Caracterización de los sistemas de explotación equina en la provincia del Azuay

Abstract

The objective of this research was to characterize the equine exploitation systems in the province of Azuay, where 45 systems were studied, which were chosen based on the latest 2016 equine cadastre carried out by Agrocalidad, developing on-site surveys of the owners and caretakers of the animals, where issues of management, food, reproduction, facilities, health, marketing and economy were highlighted. A database was established in the SPSS program, where the following studies were used: Frequencies, Chí-Cuadrado Estimator, Pearson and Spearman Correlations, Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analysis (Cluster). The studies revealed that 71% of equine farms are in the city of Cuenca, of which 53% are small (<5ha), 84% are dedicated to the process of complete exploitation of horses, the 80% are intended for recreation-walks and in the race area, the mestizo horse is the predominant one in Azuay. Within the herds, only the mares form 50% of the same, in the reproduction the natural mountaineering is used, age at weaning between 5 and 6 months of abrupt type; Age at castration ranges between 2 and 4 years. Grazing time of 5 to 10 hours daily with electric fence; chip is the material used in the stables and their waste goes directly to the paddocks; the activity with the most records is sanitary and the problems that stand out the most on the farms are deficient facilities and food. Regarding the reproductive field, the following parameters were presented; the age at the first service is 3.6 years with 2 services per female and an interpartum interval of 2 years, with 6 pregnant mares per farm and 5 completed births. Equine reproduction is carried out at the owner's discretion. The deworming protocols are performed before 6 months with ivermectin + praziquantel and febendazole, about 50% of farms do not vaccinate their animals, respiratory diseases are highlighted in the systems. The daily equine diet is 16.37 kg, of which 60% is grass, 16.5% balanced, 7% hay and 16% other fodder in the economy and marketing less than 50% sell their animals and 70% of them sell them personally in their farms. The minimum value of an equine is $ 1,593 and the maximum is $ 15,426; the owners decide to invest more in genetics. More than 60% of the economic resources for maintenance of the farms comes from external income. The association between the variables revealed a direct relationship between the presence of colics and the time of grazing, likewise, the presence of a specific breed is given by the purpose of the exploitation, being the case of Arabian horses and PSI destined to sports of chair. The grouping of systems classified the study into two groups, 93% formed by small farms and 7% by large farms, both in number of animals and in surface areas.