Topic:Ethics
The topic of ethics and horses encompasses the study and evaluation of moral principles and standards as they apply to human interactions with horses. This area of research involves examining the welfare, treatment, and management of horses in various contexts, including sport, leisure, work, and scientific research. Ethical considerations may address issues such as humane training methods, living conditions, and the use of horses in competitive events. Researchers in this field analyze the implications of human decisions on equine well-being and explore frameworks for ensuring ethical practices. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate ethical theories, welfare assessments, and policy discussions related to the ethical treatment and management of horses.
An Exploration of Industry Expert Perception of Equine Welfare Using Vignettes. As part of a larger Delphi survey project, equine professionals ( = 14) were presented with twelve short scenarios in which a horse's welfare could be compromised. They were asked to rank each scenario (with 0 indicating no welfare concerns and 5 indicating a situation where immediate intervention was necessary), provide justification for their ranking, and give examples of what might have been the motivation behind the scenario. The wide range within vignette scores demonstrated the diversity of opinion even among a relatively small group of equine professionals. Qualitative analysis of respo...
A genome-wide association study for body weight in Japanese Thoroughbred racehorses clarifies candidate regions on chromosomes 3, 9, 15, and 18. Body weight is an important trait to confirm growth and development in humans and animals. In Thoroughbred racehorses, it is measured in the postnatal, training, and racing periods to evaluate growth and training degrees. The body weight of mature Thoroughbred racehorses generally ranges from 400 to 600 kg, and this broad range is likely influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Therefore, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the Equine SNP70 BeadChip was performed to identify the genomic regions associated with body weight in Japanese Thoroughbred racehorses using 851 individua...
Preliminary study on current perceptions and usage of training equipment by horse enthusiasts in Canada. Training practices may impose restrictions on the equine behavioral repertoire through the use of training equipment. Presently, the prevalence of the use of training equipment in Canada is unknown. Through an online survey for horse enthusiasts (n = 654), this study evaluated the prevalence and predominant uses of whips, spurs, and head-control equipment by enthusiasts with direct contact with horses compared to perceptions held by enthusiasts with no direct horse contact using chi-squared analyses. Respondents primarily reported using whips and spurs to augment rider or trainer cues and re...
The Relationship between Intuitive Action Choices and Moral Reasoning on Animal Ethics Issues in Students of Veterinary Medicine and Other Relevant Professions. With growing understanding of animals' capabilities, and public and organizational pressures to improve animal welfare, moral action by veterinarians and other relevant professionals to address animal issues is increasingly important. Little is known about how their action choices relate to their moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. A moral judgment measure, the VetDIT, with three animal and three non-animal scenarios, was used to investigate the action choices of 619 students in five animal- and two non-animal-related professional programs in one Australian university, and how these relat...
Equine Assisted Interventions (EAIs): Methodological Considerations for Stress Assessment in Horses. Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) are recently facing an increasing popularity, and are characterized by a wide diversity of practices. However, information on the welfare of animals involved in this kind of activity is often lacking. Horses are highly susceptible to work stressors related to physical constraints and/or to the need to control emotions while interacting with humans. Considerations of the emotional state of horses involved in EAIs have multiple valences: for the safety of humans and animals involved, for the quality and efficacy of interventions, as well as for ethical reason...
Equine performance genes and the future of doping in horseracing. A horse's success on the racetrack is determined by genetics, training and nutrition, and their translation into physical traits such as speed, endurance and muscle strength. Advances in genetic technologies are slowly explaining the roles of specific genes in equine performance, and offering new insights into the development of novel therapies for diseases and musculoskeletal injuries that cause early retirement of many racehorses. Gene therapy approaches may also soon provide new means to artificially enhance the physical performance of racehorses. Gene doping, the misuse of gene therapies f...
Equine Welfare Assessment: Exploration of British Stakeholder Attitudes Using Focus-Group Discussions. The equine industry in Great Britain has not been subject to the same pressures as the farming industry to engage with welfare assessment, but this may change as concern about equine welfare increases. Stakeholder attitudes toward welfare assessment may impact the implementation of welfare assessment practices. Focus-group discussions regarding welfare assessment were conducted with 6 equine stakeholder groups: leisure horse owners (caregivers; n = 4), grooms (n = 5), veterinary surgeons (n = 3), welfare scientists (n = 4), welfare charity workers (n = 5), and professional riders (n = 4). Thre...
Whip Rule Breaches in a Major Australian Racing Jurisdiction: Welfare and Regulatory Implications. Whip use in horseracing is increasingly being questioned on ethical, animal welfare, social sustainability, and legal grounds. Despite this, there is weak evidence for whip use and its regulation by Stewards in Australia. To help address this, we characterised whip rule breaches recorded by Stewards using Stewards Reports and Race Diaries from 2013 and 2016 in New SouthWales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). There were more recorded breaches at Metropolitan (M) than Country (C) or Provincial (P) locations, and by riders of horses that finished first, second, or third than by ri...
Noseband Use in Equestrian Sports – An International Study. Nosebands are used by riders to prevent the horse from opening its mouth, to increase control and, in some cases, to comply with the competition rules. While equestrian texts traditionally recommend that two adult human fingers should be able to fit under a fastened noseband, noseband tightness levels are not, in general, regulated in competition. Possible detrimental consequences for the horse, of excessively tight nosebands, include discomfort, pain or tissue damage. The current study investigated noseband usage in equestrian competition. Data regarding noseband type, position, width and tig...
A journey through horse cloning. Interest in equine somatic cell nuclear transfer technology has increased significantly since the first equid clones were produced in 2003. This is demonstrated by the multiple commercial equine cloning companies having produced numerous cloned equids to date; worldwide, more than 370 cloned horses have been produced in at least six different countries. Equine cloning can be performed using several different approaches, each with different rates of success. In this review we cover the history and applications of equine cloning and summarise the major scientific advances in the development of t...
Invisible horses: who is responsible? 'The invisible horse' was the central topic discussed at a conference organised by the equine charity World Horse Welfare in London last month. Gill Harris reports.
Support for equine vets juggling practice and parenthood. This year's BEVA congress saw the launch of MumsVet, an online support network for working parents. Set up by four working vet mums, including the new BEVA president, Vicki Nicholls, the network - for dads as well - aims to help vets balance work and parenthood. Gill Harris reports.
[Historical development of drug testing in Swiss equestrian sports]. The goal of this study was to describe the development of equine drug testing in horses in Switzerland. This was achieved through evaluation of a film made by the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Basel entitled 'Doping von Rennpferden' [Doping of Race Horses], toxicological detection, 1962', the analysis of doping test results of the Swiss Equestrian Federation and by interviewing individuals of various professions who were involved in equine drug testing at the time. The study compares early and modern methods of drug testing and highlights the changes in the attitude of eq...
Animals pushed to their limits: what are the implications for welfare? From working horses to dairy cows to dogs, animals are being pushed to their biological limits. But how far can we go before their health and welfare is compromised? This was one of the questions discussed at a recent meeting organised jointly by CABI and the Royal Veterinary College. Georgina Mills reports.
Welfare, Quality of Life, and Euthanasia of Aged Horses. Duration of ownership strengthens the human-horse bond, affecting decision-making about the horse's welfare, quality of life (QoL), and euthanasia. Most owners consider their geriatric horses to have good or excellent QoL; however, increasing age is negatively associated with QoL. Management factors are important. The most common reasons for euthanasia include musculoskeletal disorders or lameness, colic, and nonspecific chronic diseases. The decision to euthanize is difficult, so the advice of the veterinarian and QoL are important. This article focuses on the human-horse bond, assessment of ...
Equine Welfare in England and Wales: Exploration of Stakeholders’ Understanding. Investigating how those responsible for the care of nonhuman animals understand the concept of animal welfare is important for animal welfare improvement. In-depth interviews with 31 equine stakeholders were used to explore their perceptions and understanding of welfare. The results showed the stakeholders understood the concept of welfare in 4 ways. Firstly, welfare was understood in terms of the provision of resources-for example, food. Secondly, a "horse-centered" understanding of welfare was articulated; this understanding included the horses' mental state and was linked to natural behavio...
Changing Human-Animal Relationships in Sport: An Analysis of the UK and Australian Horse Racing Whips Debates. Changing social values and new technologies have contributed to increasing media attention and debate about the acceptable use of animals in sport. This paper focuses on the use of the whip in thoroughbred horse racing. Those who defend its use argue it is a necessary tool needed for safety, correction and encouragement, and that it does not cause the horse any pain. For those who oppose its use, it is an instrument of cruelty. Media framing is employed to unpack the discourses played out in print and social media in the UK (2011) and Australia (2009) during key periods of the whip debate foll...
Show Horse Welfare: Horse Show Competitors’ Understanding, Awareness, and Perceptions of Equine Welfare. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of stock-type horse show competitors' understanding of welfare and level of concern for stock-type show horses' welfare. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that included questions relating to (a) interest and general understanding of horse welfare, (b) welfare concerns of the horse show industry and specifically the stock-type horse show industry, (c) decision-making influences, and (d) level of empathic characteristics. The majority of respondents indicated they agree or strongly agree that physical metrics should b...