Experiments

Every country will have horses available that are grouped according to different experimental treatments. These treatments include aspects of management that can easily be manipulated by horse owners in practice.

• Group composition (mixed age versus single age, and mixed sex versus same sex)
• Time spent in group (stable group versus dynamic group where horses are added and removed regularly)
• Environmental complexity  (complex versus barren environment)

read the ... The NKJ working definitions

We have grouped the alleged problems in group housing systems into two categories: those related to horse-horse interactions (e.g. horses injuring each other or being difficult to separate from the group) and those related to horse-human interactions (since some people claim that there is a higher risk for humans when moving among a group of horses).
Experiments will be carried out to address specific concerns in group housing. Existing methods will be refined and new methods developed for studying horse-horse and horse-human interactions under controlled conditions.

• Social competence test (assessing the social competence of a horse by developing and validating a test that might be used to ‘predict’ whether a horse will integrate well in an established group)
• Reactivity test (testing the reactivity of horses in the group)
• Separating horse from the group (recording the ease of removing an individual from conspecifics)

Routine recordings

• Injury classification system (recording injuries according to a 5 scale category scheme before horses are mixed in treatment groups and after mixing)
• Social behaviour observations (a snapshot of the social dynamics at group level once the treatments are well established)