Landscape of Choice: The Influence of Landscape Features on the Behavior of Sport Horses
Authors: Inga Wolframm, Thomas Engels, Mattias Lindström, Karl Forssman
Journal: International Journal of Equine Science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Designing paddocks and grazing environments that truly support equine welfare requires understanding how horses actively choose to use different landscape features, yet published research on this behaviour remains limited. Swedish researchers used motion sensors fitted to seven young warmblood mares across two months to track how frequently animals selected specific landscape elements—tree rows, hedges, sandbans, vegetation patches, and water features—relative to their actual availability, while recording simultaneous behaviours (active movement, grazing, resting, or inactivity) alongside weather variables. Environmental conditions significantly influenced selection patterns: horses sought shelter in tree rows and hedges during rainfall (1.17 times more often than baseline), but avoided these features as temperature increased; critically, individual horses showed marked preferences that departed substantially from group trends, with one mare selecting a sandbank for resting 42 times more frequently than random chance would predict, whilst another strongly preferred a pool for activity. These findings underscore that effective landscape design—whether for rehabilitation facilities, breeding operations, or performance horse holdings—must incorporate diverse topographical and vegetative features and recognise that idiosyncratic preferences among individuals mean a one-size-fits-all approach to turnout will inevitably fail to optimise welfare for all horses in a group.
Read the full abstract on the publisher's site
Practical Takeaways
- •Design turnout areas with diverse landscape features including trees, hedges, varied ground surfaces, and water access—individual horses will select different features based on weather and activity needs
- •Recognize that young horses show consistent individual preferences for specific environments; observe your horses to identify what features each one seeks for resting, sheltering, and thermoregulation
- •Provide sheltered areas (tree cover) and water features in paddocks to support behavioral expression in varied weather—especially important during rainfall and heat stress
Key Findings
- •Tree rows and hedges were significantly preferred during rainfall (1.17× selection ratio) but avoided as temperatures increased (−0.51 coefficient)
- •Individual horses showed distinct landscape preferences: Horse A preferred sandbanks for resting, Horse B preferred blackberry patches, Horse D strongly preferred pools (90.44× selection ratio)
- •Landscape feature selection was significantly influenced by horse identity, weather conditions (rainfall and temperature), and month of observation (all p < 0.001)
- •Young warmblood mares demonstrated behavioral flexibility in landscape use, with behavior type (active, resting, eating) linked to specific environmental features