PREVALENCE OF CLASSICAL STEREOTYPIES IN SHOW JUMPING HORSES OF REGION DEL BIOBÍO, CHILE

Abstract

Common stereotypies in horses, such as cribbing, weaving and stall walking, are indicators of current or past animal welfare. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of classic stereotypes in show jumping horses of Region of Biobío, Chile, and its association with sex and age. The entire population of resident horses (n = 98) in the 6 equestrian clubs of Region was studied. Each horse trainer was asked to provide the name, sex and age of the horses under his/her supervision. In order to record the presence or absence of common stereotypies, horses were under the observation of only one person in their stalls during the first 20 minutes of each hour for 8 hours. To analyze the data, horses were divided by sex into 3 groups: stallions, geldings and mares. Based on their age, they were divided into 2 groups: 3 to 7 years and 8 to 20 years. Results are expressed as percentages. Fisher’s exact test with p < 0.05 was used for the statistical analysis of both variables. A 7.14% of all show jumping horses presented stereotypies: cribbing (6.12%) and stall walking (1.02%), but no weaving was observed. With respect to sex, there was only one statistically significant relationship with crib biting, with a higher frequency in geldings compared to mares. No relationship was found between the presence of stereotypies and age.