Dissertation questionnaire - Equine behaviour

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lauren_nicola

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Hello all,

I'm looking for as many responses as possible for my Equine Science dissertation project questionnaire, investigating the link between equine feed management practices and anticipatory behaviours.
If you manage leisure horses in the UK or Ireland I would appreciate your input!
The questionnaire should only take 5 minutes of your time.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RXTKSRG

Thank you!
 
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Equi

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Done :) have a range of ages and sizes and managements so hope it gives a good broad answer lol was quite interesting to do :)
 
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be positive

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Done, I deal with more than 6 so picked a range of sizes but most of my answers were much the same from the management point of view, I think because they are on pretty much ad lib grass/ forage they show almost no stereotypical behaviour relating to feed, possibly it proof it works.
 
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Theocat

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I can't help thinking that "bucket feed" might have been better than concentrates if you're trying to talk about behaviour patterns triggered by feeding regimes. Mine certainly reacts to a bucket, but it only has chop and beet in it, which isn't concentrate!

It might have been useful to separate out routines for the horse in question vs the yard as a whole. The biggest problematic anticipatory behaviours seem to happen when a whole yard follows the same routine.
 
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Pearlsasinger

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Theocat said:
I can't help thinking that "bucket feed" might have been better than concentrates if you're trying to talk about behaviour patterns triggered by feeding regimes. Mine certainly reacts to a bucket, but it only has chop and beet in it, which isn't concentrate!

It might have been useful to separate out routines for the horse in question vs the yard as a whole. The biggest problematic anticipatory behaviours seem to happen when a whole yard follows the same routine.
Click to expand...

I agree about the 'bucket feed' comment but have to disagree about the whole yard following the same routine. We have 4 at home, they all follow the same routine and display next to no anticipatory behaviours. However I once bought a mare from a RS which didn't have a routine for the whole yard, they had no lunch break as such, athough each horse got a break and was fed at the beginning of that break. That mare took ages to lose her strong food orientation, when she finally realised that she got fed when every-one else did.

ETA, questionnaire done - and it was good to have one which was so easy to follow!
 
Brightbay

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Done, and compliments on a nice clear questionnaire (I write them for a living and I love to see a good one :D ).

I agree on bucket vs concentrates - for three out of the five in my answer, a bucket feed consists of mainly chop and beet pulp. For the other two it's soaked grass nuts, which I guess do count as concentrates (or at least, pelleted).

The five are fed hay on the ground in the field in winter, and although we always put out more piles than horses, they choose to share hay piles. They are also fed in the field, in adjacent feeding pens, and they're not all fed at the same time - three (mine) are fed in the morning, and two are fed in the evening - the horses not being fed just continue grazing while feeding goes on for the others, it is very relaxed.
 
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