Switzerland is at the forefront of ensuring good equine welfare, so it comes as no surprise that they’ve made strides in developing a variety of welfare-friendly innovations. A Swiss researcher recently presented 21st century equine husbandry materials that are meeting modern demands for optimum animal welfare while keeping human management capacities and time constraints in mind.

“A better understanding of equine welfare has led to new questions and new problems that needed answers and solutions in managing horses,” said Anja Zollinger, BSc, of Agroscope, the Swiss National Stud’s research institute in Avenches, during a presentation at the 2015 French Equine Ethology Day, held April 9 in Saumur. “We need to ensure feeding that’s consistent with the horses’ needs, organize group housing that’s welfare-friendly for all horses in the group, encourage horses to move sufficiently, and facilitate social contacts among horses housed individually. So people in the industry have become more inventive to respond to these needs.”

And the resulting inventions are popping up all over Switzerland in boarding stables, private properties, and even the National Stud itself. New feeding systems allow horses access to forage at regular intervals throughout the day with slow feeding via nets and mesh grills that extend feeding times over 12 to 16 hours per day, Zollinger said. Many of these are electronically operated, allowing owners to fill the hay once a day and then set the machine to open and close periodically over a 24-hour period so the horse never goes more than two or three hours without forage access. Other systems distribute the feed, as well, and calculate how much the horse has consumed. Some can even be programmed to inform the owner about consumption data via real-time text messaging.

Low-ranking horses might be allowed more time lying down if there are independent walls set up in the middle of a large group stall