Liegeverhalten von Pferden in Gruppenauslaufhaltung

Abstract. Titel of the paper: Recumbence resting behaviour of horses in loose housing Systems with open yards
Recumbence resting behaviour was investigated in 48 horses in four loose housing Systems with open yards subdivided in areas for feeding, recumbence and for free range. Continuous observations were made for each loose housing system on three independent days during a 24-hr period.

In all housing Systems the horses chose exclusively the area of recumbence to rest in sternal or lateral position. On the one hand the dimension of the area of recumbence influenced we recumbence resting behaviour. In the fourth housing system the insufftcient recumbence area reduced the resting time. At the other hand the time of recumbence was dependent on social rank. The animals with lower rank showed a significant shorter recumbence time than the horses with higher rank. However the frequency of recumbence was similar in all horses independent of stable, social rank and age. The results clearly show, that the dimension of the area of recumbence as the only parameter is not enough to satisfy the demand of recumbence in all horses.