Efeito da aromaterapia com lavanda (Lavandula angustifólia) no comportamento de equinos durante o casqueamento

Abstract

Throughout world history, horses have been of great importance since the earliest civilizations. Domesticated by nomadic peoples, they were used mainly for transportation and traction. Furthermore, horse breeding has been increasing every year, with animal welfare standing out, where practices that can bring comfort to these animals and facilitate handling are studied. Among these practices, aromatherapy is used, a complementary therapy with essential oils (EO). These oils are natural and can be used on animals in order to benefit the reduction of stress. The objective of this work is to present the results of the facial expressions of horses, using aromatherapy with lavender essential oil, in the management of animal hoof trimming. This project was carried out in the city of Dois Vizinhos, Paraná, at the Experimental Farm of the Federal Technological University of Paraná, where we used eight animals from UNEPE Equine Culture, which underwent hoof trimming every fifteen days, where a straight median line was drawn on the animal (hypothetically), dividing it into two parts: one of them was used to trim the animal's hoof without using oil, and then with ten drops of lavender essential oil - offered near the animals' nostrils, for fifteen minutes, and then the other half was trimmed, with behavioral observation of the animal. The behaviors observed in general with the use of essential oil are that the animals positively accept the offer of oil, showing some significant signs such as chewing, standing on three legs, blinking eyes, almondshaped eyes and long nostrils, which indicate a relaxed animal. However, some animals showed some resistance to the hoof trimming management even when using essential oil; this response may be correlated with other factors and individual characteristics.