Background

Group housing satisfies the species specific demands of horses with respect to regular movement and social contact. Scientific studies have shown its beneficial effects on the trainability of horses, and horses reared in socially complex environments develop better social skills that are useful for future contacts with different horses.

However, social isolation and confinement that restrict the expression of natural behaviour patterns are associated with conventional housing systems. Welfare concerns are related to the high percentage of horses developing abnormal behaviours and a variety of health problems in response to stabling.

Nevertheless, despite major improvements in horse husbandry over the last decades, many horses are still housed in single boxes and stables because there are concerns about group housing. For example, people are worried about an increased risk of horses injuring each other, the difficulty of separating a horse from the herd with potentially dangerous situations for humans, or the group composition itself is questioned.

Due to these concerns, group housing systems are not as widely used in practice as might be expected. The current project, therefore, aims to determine, if these concerns are indeed genuine problems, and, if so, develop practical solutions to increase horse welfare and human safety.