Group exercise
Group exercise is the most natural way of keeping horses . The horses move freely as a herd between the free stall, the paved run and the pasture and have constant direct contact with each other.
Herd as a natural habitat
The horse is a herd animal . It lives in groups of 10 to 15 animals. There is a natural hierarchy in the group, combined with pronounced social behavior . In the natural environment, the horse moves 10 to 18 hours a day while eating and covers about 30 km. Group exercise creates the best possible framework as a substitute for this natural way of life.
Plant and operation
The system for group free-range housing consists of a playpen, a paved area and a pasture. The three areas form a unit, the horses can move freely between these areas individually, as a group or as a whole herd and have unrestricted contact with one another. For a larger number of horses (20 to 50), these are divided into several groups and each group has its own playpen and exercise area, which are also freely accessible to all horses in the group and have direct access to the common pasture.
Playpen
The playpen is a roofed and sheltered sleeping area for a group of horses on all sides or at least from the weather, in which the animals can move freely. The lying area is strewn with straw, sawdust or similar materials. The required area is around 10 to 12 m² per horse. It is calculated from:
- Area = number of horses * (2 * height at withers ) ²
- Stall height = 1.5 * height at the withers
A playpen always has at least two wide door openings so that a horse can flee at any time if it feels threatened.
Outlet
A paved, sometimes partially covered, outdoor area is adjacent to the stable. The required area is about twice the lying area in the playpen, but at least 100 m².
pasture
In summer the horses spend most of their time in the large pasture .
The required pasture area is around 1/4 hectare per horse. An additional 1/4 hectare is required for the production of winter hay .
So that the grass can grow back, the total area is divided into 4 to 5 partial areas, which are grazed in turn in about 14 days.
feeding
In the run, the horses have straw ( roughage ) at their disposal at all times . For individual feeding with hay and concentrated feed, there are around 80-100 cm wide feed stalls, in which one horse can fit. When the group is well accustomed, each horse finds its feeding place and respects the places of the others, even without being tied up. Horses with very different feeding plans can be divided into appropriate groups.
Sick horses
Sick horses may be temporarily removed from the herd and placed in an integration playpen, for example if they need a special diet (no pasture) or if they have to spare sprained legs. You then have the same contact with the group as the integration horses. The separation is only temporary and as brief as necessary.
Integration of new horses
The careful integration of new horses takes 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the horses' previous experience. The best time is spring, when the herd is led out to pasture.
Getting used to the pasture
Horses that are not grazed regularly need to be slowly accustomed to digesting grass. The horse is also prepared for free movement in the pasture by first leading it individually by the hand and allowing it to graze.
Getting used to the herd
First, the horse is kept alone in a separate stable with an exercise area, but directly adjacent to the group exercise area of the other horses, in smelling and visual contact. The fence is designed in such a way that direct physical contact is possible over or through the fence, but the integration horse can withdraw at any time. In this way the horses can sniff each other and the new horse can decide for itself whether, with whom and for how long it wants to allow this or to withdraw.
After about two weeks, the new horse is allowed to join the existing herd on the largest possible pasture. The integration horse decides for itself whether it would rather go to the pasture or stay in the integration playpen. The pasture should be so large that the integration horse always has enough space to escape when it feels pressured. In the pasture, the new horse naturally fights for its place in the herd, which also includes minor bite, graze and kick injuries. As soon as the new hierarchy has stabilized, the horses live peacefully and relaxed together.
disadvantage
Horses with large additional feed requirements or special diets must be isolated from the group for the feeding time. For reasons of safety, show and high-performance horses are often preferred to box housing - compared to group housing, where small scratches are part of everyday horse life.
See also
literature
- Stefanie Grossniklaus: Group exercise in practice , the animal world, No. 42, 1989