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This study analyzed the rectal and surface temperature of the horse's body, its heart rate variability parameters, and the step length when walking and trotting geriatric horses using blankets with various thermoinsulating properties. Twenty-four hot-blooded geldings were included in the study. The experiment was conducted in winter over a period of 30 consecutive days. The horses in the study were kept under three types of blankets (light, medium, thick). The control group was kept without blankets. The rectal and surface body temperature and the HRV parameters were measured before the experiment, immediately after the blankets were removed and an hour later. The step length when walking and trotting was measured before the experiment and the day before it was finished. The use of horse blankets in winter was found to have a positive effect on increasing the surface temperature of geriatric horses and thicker blankets produced more significant effects. For thick winter blankets, since one would expect an increase in the rectal temperature and elongation of the trotting step, it is recommended that they should be used at all times for geriatric horses prone to hypothermia and horses with painful muscles in the hind legs and the shoulder as the most common cause of reducing the length of the trotting step. The use of blankets should also result in a general body vitality improvement, which is demonstrated by a general increase in the activity of the autonomic nervous system, especially the sympathetic system.

This study analyzed heart rate variability (HRV) parameters in selected intervals of a 24-hour recording session. The study was conducted with eight young and eight old, clinically healthy geldings. HRV measurements were taken with Polar RS800CX instruments. The recordings were then analyzed with Kubios HRV software. The following time intervals were identified: 24 hours, 15 hours of the day (light period), 9 hours of the night in total, and in subsequent hours of the night. During each interval, the following time analysis parameters were investigated: heart rate (beats per minute; HR), verified beat-to-beat times (NN), standard deviation of the NN intervals (SDNN), and the square radical of the mean sum of the squares of differences between the adjacent NN intervals (rMSSD). The following HRV frequency parameters were also investigated: total power of the spectrum (TP), high-frequency spectrum (HF), low-frequency spectrum (LF), and LF/HF ratio. It was found that geriatric horses had higher HRs but reduced some HRV parameters compared to young horses. Noticeable changes were least evident after midnight, especially between 0100 h and 0400 h.

The aim of the study was to determine the internal and surface temperature of selected body parts of horses during their stay in paddocks in various weather conditions in the summer. The study was conducted on 10 adult thoroughbred mares. The experiment was carried out on horses spending time in the paddock in four eight-hour stages with differing weather conditions in summer (sunny, cloudy, rainy and windy). Measurements of internal temperature (Veterinär SC 12 veterinary thermometer) and surface temperature of the head, rib area and croup (Thermal Imagers Ti9 FLUKE infrared camera and SmartView 4.1 software) were carried out at rest and again after four and eight hours in the paddock. It was concluded that the time horses spend in the paddock in summer should depend on weather conditions. Many hours spent outside the stable during sunny weather accompanied by high air temperature can contribute to overheating. On the other hand, rain and wind can cause hypothermia. Therefore, it is worth considering leaving horses in the stable or limiting their stay in the paddock to no more than four hours.

The first aim of study was to assess the feelings of friendship and companionship among mares released into a paddock in different combinations by analysing the duration of behaviours occurring there as well as changes in heart rhythm. The second aim of the study was to develop a procedure for creating different herd configurations based on the individual affiliative needs of horses, expressed as a score. The study was conducted on 12 one-year-old Thoroughbred mares. It was carried out on three consecutive days during the horses’ 30-minute stay in the paddock. On the first day, all mares were in the paddock together. On the second day, they were released in pairs, and on the third day, they were released individually. Expressions of affiliative behaviours (feelings of friendship and companionship) towards another horse were timed. The activity of the parasympathetic system was measured as well. The results were used to score the mares’ affiliative behaviour using a procedure of our own design. Feelings of friendship and companionship were found to be most strongly expressed when a herd of horses with an established hierarchy including each individual was present on the paddock. Releasing horses in pairs is a good substitute for releasing the entire herd, but cannot replace true herd relations, due to decreased expression of feelings of closeness and companionship, such as play or grooming. Releasing horses into the paddock individually is not recommended because it disturbs social behaviour, thus increasing emotional excitability. Emotional excitability is calmed when horses are released in pairs, so this configuration can be used for excitable horses. The best solution, however, seems to be the use of the affiliative behaviour score proposed in the study, as an indicator of the individual needs of mares when creating various herd configurations.

It was assumed that a horse with its rider body weight found in the upper limit may negatively impact the horse&rsquo, s welfare. The objective of this paper was to analyze the differences in body temperature and selected heart rate parameters in horses in response to physical exercise accompanied by various rider&rsquo, s body weight loads. The study was carried out on 12 leisure, 10&ndash, 15-year-old warmblood geldings. The horses were ridden by two equally qualified riders whose body weights were about 20% and 10% of the average body weight (BW) of the animals (about 470 kg). Each rider rode each of the 12 horses for 13 min walking and 20 min of trotting. Images of the horse at rest, after physical exercise directly after unsaddling, and during the recovery phase (10 min after unsaddling) were taken with an infrared thermography camera. For analysis, the temperatures of selected body parts were measured on the surface of the head, neck, front, middle, and back (croup) parts of the trunk, forelimb, and hind limb. Immediately after the infrared thermography images were taken, the rectal temperature of the horse was measured. The heart rate parameters were measured at rest for 10 min directly before, during, and 10 min following the end of a training session. A multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measurements was performed. Statistical significance was accepted for p &lt, 0.05. A rider BW load on a horse of approximately 20% of the horse&rsquo, s BW led to a substantial increase in the superficial temperatures of the neck, front, middle, and back parts of the trunk in relation to these body parts&rsquo, average temperatures when the load was about 10% BW. The head and limb average temperatures were not significantly affected by the load of the exercised horse. A horse&rsquo, s load above 20% of his body weight, even with little effort, affects changes in surface temperature and the activity of the autonomic nervous system.

Geriatric horses, like other animals (and humans), suffer from various diseases called old-age diseases. This publication has been developed in response to the needs of owners and caretakers of a growing number of geriatric horses. Since the horse has a long life span, the geriatric stage can encompass up to 1/3 of the animal’s lifetime and can quite often last more than 10 years. This paper aims at systematizing the information of the most prevalent geriatric diseases in horses which inhibit their performance and considerably lower their quality of life. Knowledge of these diseases can help to avoid mistakes when keeping and managing such horses and may provide guidelines for maintaining welfare and preventive treatments. This article reviews the most prevalent old age health problems, their origin, diagnostics, course and effects for the body. Information about the most common diseases of old age in horses is found in 119 references. The nine sub-chapters include the diseases of the digestive system, especially the oral cavity, the stomach and bowels’ diseases, the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, dysfunctions of the locomotor system, eye diseases, endocrine and neuroendocrine diseases as well as the immune system, neoplasms and general body condition. It should be emphasized that there is the possibility to maintain the well-being of geriatric horses through progress in veterinary medicine and sharing knowledge of equine functioning and health protection. Preventive health care should include regular blood testing, regular dental check-ups and adequate nutrition adapted to the overall condition, dental condition, physical activity and comorbidities. Adequate individual supplementation recommended by a nutrition specialist and a veterinarian is also essential.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of music therapy on changes in the level of parameters describing heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as excitability indicators in geriatric horses. The study involved 20 warmblood geriatric horses, aged 20 years or more. Animals were kept in two identical stables in one facility. Horses from stable No. 1 were considered the experimental group, whereas horses from stable No. 2 constituted a control group. The experiment consisted in playing relaxation new age music to the horses in the experimental group for 28 days use special sound system (MyPetSpeaker). To examine the emotional excitability of horses from both groups, HR and HRV parameters were used. The subsequent measurements were performed morning at rest at 7-day intervals, counting from the first day of the experiment, and four measurements were recorded. HR and HRV measures indicated that daily exposure for several hours to new age music had a positive effect on relaxation of geriatric horses. A short-term effect of 1–2 weeks duration was observed beginning 1 week after onset. Unfortunately, the effect disappears after subsequent 2–3 weeks of therapy application, without leaving spectacular results.

The aim of the study was to analyse selected air parameters in the stable (microclimate) and basic physiological parameters in horses maintained in this stable in different seasons of the year. The material consisted of 24 adult warmblood leisure horses maintained in two brick-built box stables. The technical parameters in the stables (air temperature and humidity in the hall and in two places in a box) were determined on the first day of summer, autumn, winter and spring in the same year. The measurements of each parameter were performed with an LB-518 wireless battery thermohygrometer Bluetooth BLE-LOGGER at noon in five places in the stable situated 300 cm apart from each other. The physiological parameters in horses, that is, the internal body temperature (Veterinär – Thermometer S.C. 12), the heart rate (Polar ELECTRO OY – RS800CX device with PolarProTrainer 5.0. software) and the respiratory rate (manual stopwatch), were measured at 6:00 and 18:00 every day of the test. It was found that the season of the year significantly influenced the microclimate of the stable. To maintain the optimal relative air humidity, the airing of the stable should be limited only in winter and partly in autumn. It should also be emphasised that the microclimate of the stable considerably influences the basic physiological horse parameters. A high temperature in the stable during summer may cause an adverse increase in the internal body temperature in the evening, whereas a high relative humidity can contribute to a decrease in the animal’s body temperature during winter. The other parameters, that is, the heart and respiratory rates, can be excessively elevated mainly in summer. Horses tend to have less difficulty maintaining proper levels of physiological parameters in winter, still less in autumn, and the least in spring.