ABSTRACT

Comfort behavior includes all behaviors which serve the purpose of personal hygiene. It represents a well established part of the daily rhythm of free-roaming hoofed animals. Being able to exhibit these behaviors without disturbance is very important for the animal’s wellbeing. Solitary and social grooming are differentiated. While the latter also serves for communication between horses, the former represents true comfort behavior and is exhibited by each horse separately as needed. It includes nibbling, licking of the body, scratching with the rear hooves, and rubbing against objects, as well as rolling, bathing, and shaking.

SOLITARY GROOMING All behaviors included in solitary grooming serve the purpose of cleaning the coat and skin and are exhibited with increasing frequency when horses are shedding. Nibbling is done with the incisors and all reachable body parts are included (57). The skin is rubbed against or picked at with the teeth. Licking, which is observed infrequently, is shown in particular to remove liquids. For example, one can often observe licking movements along the lips after drinking. On rare occasions, horses also lick themselves, particularly at the mouth region but also at the shoulders, the front legs, and the sides of the body.