Pathophysiological new findings in horse’s stereotypes and preventive methods.

Horses stereotypies are abnormal and repetitive behaviors, usually related to a suboptimal environment, in which horses are not free to exhibit their normal habits (grazing, moving, socializing). Many years ago the domestication led to a different and modern management of horses, including housing in boxes or small paddocks and a predilection for concentrate food. This different management doesn‟t allow to express its natural behaviors, particularly in terms of feeding and movement. This form of domestication was born to encourage the improvement of animal management and nutritional intake but it results in an increased incidence of organic pathologies, mostly gastrointestinal, as well as behavioral, like stereotypies. Different forms of equine stereotypic behaviors have been described, such as crib biting, weaving and box walking. In the light of pathophysiological new findings, a correlation between immunological and neuroendocrine mediators has been reported. The connection between inflammatory or stress processes and the immune system is managed by a complex system of cytokines. From the neuroendocrine point of view both dopaminergic and serotoninergic pathways are widely involved in stereotypic behaviors. Different researchers, hypothesized that the functional significance of stereotypies is that they reduce stress in captive environments and should thus be considered as a coping mechanism coming from species adaptation. As a chronic stress consequence, stereotypic behavior may be controlled by a correct management of the animal, removing all possible causes that can induce the onset of diseases as a preventive action, promoting respect for the animal and its basic needs, guaranteeing to the horse a life as similar as possible to its natural one, because most behavioral problems are related to domestication