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Topic:Welfare
Equine welfare encompasses the physical and psychological well-being of horses, focusing on their health, comfort, and overall quality of life. This area of study addresses various aspects, including nutrition, housing, behavior, and management practices, aiming to ensure that horses are kept in environments that meet their physiological and behavioral needs. Research in equine welfare examines factors such as stress indicators, pain assessment, and the impact of human interactions on horse behavior and health. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the assessment, improvement, and implications of welfare practices in equine management.
Adults may be used to alleviate weaning stress in domestic foals (Equus caballus). The present study aims to investigate whether the presence of unrelated adult horses at weaning would reduce the social stress of weaning and the emergence of undesirable behaviours. We tested this hypothesis in 32 domestic foals by comparing short and medium term behavioural and physiological responses to weaning in foals maintained in homogeneous groups of peers (PW) to those of foals grouped with both peers and unrelated adults (AW). In total, three trials were conducted, which each trial consisting of one AW group and one PW group. In all foals, weaning was followed by increased vocalizati...
Use of qualitative methods to identify solutions to selected equine welfare problems in Ireland. This paper explores the views of those in the Irish equine industry, organisations and government regarding necessary improvements to equine welfare in Ireland at unregulated gatherings and during the disposal process. Three qualitative research methods were employed, namely semistructured interviews, focus groups and a structured, facilitated workshop. Representatives from industry, welfare societies, socially disadvantaged groupings and government engaged with this process and shared their views regarding horse welfare and implementable solutions with merit to address welfare problems. A con...
The farrier’s work environment. The horse industry in Sweden has rapidly expanded in recent years. This increasing number of horses implies a greater need for more farriers. Shoeing a horse is hard physical work, and includes awkward work postures and repetitive movements. It is well known that hard physical work increases the risk of injuries and musculoskeletal problems. The risk is especially high for musculoskeletal disorders when certain movements are constantly repeated. Heavy or repeated unilateral loads lead to considerable stress on the muscles, which can lead to rupture and fatigue that can cause long term problems...
Cortisol release, heart rate and heart rate variability, and superficial body temperature, in horses lunged either with hyperflexion of the neck or with an extended head and neck position. Bringing the head and neck of ridden horses into a position of hyperflexion is widely used in equestrian sports. In our study, the hypothesis was tested that hyperflexion is an acute stressor for horses. Salivary cortisol concentrations, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and superficial body temperature were determined in horses (n = 16) lunged on two subsequent days. The head and neck of the horse was fixed with side reins in a position allowing forward extension on day A and fixed in hyperflexion on day B. The order of treatments alternated between horses. In response to lunging, ...
Characteristics of relinquishing and adoptive owners of horses associated with U.S. nonprofit equine rescue organizations. Nonprofit equine rescue organizations in the United States provide care for relinquished horses and may offer adoption programs. With an estimated 100,000 "unwanted" horses per year and few municipal shelters providing wholesale euthanasia, there is a need to minimize the number of unwanted horses and maximize their successful transition to new caregivers. This study's objectives were to characterize the relinquishing and adoptive owners interacting with nonprofit rescue organizations. Nonprofit organizations (n = 144) in 37 states provided information by survey on 280 horses relinquished betw...
Human-animal relationships: from daily life to animal-assisted therapies. Humans have a long history of relationship with domestic animals and nowadays pets often act as "social substitutes" through bonding. There is some evidence that pet presence at home may induce well being in people and the development of social skills in children. Animal assisted therapies aim at developing these skills in patients on the basis of human animal interactions. Experimental data obtained on animal models suggest that this is indeed a promising line. There is however a lack of clear scientific data that would help defines what the most appropriate procedures or species may be. Impr...
Risk factors for race-associated sudden death in Thoroughbred racehorses in the UK (2000-2007). Sudden death adversely affects racehorse welfare, jockey safety and the public perception of horseracing. Objective: To describe the risk of racing-associated sudden death in Thoroughbred racehorses in the UK from 2000 to 2007, to identify whether there were risk factors uniquely associated with sudden death and to improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of racing-associated sudden death by identification of risk factors for such cases. Methods: A sudden death was defined as an acute collapse and death, in an apparently healthy Thoroughbred racehorse, during or immediately after racing, ...
Welfare of Aged Horses. Horses form a unique and special part of their owners' lives and aged horses are no exception. This review considers the health and management of aged horses, including the role of the owner and their perceptions of aged horses, potential threats or risks to their welfare and finally, factors affecting quality of life and euthanasia of aged horses. Owners of aged horses are concerned about the health, welfare and quality of life of their aged animals. Yet surveys of management and preventive healthcare reflect that there may be some limitations to what owners are actually achieving in practice...
Effect of equestrian therapy and onotherapy in physical and psycho-social performances of adults with intellectual disability: a preliminary study of evaluation tools based on the ICF classification. To assess the effects of equestrian rehabilitation (ER) and onotherapy (Ono) on physical and psycho-social performances of subjects affected by intellectual disability (ID), and to develop a measurement tool based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health-Children and Youth (ICF-CY). Methods: A tool based on the ICF-CY classification was designed to evaluate subjects undergoing equine rehabilitation within a bio-psychosocial approach. A simplified version of this evaluation form was developed for the equestrian instructors. The agreement between the two tools was...
Musculoskeletal disease and injury, now and in the future. Part 1: fractures and fatalities. Orthopaedic injury is common in the racing Thoroughbred and is a cause of both economic loss to the industry, as well as being an obvious welfare issue. Fatal injuries sustained during racing are an obvious major concern and it is important that all is done to reduce their frequency. As a consequence of the importance of these causes of horse morbidity and mortality, the Horserace Betting Levy Board in the UK has invested considerable resources into research in recent years in this area in an attempt to decrease the frequency of such injuries. This review summarises current knowledge relating ...
Aspects of the owning/keeping and disposal of horses, and how these relate to equine health/welfare in Ireland. Ireland has long been renowned as a major centre for the breeding, rearing and keeping of horses. Since 2007, however, there has been increasing concern for horse health and welfare standards, and links between these concerns and the structures, governance and funding of the Irish equine industries have been reported. This paper addresses two central issues: firstly the local governance of, trade in and disposal of unwanted horses; and secondly mechanisms employed to improve standards of care given to horses owned by certain communities. Methods: Primary information was gathered through visits...
Physiological and behavioural responses of young horses to hot iron branding and microchip implantation. Branding is the traditional and well-established method used to mark horses, but recently microchip transponders for implantation have become available. In this study, behaviour, physiological stress variables and skin temperature in foals were determined in response to hot-iron branding (n=7) and microchip implantation (n=7). Salivary cortisol concentrations increased in response to branding (1.8 ± 0.2 ng/mL) and microchip implantation (1.4 ± 0.1ng/mL), but cortisol release over time did not differ. In response to both manipulations there was a transient increase in heart rate (P<0.001) ...
Cross-sectional survey of owner knowledge and husbandry practices, tack and health issues affecting working horses in Lesotho. To establish baseline parameters of equine health, owner knowledge and husbandry practices and tack against which benefits to local horses arising from an equine charity's training programme in Lesotho could be measured. Objective: To describe and investigate associations between owner knowledge and equine husbandry practices, horse health and tack-related parameters prior to the start of the training programme. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in the catchment area of students attending the first training course. Owners from randomly selected villages were interviewed about ho...
Strongyle egg counts in Standardbred trotters: are they associated with race performance? Strongyle worm burdens are assumed to subclinically affect equine performance. This assumption appears to be particularly pronounced in the equine racing industry. Objective: Race results of Standardbred trotters are negatively affected by high strongyle faecal egg count levels. Methods: Faecal samples were obtained from 213 racing Standardbred trotters, aged ≥ 2 years, and stabled at training facilities of 21 professional trainers with license at racecourses in Denmark. Strongyle egg counts were generated using a McMaster technique. Race results were recorded as the finishing position of th...
Recurrent colic in the horse: incidence and risk factors for recurrence in the general practice population. The frequency of recurrent colic in the UK equine general practice population is previously unreported. Elucidating risk factors for recurrent colic could provide a basis for clinical decision making and interventions. Objective: To determine the incidence rate of and risk factors for recurrent colic. Objective: Horse management, prophylactic health care and innate behaviour contribute to the risk of recurrent colic. Methods: A cohort of 127 horses was enrolled at the point of a veterinary-diagnosed medical colic episode. Participating owners completed a baseline and 3 follow-up telephone ques...
Assessment of quality of life in equine patients. Assessing patients' quality of life (QOL) is a core part of clinical decision making. Various methodologies for assessing patients' QOL have been developed in human medicine and small animal veterinary disciplines. In contrast, the lack of aids for QOL assessment in equine veterinary practice leaves practitioners reliant on subjective assessments of QOL, which may be prone to avoidable errors. Objective: This paper suggests pragmatic ways in which QOL may be enhanced, while remaining appropriate for the time, financial and owner-based constraints within equine practice. Methods: Through interd...
Assessment of quality of life in equine patients. Assessing patients' quality of life (QOL) is a core part of clinical decision making. Various methodologies for assessing patients' QOL have been developed in human medicine and small animal veterinary disciplines. In contrast, the lack of aids for QOL assessment in equine veterinary practice leaves practitioners reliant on subjective assessments of QOL, which may be prone to avoidable errors. Objective: This paper suggests pragmatic ways in which QOL may be enhanced, while remaining appropriate for the time, financial and owner-based constraints within equine practice. Methods: Through interd...
Overview of the industry and social impacts of the 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak. The equine influenza (EI) outbreak occurred at the worst time of the year as far as the horse industry was concerned. All horse sports and horse breeds had events planned in the spring, including those relating to qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. These were all disrupted and many were cancelled. The social and industry impacts were extensive, and included difficulties related to communication, animal welfare, vaccination, movement restrictions, economics, as well as the psychological stresses experienced by those involved, especially those for whom their primary source of inco...
Reduction of the olfactory cognitive ability in horses during preslaughter: stress-related hormones evaluation. As horses may perceive several odour signals of danger at slaughter, application of mentholated ointment to their nostrils may limit their perception of danger. To assess the effect of the application of a mentholated ointment to horse nostrils on the stress response during pre-slaughter handling, plasma levels were evaluated for cortisol, beta-endorphin, epinephrine and norepinephrine prior to and after stunning. Twenty draught-type horses were divided into control (n=10) and treated (n=10) groups and a mentholated ointment applied to the nostrils of the treated horses following blood samplin...
Identification of risk factors for traumatic injury in the general horse population of north-west England, Midlands and north Wales. Traumatic injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the horse and consequently pose a serious threat to horses' wellbeing. To date, there have been no published studies assessing the frequency of injuries in the general horse population of the UK. Objective: To obtain information regarding husbandry management strategies and injury prevalence in horses aged ≤15 years, with the aim of identifying predisposing risk factors for injury. Methods: A postal questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample of horse owners across north-west England, Midlands and north Wales....
Lower airway disease, now and in the future. Respiratory disease is an important cause of wastage in the Thoroughbred industry and is a cause of welfare problems in all types of horse. This review concerns developments in our understanding of equine respiratory disease since 1998 and illustrates how strategic funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board has contributed to this understanding.
