Environmental Enrichment for Equines: Advances in the Last Decade

For horses, environmental enrichment (EE) can make the environment healthier and more pleasant, reducing stress, idleness, aggression, and stereotypies. This study aimed to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of scientific publications on the topic of environmental enrichment for horses in the last decade. An analysis of scientific publications in journals indexed in Google Scholar was carried out, using the descriptors environmental enrichment for horses, mares, equine, and foals. Nineteen scientific articles published between 2013 and 2024 were selected, from which the following information was collected: year of publication, thematic axis, country of origin of the research, and the main journals that published the topic and their respective classifications. The data were analyzed descriptively. The evaluation revealed stability of publications over the years. The studies addressed topics such as literature reviews (31.58%), studies that evaluated the use of different foods and objects as a form of EE (21.05%), EE with sound stimulation (10.53%), EE and stereotypies (10.53%), EE and biochemical and physiological studies (10.53%), EE with visual stimulation (5.26%) and social stimulation (5.26%) and EE in a clinical environment (5.26%). The origin of the research revealed that most of the publications came from the European continent (63.12%). The journal with the highest concentration of publications related to the topic was “Journal of Veterinary Behaviour” (21.05%). The analysis demonstrated the importance of studies that investigate the needs and behavior of horses and that publish their results to increase awareness among horse breeders.