The sense of smell is the first sense by which horses determine the suitability of feed for consumption. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of the degree of familiarity with the smell and taste of plants on horses’ olfactory exploration. Behavioural responses of twenty adult horses to nine herbs of three degrees of familiarity—least familiar (unknown in the first trial), known only by smell, and known by smell and taste—were investigated. During the tests, the horses were allowed to explore the individual herbs placed in a crib constructed to prevent them from eating the contents. Horses’ pre-consuming behaviour towards olfactory cues of plants was mainly expressed by different times of exploration. The horses explored herbs known by smell and taste less intensively than those initially unfamiliar, but not less intensively than herbs known only by smell. Thus, having more sensory experience (taste and olfactory) with a plant in the past, horses are often quicker to recognise plants based solely on the sense of smell in the future. The sex and type of the horse (warmblood, pony) may influence responses towards herbs of different levels of familiarity.

The horse’s senses are very acute and geared to constantly analyse the stimuli coming from the environment. Their role in choosing the right feed is very important and often underestimated by their caretakers. Compared to their wild ancestors, nowadays horses are generally not free to choose the type and amount of feed. Instead, they are provided with feed selected and prepared by humans. It is not uncommon to encounter the phenomenon of so-called food neophobia, i.e. horses’ refusal to eat feed with an unfamiliar taste or smell. This also applies to the consumption of supplements, medication and sometimes even water, which can be quite a problem for horse users and can even lead to health disorders for these animals. Therefore, this paper explores the topic of the role of horses’ senses in terms of their nutrition.

Celem pracy jest przedstawienie ekstensywnego systemu utrzymania koni, który stanowi model użytkowania zwierząt gospodarskich łączący harmonijnie cele produkcyjne z ochroną środowiska oraz wspieraniem bioróżnorodności. Poruszono tematykę wpływu wypasu koni na zmiany składu runi pastwiskowej, oddziaływania końskich odchodów na mikroflorę gleby i cykle biogeochemiczne, znaczenie wypasu dla ornitofauny i entomofauny oraz wpływ na stabilność ekosystemów. Przeanalizowano zmienność fitosocjologiczną oraz sukcesję roślinności, a także potencjalne korzyści wypasu koni w kontekście ochrony przyrody i polityki rolnośrodowiskowej. Stwierdzono, że wypas koni, mimo pewnych ograniczeń, może być skutecznym narzędziem wspierającym bioróżnorodność, retencję wody oraz sekwestrację węgla, wpisując się w strategię zrównoważonego rolnictwa i adaptacji do zmian klimatu przy jednoczesnym uwzględnieniu potrzeb dobrostanowych tych zwierząt.