Horses kept alone in a stable displayed signs of stress in their immune system compared to those kept in a group, a new study has shown.
As the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us, we humans are social animals who can suffer mentally from isolation.It supports a growing number of studies that suggest horses need more freedom and friends than they often get, although change in traditional stabling practices is likely to be slow.
"[A] resulting decrease in immunocompetence might increase disease susceptibility of the horses and thus impair their health and welfare." "They lower their heart rates when they groom each other. So, if they can spend time close to each other and mutually groom, they thrive.""We have always lazily considered that the dog is in his kennel, the pig is in his sty, the horse is in his stable and God is in His Heaven," Professor McGreevy said.in boxed horses, but the new study was the first of its kind.
Not everyone was convinced by the author's claim that isolation was the cause of the stress response seen in the study, however.
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