Abstract
This study was designed to record the behaviour of stabled
horses from the Household Cavalry over an extended period.
Eighty horses were observed using infra-red time-lapse
video for between 48 and 72 hours each, over 2 years,
under similar management conditions, and in total 5,424
hours of data was collected. All the horses were kept
in stalls at either Hyde Park or Windsor barracks and
continued with their normal duties throughout observation
periods.
The horses were found to spend 36.3% (8.7 hours per 24-
hour period) of their time feeding and 1.01% (0.2 hours
per 24-hour period) drinking. The horses were alert
in their stables for 7.5% (1.8 hours per 24-hour period)
of their time, non-alert for 63.03% (15.1 hours per 24-
hour period), resting for 10.89% (2.6 hours per 24-hour
period) and sleeping for 2.33% (0.6 hours pet 24-hour
period). The horses stood for 57.92% (13.9 hours per
24-hour period) of their time in stalls, with 18.67%
(4.5 hours per 24-hour period) of the time leg-resting
and 6.17% (1.5 hours per 24-hour period) lying.
The horses were exercised for 4.92% (1.2 hours per 24-
hour period) of the 24-hour period and spent 2.54% (0.6
hours per 24-hour period) of their time moving within
the stalls. They interacted for 2.04% (0.5 hours per
24-hour period) of their time and spent 2.12% (0.5 hours
per 24-hour period) of their time in abnormal behaviour
(0.69% or 0.17 hours per 24-hour period being spent in
stereotypic behaviour - this was seen in only ten horses).
The times spent in different behavioural categories are
not necessarily mutually exclusive
Analyses of variance showed no significant differences
(i.e. p>0.05) in behaviour resulting from factors such
as age, time spent in barracks, type of horse or height.
Welch 't' test showed that sleeping was affected by gender
(p = 0.0089), with females spending considerably more
time sleeping than males.
The percentage time spent eating was less than for feral
horses or stabled horses fed hay ad libiturn, but was
comparable with other studies on stabled or enclosed
horses on a restricted hay diet. The horses spent less
time resting, and more time alert, than free-ranging
horses, possibly owing to the different sensory
stimulation associated with their environment. This
may also be a factor in producing the low level of
abnormal activity recorded and the relatively low time
spent sleeping.
Time spent in interaction was low but the close proximity
of the horses and regular human contact may compensate
for any possible ill-effects of reduced social contact.
The level of abnormal behaviour was low compared with
other restricted-hay fed stabled horse studies. This
may be due to the management routines, high sensory
stimulation levels, type of horse and the almost
"communal" living associated with stalls and cavalry
routines.
The time-budgets of these horses is compared to that
found in other studies and the implications for welfare
discussed.
