Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus).

ABSTRACT: Modern horse husbandry involves significant time spent indoors, often in suboptimal lighting conditions and with frequent night-time disturbances by humans for management purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a customised light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system and a standard fluorescent lighting fixture on equine sleep behaviours, circadian rhythmicity and spontaneous blink rates in horses. Ten riding school horses experienced two stable lighting conditions for four weeks each in a cross-over study running from January to March, 2023. The treatment lighting consisted of an LED system that provided timed, blue-enriched white polychromatic light by day and dim red light at night, and control lighting was a fluorescent tube that was turned on and off manually

SUBMITTER: Greening L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12204570 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature