Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Education
The Effect Of Hay Net Use On Cribbing Horses, Lauren Wesolowski
The Effect Of Hay Net Use On Cribbing Horses, Lauren Wesolowski
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects
Cribbing is a stereotypic behavior observed in horses, wherein the animal grasps a solid object with its front incisors and contracts its neck muscles to suck in air through its mouth, resulting in an audible grunt. Stereotypic behaviors such as cribbing are thought to be done in response to stress or insufficient stimulus in an animal’s living environment. Slow feeding hay nets can increase the amount of time horses spend eating daily hay rations. This research aims to use slow feeding hay nets to create a feeding process that is closer to natural grazing behavior and provide more stimulation for …
The Effect Of Slow-Feeding Hay Nets On Post-Prandial Equine Salivary Cortisol Levels, Grace Simpson
The Effect Of Slow-Feeding Hay Nets On Post-Prandial Equine Salivary Cortisol Levels, Grace Simpson
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects
Throughout its evolution, the Equus caballus, or horse, developed a physiological response to environmental alterations involving the synthesis and release of cortisol from the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, to regulate blood glucose levels, vascular tone and hormone release throughout the body (Ambrojo et al., 2018). With a hypothesis that changing a horse’s feeding method can alter salivary cortisol levels, the aim of this research project was to determine if feeding forage to horses in slow-feeding haynets would significantly reduce acute cortisol salivary level fluctuations, which would be valuable to minimize horses’ stress and increase overall welfare. Two feeding methods …