Hökrubbor med finmaskigt hönät : skötarens arbetstid samt hästens ättid

Sammanfattning: Evaluation of Hay Bar® with small mesh hay net – Working load and feeding time Horses are herbivores and spend 60-75 % of their day grazing when moving freely or when provided an unlimited amount of forage. Studies have shown that horses with an unlimited amount of forage choose to graze with pauses that are no longer than three to four hours. A study focusing on both feeding time and the staff’s workload has shown that the feed intake time for the horse as well as the time it took to feed the horses were significantly longer when the horses were fed once a day in small mesh hay nets compared to being fed three times on the floor. It is challenging to feed the horses so that they are provided the longest feeding time possible without long pauses and without making the groom's work day stretched out from early morning to late evening. Studies have shown that small mesh hay nets can prolong the feeding time for the horse, but that the staff’s workload increased. There’s a new product, a Hay Bar® with a small mesh hay net, on the market that has not yet been tested. The study had two aims. The first aim was to investigate if it’s possible to rationalize foraging with the help of Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets, so that it facilitates the grooms work without compromising the welfare of the horses. The second aim was to investigate how the feed intake time of the horse was affected when forage is provided in a Hay Bar®® with a small mesh hay net. The study was carried out in March at the Swedish National Equestrian Centre Strömsholm and consisted of two parallel tests. In the first test, the time of foraging was tested. Twenty horses were used. Ten of the horses were provided their forage in Hay Bar®®s with small mesh hay nets twice a day. Ten of the horses where used as control group and fed forage on the floor three times a day. In the second test, four horses were video filmed in the stable and the video was later observed to register the horse’s behaviour in order to record the forage intake time. The same forage management where used for the control group in both tests. The study showed that feeding the horses forage in Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets took significantly longer than when feeding the control group. The difference in work time between the two groups were one minute per horse and day. When comparing feeding time on Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets and when fed on the floor the results indicated that the feeding time were longer when the horses were fed in the Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets, 30 % of the observations compared to 18 % when fed on the floor. The results also indicated that the pauses in feeding were shorter when forage were provided in Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets. The horses were able to make holes in the nets which made it easier for them to access the forage. In conclusion the Hay Bars® with small mesh hay nets enable two feedings a day without prolonging the pauses in feeding as long as the nets are intact.