Landscape of Choice: The Influence of Landscape Features on the Behavior of Sport Horses

Inga Wolframm; Thomas  Engels; Mattias Lindström; Karl Forssman

doi:10.64292/j2jkvt50

Authors

Inga Wolframm Applied Research Centre, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, 6882 CT Velp, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0394-8417
Thomas Engels Applied Research Centre, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, 6882 CT Velp, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1290-8791
Mattias Lindström Hoofstep, Inc. HQ, P.O. Box 1334, Wrightwood, CA 92397, USA
Karl Forssman Hoofstep, Inc. HQ, P.O. Box 1334, Wrightwood, CA 92397, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64292/j2jkvt50

Keywords:

Equine behaviour, biodiversity, welfare , the other 23 hours, landscape features, sensor technology

Abstract

Understanding how horses interact with landscapes is key to designing environments that support welfare and biodiversity. Yet, little is known about how domestic horses use specific elements within a landscape. This study examined the behavioral interactions of seven Swedish warmblood mares (1–3 years old) with naturally occurring landscape features in the Kumlan Nature Reserve (Sweden) during July and August 2021. HoofStep® sensors continuously recorded equine behaviors, categorized as highly active, active, resting, or eating. Manly Selection Ratios (MSRs) were used to assess landscape feature selection (LFS) relative to availability. A generalized linear model (Gamma distribution, log link) tested the effects of horse, behavior, landscape feature, time of day, temperature, rainfall, and month on LFS. Significant main effects included horse, landscape feature, month, rainfall, and temperature (p < .001). Two-way interactions showed that behavior was linked to LFS and that selection was influenced by weather. For instance, tree rows and hedges were preferred during rainfall (Exp(B) = 1.17, p = 0.01), but avoided as temperatures rose (Exp(B) = -0.51, p < 0.001). Three-way interactions highlighted individual preferences, i.e., Horse A preferred resting on a sandbank (Exp(B) = 42.48, p < 0.05), and Horse B in a blackberry patch (Exp(B) = 25.22, p < 0.05). Horse C was active on a sandbank with vegetation (Exp(B) = 22.57, p = 0.01), while Horse D preferred the pool (Exp(B) = 90.44, p < 0.001). Findings suggest that both landscape and weather shape equine behavior, with notable individual variation. Landscape design should incorporate diverse features to meet the behavioral needs of individual horses and to support welfare and biodiversity goals.

References

Isbell F, Gonzalez A, Loreau M, Cowles J, Díaz S, Hector A, et al. Linking the influence and dependence of people on biodiversity across scales. Nature 2017;546:65–72. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22899.

Cowie RH, Bouchet P, Fontaine B. The sixth mass extinction: fact, fiction or speculation? Biological Reviews 2022;97:640–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12816.

Díaz S, Fargione J, Chapin FS, Tilman D. Biodiversity loss threatens human well-being. PLoS Biology 2006;4:e277. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040277.

Díaz S, Settele J, Brondízio ES, Ngo HT, Agard J, Arneth A, et al. Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Science 2019;366. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax3100.

Rzekęć A, Agnès O, Gras F, Vial C, Owers R. Green assets of equines in Europe 2020.

Rzekęć A, Vial C, Bigot G. Green assets of equines in the European context of the Ecological Transition of Agriculture. Animals 2020;10:106. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10010106.

Elgåker HE. The new equine sector and its influence on multifunctional land use in peri-urban areas. GeoJournal 2012;77:591–613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-010-9398-y.

Wilton B. A unique rurality: Exploring the role of the horse farm in the post-productivist rural landscape. PhD Thesis. University of Guelph, 2008.

Furtado T, King M, Perkins E, McGowan C, Chubbock S, Hannelly E, et al. An exploration of environmentally sustainable practices associated with alternative grazing management system use for horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in the UK. Animals 2022;12:151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12020151.

Prokopy LS, Perry-Hill R, Reimer AP. Equine farm operators: An underserved target audience for conservation practice outreach? Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2011;31:447–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2011.01.008.

Wadham H, Wallace C, Furtado T. Agents of sustainability: How horses and people co-create, enact and embed the good life in rural places. Sociologia Ruralis 2023;63:390–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12387.

Wolframm IA, Heric L, Allen AM. Green treasures: Investigating the biodiversity potential of equine yards through the presence and quality of landscape features in the Netherlands. PLOS ONE 2024;19:e0301168. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301168.

Oksuz DP, Aguiar CAS, Tápia S, Llop E, Lopes P, Serrano ARM, et al. Increasing biodiversity in wood-pastures by protecting small shrubby patches. Forest Ecology and Management 2020;464:118041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118041.

Perez-Alvarez R, Chará J, Snyder LD, Bonatti M, Sieber S, Martin EA. Global meta-analysis reveals overall benefits of silvopastoral systems for biodiversity 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.30.551160.

Wolframm I, Scheer T, Linnenberg L, Rechterschot S. The meaning of the place – a socio-spatial analysis of equine yards. International Journal of Equine Science 2025;4:30–51.

Mellor DJ, Beausoleil NJ, Littlewood KE, McLean AN, McGreevy PD, Jones B, et al. The 2020 five domains model: including human–animal interactions in assessments of animal welfare. Animals 2020;10:1870. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101870.

Mellor D. Updating animal welfare thinking: moving beyond the "five freedoms" towards "a life worth living." Animals 2016;6:21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6030021.

Arndt SS, Goerlich VC, van der Staay FJ. A dynamic concept of animal welfare: The role of appetitive and adverse internal and external factors and the animal's ability to adapt to them. Frontiers in Animal Science 2022;3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2022.908513.

Kelemen Z, Grimm H, Vogl C, Long M, Cavalleri JMV, Auer U, et al. Equine activity time budgets: the effect of housing and management conditions on geriatric horses and horses with chronic orthopaedic disease. Animals 2021;11:1867. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071867.

Miller M, Byfield R, Crosby M, Lin J. Networked wearable sensors for monitoring health and activities of an equine herd: an IoT approach to improve horse welfare. IEEE Sensors Journal 2024;24:29211–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/jsen.2024.3436665.

Tobin C, Bailey D, Gurule SC, Gifford JAH, Trotter MG. 397 Young Scholar Award talk: detecting livestock welfare concerns and production issues using accelerometer and global positioning systems. Journal of Animal Science 2022;100:197–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac247.362.

Anna C, Martyna P, Marcin S, Dawid W. Habitat use by semi-feral Konik horses on wetlands—three-year GPS study. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 2023;195:1033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11605-y.

Hennig JD, Scasta JD, Pratt AC, Wanner CP, Beck JL. Habitat selection and space use overlap between feral horses, pronghorn, and greater sage-grouse in cold arid steppe. The Journal of Wildlife Management 2023;87. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22329.

Girard TL, Bork EW, Nielsen SE, Alexander MJ. Seasonal variation in habitat selection by free-ranging feral horses within Alberta's Forest Reserve. Rangeland Ecology & Management 2013;66:428–37. https://doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-12-00081.1.

Holcomb KE, Tucker CB, Stull CL. Preference of domestic horses for shade in a hot, sunny environment1. Journal of Animal Science 2014;92:1708–17. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2013-7386.

Rubenstein DI, Feinstein LH. Bothersome flies: How free-ranging horses reduce harm while maintaining nutrition. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 2021;9:659570. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.659570.

Girard TL, Bork EW, Neilsen SE, Alexander MJ. Landscape-scale factors affecting feral horse habitat use during summer within the Rocky Mountain foothills. Environmental Management 2013;51:435–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9987-2.

Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure. Topografi 10 (CC BY 4.0). Lantmäteriet 2025. https://www.lantmateriet.se/ (accessed February 5, 2025).

Markhöjdmodell (CC BY 4.0). Lantmäteriet 2024. https://www.lantmateriet.se/.

Weather and Climate Services Division, NCHM. Rainfall Classification: Intensity of Rainfall in 24 Hours 2024.

Basemaps—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation. Esri 2025. https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/map-authoring/author-a-basemap.htm (accessed June 10, 2025).

McDonnell SM. The equid ethogram: A practical field guide to horse behavior. Eclipse Press; 2003.

Christensen JW, Strøm CG, Nicová K, de Gaillard CL, Sandøe P, Skovgård H. Insect-repelling behaviour in horses in relation to insect prevalence and access to shelters. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2022;247:105560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105560.

Hartmann E, Hopkins RJ, von Brömssen C, Dahlborn K. 24-h sheltering behaviour of individually kept horses during Swedish summer weather. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2015;57:45. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-015-0135-x.

Heleski CR, Murtazashvili I. Daytime shelter-seeking behavior in domestic horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2010;5:276–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2010.01.003.

Ashari NFAM, Hanis F, Yunos MRM, Baharudin F. 100 effects of space and exercise on the rolling behaviour in stabled horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2021;100:103563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103563.

McEwen B. Allostasis and allostatic load implications for Neuropsychopharmacology. Neuropsychopharmacology 2000;22:108–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0893-133x(99)00129-3.

McEwen BS, Wingfield JC. The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine. Hormones and Behavior 2003;43:2–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0018-506x(02)00024-7.

Sterling P, Eyer J. Allostasis: A new paradigm to explain arousal pathology. In: Fisher S, Reason J, editors. Handbook of Life Stress, Cognition and Health, Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons; 1988, p. 629–49.

Campbell MLH. Freedoms and frameworks: How we think about the welfare of competition horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 2016;48:540–2. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12598.

Janczarek I, Stachurska A, Wilk I, Wiśniewska A, Różańska-Boczula M, Kaczmarek B, et al. Horse preferences for insolation, shade or mist curtain in the paddock under heat conditions: cardiac and behavioural response analysis. Animals 2021;11:933. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11040933.

Keiper RR, Berger J. Refuge-seeking and pest avoidance by feral horses in desert and island environments. Applied Animal Ethology 1982;9:111–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3762(82)90187-0.

Auer U, Kelemen Z, Engl V, Jenner F. Activity time budgets—a potential tool to monitor equine welfare? Animals 2021;11:850. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030850.

Kjellberg L, Sassner H, Yngvesson J. Horses' resting behaviour in shelters of varying size compared with single boxes. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2022;254:105715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105715.

Brosschot J, Verkuil B, Thayer J. Generalized unsafety theory of stress: unsafe environments and conditions, and the default stress response. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2018;15:464. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030464.

Baumgartner M, Kuhnke S, Hülsbergen K-J, Erhard MH, Zeitler-Feicht MH. Improving horse welfare and environmental sustainability in horse husbandry: linkage between turnout and nitrogen surplus. Sustainability 2021;13:8991. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168991.

Furtado T, King M, Pinchbeck G. The use of alternative grazing systems in the UK. 2021.