Abstract: Limited information is available on the extent to which blankets are used on horses and the owners' reasoning behind clipping the horse's coat. Research on the effects of those practices on horse welfare is scarce but results indicate that blanketing and clipping may not be necessary from the horse's perspective and can interfere with the horse's thermoregulatory capacities. Therefore, this survey collected robust, quantitative data on the housing routines and management of horses with focus on blanketing and clipping practices as reported by members of the Swedish and Norwegian equestrian community. Horse owners were approached via an online survey, which was distributed to equestrian organizations and social media. Data from 4,122 Swedish and 2,075 Norwegian respondents were collected, of which 91 and 84% of respondents, respectively, reported using blankets on horses during turnout. Almost all respondents owning warmblood riding horses used blankets outdoors (97% in Sweden and 96% in Norway) whereas owners with Icelandic horses and coldblood riding horses used blankets significantly less (P < 0.05). Blankets were mainly used during rainy, cold, or windy weather conditions and in ambient temperatures of 10°C and below. The horse's coat was clipped by 67% of respondents in Sweden and 35% of Norwegian respondents whereby owners with warmblood horses and horses primarily used for dressage and competition reported clipping the coat most frequently. In contrast to scientific results indicating that recovery time after exercise increases with blankets and that clipped horses have a greater heat loss capacity, only around 50% of respondents agreed to these statements. This indicates that evidence-based information on all aspects of blanketing and clipping has not yet been widely distributed in practice. More research is encouraged, specifically looking at the effect of blankets on sweaty horses being turned out after intense physical exercise and the effect of blankets on social interactions such as mutual grooming. Future efforts should be tailored to disseminate knowledge more efficiently, which can ultimately stimulate thoughtful decision-making by horse owners concerning the use of blankets and clipping the horse's coat.

Abstract: Locoweed (Oxytropis sericea) is a serious poisoning problem for horses grazing on infested rangelands in the western United States. Our objectives were to determine 1) whether lithium chloride or apomorphine would condition aversions to palatable foods, and at what doses, and 2) whether horses could be averted to fresh locoweed in a pen and grazing situation. Apomorphine was not an acceptable aversive agent because at the dose required to condition an aversion (> or = 0.17 mg/kg BW), apomorphine induced unacceptable behavioral effects. Lithium chloride given via stomach tube at 190 mg/kg BW conditioned strong and persistent aversions to palatable feeds with minor signs of distress. Pen and grazing tests were conducted in Colorado to determine if horses could be averted to fresh locoweed. Pen tests indicated that most horses (5/6) were completely averted from locoweed. Treated horses ate 34 g of fresh locoweed compared to 135 g for controls (P < 0.01) during three pen tests when offered 150 g per test. One horse (T) in the treatment group ate locoweed each time it was offered in the pen, but ate no locoweed while grazing. In the grazing trial, control horses averaged 8.6% of bites of locoweed (P < 0.01) during the grazing portion of the study, whereas treated horses averaged <0.5%. One treated horse (S) accounted for all consumption; he consumed 15% of his bites as locoweed in a grazing bout on d 2 of the field study. Thereafter, he was dosed a second time with lithium chloride and ate no locoweed in the subsequent 5 d. Three of six horses required two pairings of lithium chloride with fresh locoweed to condition a complete aversion. The results of this study indicate that horses can be averted from locoweed using lithium chloride as an aversive agent, and this may provide a management tool to reduce the risk of intoxication for horses grazing locoweed-infested rangeland.

Abstract: Fifty-eight Holstein heifer calves were assigned to one out of three treatment groups after having nursed by their mothers for the first week: BN) individual hutch, bucket with nipple n=25; DF)loose housing pen, machine milk feeder, n=16; NC) loose housing pen, nursing cow, n=17. After weaning at 8 weeks, all calves were kept in group pens. At 15 weeks of age, the behaviour in the 6-unit maze (16.4 – 4.5 m) was determined. On the first observation day, the calves were tested five times (the first one for training); on the second day there were four runs. The calves had to solve two tasks. In task A, the passage was open on the left side, and on the right side (task B) on the next day. We were testing the following hypothesis: the speed of traversing the maze is affected by the rearing system. The slowest were NC calves. On the first day (task A), the average time to traverse the maze among treatments DF (43.9 s), BN (53 s) and NC (111.3 s) was different (F = 8.26*, P = 0.0007). On the second day (task B), the averages were: BN 77.1 s, DF 83.8 s and DC 166.6 s (F=8.17*, P = 0.0008). The results indicate that the feeding method and housing used to rear calves may have a significant impact on their maze behaviour.

Abstract: A total of 208 sows and 288 gilts (PIC Line C29) were used to determine the influence of feeding frequency (2 versus 6 times/d, floor fed) on performance and welfare measurements on a commercial sow farm. Treatments consisted of feeding similar amounts of feed to each sow (2.5 kg) or gilt (2.05 kg) over 2 (0700 and 1530 h) or 6 times daily (0700, 0730, 0800, 1530, 1600, and 1630). There were 8 sows or 12 gilts in each pen. Gilts and sows were moved to pens 1 to 4 d after breeding. In sows, there were no differences (P > 0.10) in ADG, backfat change, or variation in BW. There was a trend (P < 0.08) for sows fed twice a daily to farrow more total pigs born, but number born alive or other reproductive performance traits were not different (P > 0.10) among treatments. Sows fed 6 times per d had increased vocalization during the morning (P < 0.07) and afternoon (P < 0.01) feeding periods compared with sows fed twice daily. Sows fed twice daily had more skin (P < 0.01) and vulva (P < 0.04) lesions as well as a small increase in feet and leg (P < 0.01) and hoof (P < 0.02) problems. In this commercial facility, the standard management protocol required moving gilts to a different gestation facility on d 42. On d 42, 2 pens of gilts with similar breeding dates and treatment were combined and moved to another facility with larger pens until farrowing. Gilts fed 6 times daily had a tendency for greater ADG (P < 0.07) from d 0 to 42, and a tendency for greater (P < 0.09) backfat on d 42. After movement to the larger groups from d 42 to farrowing, ADG was similar (P > 0.10) for gilts fed 2 or 6 times daily. Gilts fed twice daily had lower BW variation at d 42 (P < 0.04) and tended to at farrowing (P < 0.10). In gilts, there were no differences (P > 0.10) for reproductive performance, skin and vulva lesions, and feet, leg scores. In conclusion, there were few growth, farrowing, or aggression differences among gilts fed either 2 or 6 times daily. This suggests that either feeding method is suitable for group housed gilts. Among sows, feeding frequency resulted in few growth or farrowing performance differences. Feeding 6 times daily resulted in a small but significant reduction in skin and vulva lesions and structural problem scores while increasing vocalization. Increasing the feeding frequency from 2 to 6 times daily does not appear to have a negative or positive impact on performance or welfare of group housed gilts and sows.

Abstract: Thousands of hectares of timothy (Phleum pretense L.) grown in the Mid-Atlantic region are infected by cereal rust mite (Abacarus hysterix) that causes discoloration and curling of leaves, decreased nutritional quality, and substantial decreases in yield. A decline in production of timothy hay can lower income for hay producers and cause horse owners to search for alternative hays. Low alkaloid reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) hay has potential as an alternative to timothy hay because it grows well in the Mid-Atlantic region, is believed to have a similar nutrient quality to timothy, and is not as susceptible to cereal rust mite. Eleven mature, stalled Thoroughbred geldings (549 +/- 12.1 kg) that were exercised daily were used to compare voluntary DMI and apparent nutrient DM digestibility of timothy and low-alkaloid Chiefton variety reed canarygrass hay. Horses were paired by age and BW and randomly assigned to timothy or reed canarygrass hay during a 14-d period to measure voluntary DMI followed by a 4-d period to measure apparent DM digestibility. Both hays met the minimum requirements for DE, CP, Ca, P, K, Fe, and Mn, but they did not meet the minimum requirements for Cu, Zn, and Na for horses at maintenance and averaging 550 kg of BW. Timothy hay seemed to have a lower CP concentration (14.4%) compared with reed canarygrass hay (17.1%) and a more desirable Ca:P ratio at 1.6:1 compared with 0.8:1 for reed canarygrass hay. Horses fed timothy consumed more hay (P <0.001) during the voluntary DMI period compared with horses fed reed canarygrass. Greater voluntary DMI of timothy occurred on d 1, 3, and 5 (P <0.05), but DMI was similar for other days. Apparent DM digestibility was greater in horses fed timothy hay by 9.6% compared with horses fed reed canarygrass hay (P <0.05). Horses fed timothy had greater DM digestibility of ADF (P = 0.001), NDF (P = 0.001), sugar (P = 0.05), and Ca (P = 0.001) but lower apparent DM digestibility of CP (P = 0.012) and crude fat (P = 0.004). Timothy hay was superior in voluntary DMI and apparent DM digestibility compared with low-alkaloid reed canarygrass hay fed to horses.