Pony feeding management: the role of morphology and hay feeding methods on intake rate, ingestive behaviors and mouth shaping

Clara Bordin; Federica Raspa; Martina Greppi; Patricia Harris; Andrea Dorothea Ellis; Angela Roggero; Claudia Palestrini; Damiano Cavallini; Domenico Bergero; Emanuela Valle

doi:10.3389/fvets.2024.1332207

Pony feeding management: the role of morphology and hay feeding methods on intake rate, ingestive behaviors and mouth shaping

Front Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 12:11:1332207. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1332207. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy.
² Equine Studies Group, Waltham Petcare Science Institute, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom.
³ Mars Petcare UK, Slough, United Kingdom.
⁴ Unequi Ltd., West Bridgford, United Kingdom.
⁵ Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
⁶ Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy.

Abstract

In the last decade, haynets and slow feeders have been promoted as sustainable tools to improve the feeding management of horses and reduce forage waste, but little is known about their effects on ponies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of different hay feeding methods on the ingestive behaviors, intake rate and mouth shaping of ponies belonging to two breed types, which are characterized by different head morphologies. Shetland type (SH, n = 5) and Welsh/Cob type (WC, n = 4) ponies were fed hay using four feeding methods: on the ground (G), a fully filled haynet (HF), a partially filled haynet (HL), and a slow-feeder hay box (HB). Head morphology was measured for each pony. Video recordings were then made to apply geometric morphometrics and to perform behavioral analysis. The intake rate was measured for each pony and each feeding method. Data obtained with geometric morphometrics were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical variate analysis (CVA). Behavioral data and intake rate measurements were analyzed using a mixed model, a post-hoc Tukey's test, a Pearson's correlation test, and a stepwise regression model. The geometric morphometrics results demonstrated that feeding method influenced mouth shaping (36% for G, 78% for HB, 77% for HF, 83% for HL, considering the total variance of shape) and affected the intake rate. Differences in mouth shaping and ingestive behaviors in SH and WC ponies also confirmed the role of morphology in feeding management. The HL proved to be the most effective tool to increase feeding consumption time when needed (5 h/kg for SH ponies and 3 h/kg for WC ponies, considering the intake time), although the HB may be the optimal choice to reduce the intake rate while maintaining a more natural posture. Future studies are suggested to fully understand how body size and morphology influence feeding in equine species.

Keywords: breed; equine; hay box; slow feeder; welfare.

This work is authored by Bordin, Raspa, Greppi, Harris, Ellis, Roggero, Palestrini, Cavallini, Bergero and Valle. © 2024 Mars and its affiliates for Harris; Bordin, Raspa, Greppi, Ellis, Roggero, Palestrini, Cavallini, Bergero and Valle.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This publication is part of the NODES project funded by the MUR—M4C2 1.5 of PNRR funded by the European Union—NextGenerationEU (grant agreement no. ECS00000036). This study received funding from Mars Petcare UK. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication other than through PH’s role as a co-author.