An Investigation on Present Status of Horse Management Practices in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Horse management in Sri Lanka during the colonial era was rich enough to export horses. Horse industry has a significant potential to grow with the booming tourism industry of Sri Lanka. Hardly any study has been conducted on the horse management systems in Sri Lanka. Objectives of this study were to comprehend the general horse management practices in Sri Lanka, find out the key constrains and to suggest viable remedial measures to overcome those constrains. The whole country was considered for the study. Horse owners within the country were identified using snow ball technique and out of them, seven horse owners who have more than ten horses were selected for the study. Data which was collected through participant observation was analyzed, discussed and compared with the global standards using narrative analysis technique. The main purposes of horse keeping include ceremonial purposes and police mounting devisoin works, to teach riding, trail riding, breeding and racing Thirty nine percent, 26% , 10% , 8% and 7% of the total horse population studied (n=155) were Indian Thoroughbred breed, Marwari breed, Australian throughhbred, half bred and three quarter bred, respectively. The mean number of horse in the seven studied stables was 21.8. Six horse stables were made according to the American barn style while one stable had free range system. In general all stables had provided sufficient space for horses. Mean floor area provison for a horse was 1 13ft2/animal. All racing stables and police stable provided more concentrate and lesser forage percentage in the diet than recommended. Except few, all other horse owners provide less frequent feeding with more than .2 kg of concentrates per portion. Most of the Sri Lankan horse owners fulfill the recommended minimum daily exercise duration for their horses. Colic, skin rashes were the main health problems. Diarrhae was found among foals. Poor veterinary service, lack of skilled labourers and non-availability of horse handling or riding equipment were identified as the foremost constrains. It is concluded that the present status of horse management practices in Sri Lanka is at a level that needs to be improved, with a special consideration on feeding strategies and the welfare of horses. More scientific studies are also required to sustain the horse management systems in Sri Lanka.