Horse breeding in an active stable

V diplomski nalogi je tema raziskovanja aktivni hlev za konje. Relativno nov način skupinske uhlevitve konj, ki ga v Sloveniji praktično še ni. Konju omogoča izražanje vrsti značilnega obnašanja, rejcu pa relativno velik nadzor nad vsakim posebej ter občutno manj dela. Cilj naloge je predstaviti lastnosti aktivnega hleva za konja in rejca ter približati način reje lastnikom konj. Po pregledu literature, ki je na voljo smo ugotovili, da imajo konji v aktivnem hlevu, ki je strokovno zasnovan, relativno podobno obnašanje kot prosto živeči konji v čredah. To pomeni, da so konji veliko bolj aktivni od tistih, ki so individualno uhlevljeni, so stalno na svežem zraku, imajo več manjših obrokov preko celega dneva, tudi ponoči, imajo dovolj prostora za gibanje in igro, vedno na razpolago zavetje ter suho in mehko podlago za počitek. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da se lastniki konj najbolj bojijo skupinske uhlevitve zaradi domnevno večjega tveganja poškodb zaradi hierarhičnih bojev med konji ali igre. Po drugi strani pa raziskave kažejo, da število poškodb ni odvisno od načina uhlevitve. Poleg tega so pri strokovni zasnovi aktivnega hleva agresije minimalne. Ugotovljeno je bilo tudi, da je poraba delovnega časa na konja letno v aktivnem hlevu bistveno manjša kot pri individualni uhlevitvi.The subject of this thesis is the active stable for horses. It is a relatively new way of stabling horses that is still practically non-existent in Slovenia. It allows the horses to behave in species-specific and social manner and it gives the breeder more control over each horse, which reduces the work load. The goal of this thesis is to identify the positive aspects of an active stable from the horses\u27 and breeders\u27 point of view and to present this way of breeding to horse breeders. After reviewing the available literature, we have found out that horses living in a properly designed active barn show very similar behaviour to horses living in wild herds. This means that the horses are more active than the horses in individual stables, they enjoy more fresh air, eat smaller meals during the day and even at night, they have more room to move and play, and they always have a shelter with a dry and soft place to rest. The breeders are usually reluctant to practice group stables because allegedly there is higher risk of injury from horses fighting for hierarchy status or playing, however, studies have shown that the number of injuries is not related to how the horses are stabled. With a properly designed active stable, horses show minimal aggression. The studies have also shown that an active stable demands significantly less work hours than an individual stable