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AQHA HORSE HEALTH owners report unwanted behaviours , some of which may be dangerous and a welfare risk for horses . Based on the literature in other species it is likely these may be the result of stress . It should be noted that stress affecting performance does not necessarily have to originate from sources associated with training or the competitive event . Performance horses are exposed to a range of stressors most of which relate to management that affect the behavioral needs of the horse .
The link between hair whorls and behaviour has been attributed to the fact that the skin and the nervous system have the same embryonic origin . Hair whorl traits are highly heritable and can be used as indicators of behavior . Horses with single whorls have been observed to be more friendly to people than horses with multiple whorls – but also more prone to biting and kicking . The direction of the hair whorls affects how horses respond to fear – those with clockwise whorls tend to turn to the right and those with anti-clockwise whorls , to the left . Interestingly foals with clockwise whorls present their right foreleg first during birth and have a natural side preference for right laterality . Because the position , direction and number of hair whorls are associated with the behaviour , temperament and laterality , they can help us develop better measures of handling , training and riding horses . This can be used by trainers to design training protocols that use the horse ’ s natural side preferences .
STRESS AND PERFORMANCE
A good sport performer has a combination of superior conformation , an appropriate temperament , a healthy physical and primed physiological mechanisms , and function for optimal fitness that keeps the horses performing well . Stress can potentially affect performance in horses competing in different disciplines . Horses are routinely exposed to stressors as well as physically demanding activities . Many
Free-range horses spend up to 70 % of the day eating and the reduction to two meals per day can meet their nutritional requirements but not necessarily meet their behavioral need to forage – and this can induce a state of chronic stress which will subsequently prevent optimal performance . Feeding meals of concentrates reduces time spent foraging and chewing ( free-range and wild horses chew around 57600 times a day , hand-fed domestic ones around 14,500 ). This also leads to physical and psychological stress as reduced production of saliva diminishes the natural saliva buffer against gastro-intestinal acidity . Gastric acidity is the number one cause of gastric ulcers and horses with ulcers - regardless of discipline – have elevated blood levels of the stress hormone ACTH – meaning their adrenal glands are over-active .
There is a growing literature demonstrating that a wide range of common housing , husbandry , training and competition activities activate the ‘ stress system ’ and behaviours associated with negative emotional states . Weaving and box walking are associated with locomotor frustration ; cribbing and windsucking ( repeated swallowing of air ) with feeding management frustration . Stereotypies are quite common in domesticated , stabled horses : 8.3 % for crib-biting , 9.5 % for weaving and 7.3 % for boxwalking – however , they are not ever reported in free-roaming horses . It is likely that these behaviours are a highly motivated expression or consequence of distress .
To ensure feeding management is not a source of stress , provide constant access to roughage . However , the way it is fed is also important . While a net reduces hay wastage and eases management , the time a horse spends in a head- raised posture is abnormal and can compromise the fine hairs and mucous in its windpipe that sweep up and out any dust and bacteria before they can reach the lungs . Because of the abnormal head position , hay nets that are not positioned very near to , or on the ground , may predispose a horse to a respiratory condition or infection .