Effect of North and South Faced Housing System on the Physiological Performance of Growing Foals in the Semi-Arid Regions of Rajasthan

Abstract

Good housing is one of the key to success in management. Housing always remains to be a significant challenge in health regulation of horses. Direction of the animal house determines the amount of sunlight, wind and humidity entering the house, which thereby exerts some influence on the health of the animal. This study was conducted to quantify the effect of north and south faced housing system on the physiological indices (heart rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature) of growing foals, during summer, (May-June 2017) with ambient temperature and relative humidity as factors. A total of 12 foals, divided into two groups, six in north facing house and six in south facing house was placed. Ambient temperature (°C) and Relative humidity (%) were recorded daily at 08:00h and 14:00h and all the physiological parameters of the foals placed in both houses were recorded simultaneously; With ambient temperature as a factor, at 08:00h, all the physiological indices increased significantly (p<0.01) in the south facing house. Whereas, by 14:00h, there was a significant rise (p<0.01) in all the physiological indices of foals placed in both the north and south facing house. With relative humidity as factor, no significant changes were observed on both the sides at 08:00h, whereas by 14:00h, only the north facing house recorded significant changes. From the present study it was evident that exposure of sun was more in the north facing house than the south facing house and thus south facing was conducive for the foals. Also it was evident that factors like ambient temperature and relative humidity has significant influence on the performance of foals.