-lines in light of 1) many subsequent investigations concerning horse keeping, and 2) the species-specific needs of horses in practice. Each chapter of the BMELF (1995) guide-lines was revised such that the literature and practical experiences were updated. Several chapters (recumbency resting behaviour, fences, underground outdoor and in stables, litter) were added in the position paper of the TVT to reflect the increasing use of boxes with paddocks, loose housing systems with open yards, pasture and winter yards as housing conditions. Keeping horses outdoors permanently during winter is possible because horses have very good thermoregulatory capabilities so that they are able to adapt themselves to cold conditions. However, in light of animal welfare, the holding system must include adequate shelter (natural or artificial). Shelters should protect against wetness, heat, cold and wind, and must be sufficiently large and high, with a dry and clean underground. In keeping horses outdoors permanently, the paths to the feeding and watering areas and to the shelter must be dry. The food must also be protected against mould and soiling. Keeping horses permanently without adequate shelter or in deep marsh without any dry places is against the Animal Protection Act.

Abstract: The ethological concept concerning supply of needs an avoidance of damage is mentioned as a possibility for the evaluation of welfare aspects related to animal management. The 250 Dulmen horses kept on 300 ha by the Duke of Croy show what must be provided for horse-keeping in a semi-natural environment: Sufficient food and water, efficient shelter as well as adequate structures for the needs of horses concerning social and comfort behaviour. A catalogue of factors, functions and facilities for this kind of horse-keeping is presented.

Abstract: Measuring HPA axis activity is the standard approach to the study of stress and welfare in farm animals. Although the reference technique is the use of blood plasma to measure glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol or corticosterone), several alternative methods such as the measurement of corticosteroids in saliva, urine or faeces have been developed to overcome the stress induced by blood sampling itself. In chronic stress situations, as is frequently the case in studies about farm animal welfare, hormonal secretions are usually unchanged but dynamic testing allows the demonstration of functional changes at several levels of the system, including the sensitization of the adrenal cortex to ACTH and the resistance of the axis to feedback inhibition by corticosteroids (dexamethasone suppression test). Beyond these procedural aspects, the main pitfall in the use of HPA axis activity is in the interpretation of experimental data. The large variability of the system has to be taken into consideration, since corticosteroid hormone secretion is usually pulsatile, follows diurnal and seasonal rhythms, is influenced by feed intake and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, age and physiological state, just to cite the main sources of variation. The corresponding changes reflect the important role of glucocorticoid hormones in a number of basic physiological processes such as energy metabolism and central nervous system functioning. Furthermore, large differences have been found across species, breeds and individuals, which reflect the contribution of genetic factors and environmental influences, especially during development, in HPA axis functioning. Usually, these results will be integrated with data from behavioral observation, production and pathology records in a comprehensive approach of farm animal welfare.

Abstract: The relationship between social behaviour and skin injuries (caused by horns) of loose housed horned cows was investigated on 35 dairy farms. While the frequencies of two agonistic behaviour elements (push and chase away) were positively correlated with the occurrence of skin injuries, the frequencies of butting and homing were not. Butting appears to have an ambivalent motivation, in that its occurrence is correlated positively both with agonistic behaviour and with social licking. Horning showed a positive correlation with social licking only. Four groups of husbandry conditions that may be associated with the occurrence of social behaviour and of injuries were distinguished: i) herd management, with variables including problem solving management by the farmer, integration of new cows, and dealing with periparturient and oestrus cows; ii) human-animal relationship, with variables including ability to identify individual cows, frequency of brushing the cows, number of milkers, and frequency of personnel changes; iii) animal characteristics, with the variable of herd size; and iv) stable characteristics, with the variable of space per cow (m2). The relevance of the husbandry variables investigated here had been confirmed in a previous stepwise regression analysis (Menke 1996). The variables for herd management and human-animal relationship conditions correlated in a consistent way with the occurrence of agonistic behaviour and/or of injuries, while most of them also correlated in the opposite direction with the occurrence of social licking. Herd size correlated positively with agonistic behaviour, but negatively with social licking. Space per cow correlated negatively with agonistic behaviour and injuries. In more than 70 per cent of the herds investigated, the levels of agonistic behaviour and of skin injuries were low, implying that horned dairy cows can be kept with less risk than is often assumed. We argue that such risks strongly depend on management factors that can be improved.

Abstract: A multitude of endocrine mechanisms are involved in coping with challenges. Glucocorticoids, secreted by the adrenal glands, are in the front line of the battle to overcome stressful situations. They are usually measured in plasma samples as parameters of adrenal activity and thus of disturbance. Unfortunately, collecting blood samples itself can disturb an animal. Thus, non-invasive methods for the determination of glucocorticoids or their metabolites have become increasingly popular. The pros and cons of various non-invasive sample materials (saliva, excreta, milk, hair/feathers and eggs) for glucocorticoid determination are given. Above all, faecal samples offer the
advantage that they can be collected easily. In faecal samples, circulating hormone levels are integrated over a certain period of time and represent the cumulative secretion of hormones. Thus, the levels are less affected by short fluctuations or the pulse-like nature of hormone secretion. However, using this technique to assess an animal’s adrenocortical activity is not especially simple. Whether frequent sampling is necessary or single samples will suffice depends upon the study’s aim (whether one is examining the impact of acute or chronic stressors). Background knowledge of the metabolism and excretion of cortisol/corticosterone metabolites is required and a careful validation for each species and sex investigated is obligatory. The present review also addresses analytical issues regarding sample storage, extraction procedures and immunoassays and includes a comprehensive list of published studies (up to 2011) describing the use of such methods in farmed animals. Applied properly, non-invasive techniques to monitor glucocorticoid metabolites in faecal samples of various species are a useful tool for welfare assessment, especially as they are easily applied at farm or group level.