Assessment on the management of draft horses in selected areas of Awi Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Ethiopia has many equines, which are important for the livelihood of many smallholder farmers in the country. However, there has been no study on the management of draft horses under farmers condition in this area of the country; hence, this study was conducted with the objective to determine the status of horse management and feeding practices in the area. The study areas were selected purposively based on the availability of horses. The study was conducted by administering a semi-structured questionnaire to horse owners and with complimentary information from key informants and secondary data sources. Results: The majority of household heads were in the age range of 41-50 years in Banja Shekudad district while 51-60 years in Ankesha Guagusa district. Regarding education status, 38 and 34% of household heads in Banja Shekudad district and Ankesha Guagusa district, respectively, were illiterate. The finding of this study elucidates that horses were used in both districts for many kinds of activities including land cultivation. The purpose of horse keeping in Banja Shekudad districts is ploughing only (32%) followed by packing of goods (21%) while packing of goods (31%) followed by riding only (22%) in Ankesha Guagusa district. Overall respondents (100%) noted that horses breed early in rainy season in both districts, which might be associated with availability of feed resources during the rainy season. The majority of horse owners have no training in relation to horses husbandry, while few (24.12% in Banja Shekudad and 33.78% in Ankesha Guagusa districts) have got some horse-specific training mainly related to feeding and health care of horses. Horses were kept mainly for ploughing in both districts. Horses were provided supplementary feeds by 49 and 74.5% in Banja Shekudad and Ankesha Guagusa districts, respectively. Watering of horses was commonly practiced twice a day during dry season while once during wet season. In both districts, the majority of horse owners had no formal training on horse husbandry. Lack of knowledge on horse management and feeding were the major problems observed. Conclusion: In the study area, draft horses are very important in the livelihood of smallholder farmers. However, the overall husbandry of draft horses and feeds and feeding in particular of horses was found to be poor. The reason for such poor husbandry was mainly due to shortage of resources and lack of awareness about management practices. Hence, it is concluded that adequate credit service, training and finding alternative feeds and feeding practices should be addressed to utilize full potential of working horses.