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Conference abstract2016

Saving a threatened breed – Conditions for maintenance and habitat selection of extensively kept Gotland Russ (Equus caballus)

Thulin, Carl-Gustaf; Ringmark, Sara; Dahlborn, Kristina; Jansson, Anna; Skarin, Anna

Abstract

Gotland Russ is a native Swedish horse breed and one of the oldest horse breeds in Europe. The numbers of Gotland Russ are however relatively few and it is difficult for breeders to find buyers. To aid preservation of this breed, we evaluate if Gotland Russ can be used to manage open landscapes and biodiversity. In May 2014, twelve one-year-old Gotland Russ stallions were released outside Uppsala, Sweden, into three enclosures of 10 ha each, consisting of 3 ha lay and 7 ha forest, respectively. Each enclosure was provided with a man-made shelter and a water trough, but no supplementary feeding was offered. Here, we report preliminary results from the first year (May 2014 - April 2015) of the experiment on nutrient and energy status and habitat preferences. Body condition was scored (9 degree system) weekly and fecal crude protein (CP) contents were analyzed monthly. Horses with BCS <4 were temporarily excluded and fed at another place. To monitor habitat preferences, we equipped two horses in each enclosure with GPS-collars. Shelter seeking behavior (SSB) was monitored with camera traps in the shelters. Horses started at BCS 4.7-5.0 (range of enclosures means) in May 2014. Mean BCS per month and enclosure was 5.0 until February 2015. In February, four horses were removed to be fed outside the enclosures due to BCS <4. Fecal CP content peaked in June 2014 (10.2-13.3% of organic matter) and was lowest January-February 2015 (4.9-6.3%). Analysis of GPS-data, using resource selection functions, showed that the horses favored lay except during night and when snow was covering the ground. In those cases, forest was preferred. SSB was displayed on average 48 (range 6-338) min/day. Relating the SSB to weather showed that precipitation and days with mean temperature > 15° C made the horses use the shelters longer, while wind speed had no impact on their SSB. This study shows that the Gotland Russ may survive all year around without supplementary feeding. The horses, as expected, primarily preferred the lay. However, the unexpected preference for forest in night suggests that Gotland Russ have the potential to impact forest vegetation all year round. In comparison, our horses used the shelters less than shown in previous studies of horses in smaller enclosures. This suggests that our horses spent more time foraging and that the landscape in the enclosures provided natural shelters.

Published in

Title: Grazing in a changing Nordic region - Book of Abstracts
Publisher: NordGen – The Nordic Genetic Resource Center

Conference

Grazing in a Changing Nordic Region