To rug or not to rug - the social affect
Winters coming and with it comes the challenges of rain, more rain and for many the inevitable mud. Many of us we will need to adjust our daily management which will impact on our horses daily routine, some may need an increase in concentrate feeds, increased stable time, rugs and potentially decreased daily exercise. Over the next few weeks l am going to look at some of these challenges that we face and look into how we can consider our horses social and behaviour needs during this time.
I am going to start by considering rugs and if they can effect the social behaviours that our horses can express when they are being worn.
There is always a debate about rugging, when to rug? Do they need a rug? Are they over rugged? There is a tendency for us to use our own perceptions on if it is cold as to if our horses should be rugged. In reality a healthy unclipped adult horse is considered to be comfortable (thermal neutral zone-no energy expended to keep warm/cool) between +5'C and +25'C. There are so many other factors that affect it though, if it is windy or raining, horse age, weight, if they’re clipped, what shelter is available, the list goes on which is why it is so important to consider each horse as a) a horse and b) an individual when choosing to rug or not rug. Within my herd I have one who needs to be rugged if it is going to be wet, the others don't and my thoroughbred actively avoids a rug when it is presented to him.
Every horse is an individual and some require a rug during winter.
Now lets consider if rugs can have an effect on the social behaviours that horses show. Horse are a social species, they live in herds which is considered vital for their survival in a wild environment and in studies horses have prioritised the need for company over shelter and food. In order to live as a cohesive herd without conflict social bonds are made and maintained with social behaviours such as mutual grooming. Mutual grooming will occur with horses that are closely bonded in a group and those that are less closely bonded. Social interactions including mutual grooming is considered rewarding to horses and it can even lower the heart rate of horses. Christensen et al 2002 reported that when stallions had been deprived from participating in social interactions for a period of time they displayed increased rates of mutual grooming and play when they were able to freely socialise with other horses again. This can indicate that horses have a need to show these behaviours, it will have a positive effect of their welfare to be able to freely show the behaviour.
By design a rug will cover the areas that a horse would mutual groom with another horse; often a mutual groom will start at the withers and then move back into different areas so if a horse is rugged they are restricted from a normal mutual groom with a fellow horse. I have observed horses immediately going to their herd friends and starting to mutual groom when a rug is removed. This could be due to them being inhibited from self grooming and mutual grooming to alleviate physical itches and minor discomforts under a rug which can be alleviated by good and regular grooming by us humans. It could also be an indicator that the horse is being restricted from a social behaviour that it is driven to perform with another horse, which as much as we try we cannot replicate.
This is where we can start to consider how we can make some adjustments to our routine to add in an element of positive emotions and satisfaction to our horses day. A few points we can consider are
Leave the rug off if weather conditions allow for your horse.
Is there an area that your horse can have some free time with a horse friend without a rug on.
Create an opportunity for social interaction without a rug, either over a stable door or by creating a window between stables and leave them without a rug for a period of time to give them choice.
When we consider the big picture of our horses life it might seem that allowing some time for a mutual groom is a small thing, a bit of a luxury when there is time or the weather is right for it to happen but this is a fairly simple way that we can create positive emotions for our horse. Winter is long for them, there are long dark nights when they may have to be stabled, they may be on reduced turnout due to mud in the field. Consider how important to our horses those minutes can become, this becomes an opportunity to increase the choice your horse has in a day.
Mutual Grooming between friends