Med. Weter. 71 (8), 486-492, 2015
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| Sowińska J., Witkowska D., Bursztynowicz K., Kwiatkowska-Stenzel A., Mituniewicz T., Wójcik A. |
| Relationship between environmental conditions and physiological indicators of horses’ welfare |
| The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between living conditions (microclimate, aerial contaminations, box dimension, access to the paddock/pasture) of horses kept in 3 stables and physiological indicators (protein and its fractions in serum, haptoglobin). The study was carried out for 4 months during autumn and winter in 3 stables. Blood samples were collected from 10 clinically healthy adult horses from each stable (30 in total) in 4 terms – every 4 weeks. Environmental conditions were evaluated according to zoohygiene methodology and current law regulation. In the blood serum, the analyzed parameters were: total protein (g/L) – with the biuret test, the contribution of individual serum protein fractions (%) (albumin and α1-, α2-, β- and γ-globulin) – set to serum protein electrophoresis on agarose gels in an SAS-MX electrophoresis chamber; haptoglobin concentration (g/L) – immunoturbidimetric test. Living conditions meeting the requirements of welfare were provided in stable 3 in terms of both microclimatic parameters as well as the dimensions of the boxes and access to paddock and pasture. Slightly worse conditions were recorded in stable 2, while stable 1 was characterized by not only the worst microclimatic parameters, but also the surface of the boxes was too small. The different living conditions of horses in different stables were reflected in the diverse values of the blood indicators. Although the obtained ratios of protein indicators corresponded to the values of normal adult healthy horses, it was demonstrated that in the serum of horses in stables 1 and 2, as compared to the stable 3, a significantly lower fraction of albumin and higher α2-globulin and a higher concentration of Hp was found – suggesting the effect of different living conditions on organism homeostasis indicators. It may be stated that living conditions significantly influence the physiological condition of the horse. |
| Key words: horse welfare, microclimate, aerial contamination, protein |