Shelter use in horses: Time spent indoors and factors of variation – Results from a one-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Stabling is a common lifestyle for horses, yet numerous studies show that it negatively impacts their welfare, leading to behavioural and health issues. In this study, we aimed to determine how much time horses choose to spend inside their stalls when given the option to be inside (in shelters/stalls) or outside at pasture. Using permanently installed night-vision cameras inside the stalls, we recorded 53 horses across 20 sites in temperate climates (France, Belgium) over a full year. We analyzed their stall presence and activity (lying down, observe, stand at rest, eat, etc.) for 72 consecutive hours each month over 12 months. The results show that, on average, horses spend only 3 h per day inside, and not consecutively (entering 2.5 times per day). There is a strong seasonal effect: horses spend twice as much time in their stalls in summer than in winter. This finding is notable as it contrasts with the usual advice of stabling horses in winter and turning them out to pasture in summer. In winter, horses predominantly return to their stalls late at night (00:00–06:00) to eat and lie down, while in summer, they return in the afternoon (12:00–18:00) to rest standing. Contrary to expectations, presumably rustic breeds (ponies) spent more time inside, and age had no effect on this, indicating that stalls are essential for all types of horses. Additionally, the larger the shelter (in sq m per horse), the more it is used. Stalls fully enclosed with a single access door are also associated with higher usage in summer, winter, and autumn, compared to an open shelter. The use of blankets in winter or fly masks in summer is not associated with a reduction of the time spent in the stalls, suggesting that these accessories do not substitute for shelter. There is also significant inter-individual variability among horses: the ideal is to allow them the freedom to come and go as they please in order to best respect their agency and individual needs.