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Study: Does Staying In A Stall Affect Bone Strength?

While it may be tempting to keep a horse in his stall to prevent unwanted injuries, this bubble-wrap approach isn't always the best for keeping a horse safe in the long term. According to academic research, stalling a horse can lead to loss of bone mass and bone strength.

Dr. Brian Nielsen has conducted multiple studies funded by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Foundation regarding bone mass and his findings have been consistent – and surprising. Though horses kept in stalls may be muscularly strong, their bones may be weak. Bone mass and strength can begin dissipating in as little as two weeks.

Though living outside 24/7 isn't a necessity to healthy bones, the ability to sprint is. A study of Nielsen's out of Michigan State University involved long yearlings kept on pasture that had normal bone growth. Half the horses were put in stalls and walked on a walker for an hour every day. The other half remained living outside.

The researchers monitored the horses' bone mass and discovered that horses living in the pastures continued to increase cannon bone mass, but the stalled horses had an immediate drop in bone mass which persisted for the next three months.

The horses then began under-saddle training as 2-year-olds. During their two months of walking, trotting and cantering under saddle, their cannon bones were monitored. The exercise was not enough to cause an increase in stalled horses' bone mass. Bone mass in the stalled horses decreased to the point where it was less than when the study began.

More studies found that sprinting – short, intense running sessions – was key to healthy bone that increased in mass. Horses must have the ability to sprint on their own or while in training, or they will lose bone mass.

Sprinting exerts force on the bone and causes it to bend, encouraging the body to lay down more bone and make the bones stronger. If horses are not allowed to sprint and their bones are prevented from bending, the body will actually take up minerals, believing the bones are strong enough for the work being asked of them.

For horses that are engaged in high-impact activities like racing and jumping, keeping horses in stalls may contribute to injuries as the horses lose bone mass. Additional research shows that adult horses who are stalled also experience bone loss.

Study: Your Horse’s Mood Affects His Way Of Going

A new study shows that observing how a horse acts in his stall could offer clues to how a ride might go: A horse that's angry or unhappy in his stall will most likely carry that negative attitude into the arena.

Lead researcher Alice Ruet used 43 lesson horses to test her theory. The study horses were kept in stalls and turned out for one hour a week in individual paddocks. They were used by advanced riders six hours a week for dressage, eventing or jumping lessons.

The study team watched the stalled horses for six weeks, noting their behavior several times each day. The scientists were specifically looking for clues that the horse was in a negative mental state—that he may be experiencing “compromised welfare” from being in a stall. The behaviors they were looking for included aggression toward people, cribbing or other stereotypies, hypervigilance, or a withdrawn posture, which indicated a depressed state.

The researchers then asked the head instructor three questions about each horse's way of going under saddle, including whether he was anxious or fearful, if he seemed uncomfortable, or if he was unwilling to go forward.

The final phase of the study had one rider who was unfamiliar with the horses ride each horse using the same tack. The rider was equipped with inertial sensors on her head and back. The horse wore a sensor on his girth. The ride was recorded, and an independent assessor noted behaviors that may indicate a negative attitude, like head shaking, tail swishing or bolting, as well as the horse's overall demeanor.

The scientists found a correlation between behavior in the stall and how a horse moved under saddle: Horses that were aggressive to humans while in their stalls had choppier gaits while being ridden. They also found that horses that were withdrawn in their stall were more reluctant to go forward when asked. The scientists conclude that a horse in a poor state of welfare is likely to be more unhappy when being ridden, linking welfare to performance.

Ruet suggests additional studies could be done to investigate whether management changes could influence a horse's mood and under-saddle movement.

Want To Read Your Horse’s Mind? Researchers Create A Headband That Can Help

Horsemen spend a lot of time trying to figure out whether their horses are stressed — a difficult task, given that they can't speak English. A team of French scientists have created a new tool that could help shed light on equine emotions.

The magazine Science recently reported on the process undertaken by Dr. Martine Hausberger to create a mobile headband that detects equine brainwaves, offering insight into their emotions.

Hauseberger was investigating whether stressed horses had a harder time learning how to open a sliding door, when he noticed that animals confined to cramped spaces had a more difficult time paying attention to lessons. He hypothesized that the confined animals might be depressed.

Hauseberger wanted to use an electroencephalogram (EEG) on the horse to better understand his state of mind. An EEG machine measures electrical impulses in the brain and have been used to study sleep patterns and epilepsy in humans for over 100 years. More recently, EEGs have been used to decipher brain waves related to anxiety, depression, and contentedness.

Hausberger and neurophysicist Dr. Hugo Cousillas modified a wearable human EEG headband to fit the equine head. It includes just four electrodes and has no wires, making it usable up to 60 feet away from the receiver. The duo engaged the help of Dr. Mathilde Stomp and used the new EEG on 18 horses. Half of the study group lived outside in a herd and half lived in stalls.

The groups had very different EEG readouts: the horses kept in stalls exhibited 2.5 times more of the waves that indicate distraction, depression, and anxiety than their turned-out counterparts. The turned-out horses had more of the brain waves that indicate calmness and attentiveness.

Though equine brain waves can't be interpreted in the same manner as human brainwaves, it's an interesting way of measuring equine mental health.

Does Boredom Cause A Horse To Weave?

Stereotypies in horses are repetitive, compulsive behaviors that serve no purpose. Weaving and stall walking are classic stereotypes: weaving is when a horse shifts his weight from one foot to the other while swinging his head and neck to the left and right; a horse that walks compulsively up and down his stall is called a stall walker. Some horses compulsively walk fence lines when they're turned out.

Though many people think these behaviors are caused by boredom from being alone, these actions are actually caused by stress over the horse's forced solitude. Horses are herd animals—when they are by themselves, they don't feel safe. A horse's natural response is to move away from danger and weaving is an escape behavior: the horse is walking in place. Horses tend to weave at their stall door, which is his escape route.

The easiest way to get a horse to stop weaving is to turn him out. If a horse must be kept in a stall, ensuring he can see other horses may help. The ability to see horses outside on a pasture may be more comforting than to see another horse in a stall.

A shatterproof mirror may also help him feel less alone in his stall. Though the reflection doesn't smell or react like a horse, it may offer some comfort. Some people have had success with simply hanging posters of horses in the stall.