Housing Horses in Individual Boxes Is a Challenge with Regard to Welfare.
Authors: Ruet Alice, Lemarchand Julie, Parias Céline, Mach Núria, Moisan Marie-Pierre, Foury Aline, Briant Christine, Lansade Léa
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Individual box housing remains standard practice across much of the equine industry despite well-documented welfare concerns, prompting this large-scale observational study of 187 horses over 50 days to identify which management modifications might mitigate negative behavioural outcomes. Researchers used scan sampling to assess the prevalence of stereotypies, aggression toward handlers, environmental unresponsiveness, and stress-related behaviours across horses experiencing varying housing and management conditions, evaluating 12 separate factors including bedding type, environmental enrichment, and feed composition. Disappointingly, only three interventions showed measurable—though modest—benefit: provision of straw bedding, windows offering visual access to the external environment, and restriction of concentrated feed; critically, duration of confinement correlated directly with environmental unresponsiveness, suggesting that time spent boxed is itself the primary driver of welfare compromise. The authors conclude that incremental modifications to box systems offer insufficient protection, and that meaningful welfare improvement requires structural changes: genuinely free exercise opportunities, regular social contact with other horses, and unlimited forage access to satisfy the species' evolved behavioural and digestive requirements. For practitioners, this research underscores that optimising box management—whilst worthwhile—cannot substitute for addressing the fundamental incompatibility between solitary confinement and horses' ethological needs, making pasture turnout and compatible group housing essential rather than optional components of responsible horsemanship.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Environmental enrichment (windows, straw) and dietary management offer only minimal welfare improvements—prioritize free exercise and social contact with other horses as primary solutions
- •Time spent confined in boxes directly correlates with deteriorating environmental awareness; minimize box confinement duration wherever possible
- •Individual box housing fundamentally conflicts with equine welfare needs; systems allowing turnout, social interaction, and continuous forage access should be preferred over management band-aids
Key Findings
- •Straw bedding, windows to external environment, and reduced concentrated feed showed limited beneficial effects on welfare indicators in 187 horses observed over 50 days
- •Only 3 of 12 housing and management factors tested had measurable positive effects on behavioural welfare indicators
- •Longer duration in individual boxes significantly increased likelihood of unresponsiveness to environment
- •Individual box housing triggers four behavioural indicators of compromised welfare: stereotypies, aggression, unresponsiveness, and stress-related behaviours