Pasturing horses can promote better mental and physical health compared to stalling. While pastures allow horses the opportunity to increase their physical activity, factors such as weather may impact whether or not they take advantage of this opportunity. Researchers at Michigan State University evaluated the effects of temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind speed on horse movement in the pasture.
The study was conducted using two groups of mature, adult horses (8 to 19 years old) on similarly managed farms. During the study, the horses had free access to water, shelter and forage (hay during winter and fresh pasture during summer). At five independent times between January and August, 2019, the horses were equipped with trackers that recorded number of steps, standing time, number of lying bouts and lying time.
Researchers found that temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind speed did not directly impact horse movement. Differences in number of steps and lying time were observed between farms and across testing periods. These results suggest that other factors (e.g., ground condition, age, breed, blanketing) may impact horse activity while pastured and warrant additional research.
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