Study links bedding and exercise to abnormal behavior in working horses: full analysis

A cross-sectional study of rural Chilean working horses is putting a spotlight on management-linked behavioural risk. Researchers evaluating 77 horses in Pullally, in Chile’s Valparaíso Region, found that 29.87% displayed abnormal behaviours, most often wood chewing, crib-biting, and windsucking. Among the clearest associations: absent or inadequate bedding was tied to a more than fivefold increase in the odds of abnormal behaviours, while longer daily exercise appeared protective. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

The study adds new data to a part of equine practice that’s often discussed more than measured. The authors note that working horses remain central to rural livelihoods in Chile and elsewhere in Latin America, but that housing and management conditions in these systems are still poorly characterized. To assess welfare, the team used the Animal Welfare Indicators, or AWIN, framework, a standardized protocol that has also been used in prior Chilean work evaluating the welfare status of working horses and handler interactions. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

The management picture in this group was striking. According to the preprint, 77.92% of horses were kept in frequently inadequate housing conditions, 53.25% had insufficient bedding, 22.08% had no bedding at all, and 59.74% were standing on dirty bedding. Only 20.78% performed daily exercise. Hoof-related disorders were present in 41.56% of horses, even though most animals had acceptable body condition and the overall prevalence of other health problems was low. That combination suggests welfare risks may be easy to miss if clinicians focus mainly on body condition or overt disease. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

The behavioural findings also offer useful nuance. Wood chewing was the most common abnormal behaviour at 12.99%, followed by crib-biting at 10.39% and windsucking at 6.49%. The authors suggest the feeding pattern may matter: horses in the study were reportedly fed only twice daily, which could leave long fasting intervals and limited opportunities for normal foraging behaviour. They also note that all horses showing crib-biting had a prior history consistent with wood chewing, raising the possibility that some redirected ingestive behaviours may progress over time if management conditions don’t change. Because the manuscript is still a preprint, those interpretations should be treated as provisional. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

Outside experts and welfare guidance broadly point in the same direction. WOAH’s welfare chapter for working equids lists oral stereotypies such as crib-biting and aerophagia as potential indicators of stress. Equine behaviour specialists cited by The Horse have similarly argued that when multiple horses in a management system show stereotypies, the key question is often what in the environment is driving chronic stress, and that the goal should be to reduce the need for the behaviour rather than simply prevent it mechanically. Suggested management responses include more turnout, more grazing or forage access, and less restrictive housing. (woah.org)

Why it matters: For veterinarians, especially those serving rural and mixed animal communities, the study is a reminder that behaviour can be a frontline welfare indicator in working equids. A horse with wood chewing or crib-biting may not just need a dental, gastrointestinal, or tack workup, but also a practical review of bedding, cleanliness, turnout, exercise frequency, and feeding intervals. The findings are especially relevant in lower-resource settings, where modest management changes, like better bedding provision or more structured time out of the stall, may be more feasible than major facility upgrades. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

The paper also has limitations worth keeping in view. It reflects one rural area of Chile, the sample size was 77 horses, and some management variables, including time out of the stall, relied on pet parent report. Even so, the consistency between this dataset and broader equine welfare literature gives the results practical weight, particularly because the identified risk factors are modifiable and easy to explain in the field. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)

What to watch: The next step is formal peer-reviewed publication, plus follow-on research testing whether targeted changes in bedding, forage access, turnout, and exercise can measurably reduce abnormal behaviours in working horse populations beyond Papudo. (d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net)