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.
Voith VL.Desensitization (gradually exposing an animal to a fear-inducing stimulus without evoking the fear response) and counter-conditioning (rewarding the animal for behavior incompatible with the fear response) are highly successful ways of eliminating or reducing fear responses and corresponding aggression.
Hinton M.The literature published over the last 150 years provides confusing and often conflicting advice on the ideal way to water horses. Many of the problems associated with watering appear to be caused by either mismanagement or ignorance. An obvious way to prevent trouble is to provide adequate water at all times when a horse is at rest and to allow sufficient opportunity to drink while working.
Allsup TN.This paper deals with some recent developments in the air transportation of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses and comments on the factors involved which influence the results.
d'Abreu F.This research article discusses brain injuries in jockeys, particularly in horse racing. The author recounts the preventive measures taken by the Jockey Club and the Betting Levy Board to protect […]
Simons MA.The current position of the horse in the United Kingdom is discussed and the attitudes of the horse-owning public are examined. It is suggested that there are welfare, economic and practical advantages to owners and the veterinary profession in a veterinary health scheme for horses. A scheme which has been tried successfully in the field is discussed.
Warren LK, Whelen A.The gruelling race schedules maintained by horses competing in chuckwagon racing raises concern for the horses' ability to recover quickly and continue to perform at a high level. The amount of bodyweight lost and the time required for recovery of this weight loss have been used to assess the level of stress imposed on horses competing in various multiple-day events. In this study, bodyweights were obtained from 40 Thoroughbred geldings (mean +/- s.e.; bodyweight 521.5 +/- 4.4 kg) before and after racing during a 5 day chuckwagon race meet. Body condition score (BCS) was determined on the firs...
Jaramillo FM, Oliveira TM, Silva PEA, Trindade PHE, Baccarin RYA.Horse racing is a major sport practiced worldwide. The environment to which horses are exposed during race meetings can influence their behavior. However, to the best of our knowledge, a method for assessing a horse's response to its surroundings during the pre- and post-race periods has not yet been reported. This study aimed to create a standard list of descriptors for use in a qualitative behavioral assessment (QBA) focused on assessing the emotional expressivity of horses before and after racing events. Unassigned: Seventy pre- or post-race 30-second videos of horses were randomly selected...
Salim AA, Butler MS, Blaskovich MAT, Henderson IR, Capon RJ.Covering literature to December 2022This review provides a comprehensive account of all natural products (500 compounds, including 17 semi-synthetic derivatives) described in the primary literature up to December 2022, reported to be capable of inhibiting the egg hatching, motility, larval development and/or the survival of helminths (i.e., nematodes, flukes and tapeworms). These parasitic worms infect and compromise the health and welfare, productivity and lives of commercial livestock (i.e., sheep, cattle, horses, pigs, poultry and fish), companion animals (i.e., dogs and cats) and other hig...
Bell C, Rogers S, Taylor J, Busby D.A key welfare problem for horses is that people commonly fail to recognise, and consequently neglect to resolve, equine behavioural signs of distress, worsening the welfare of the horse and potentially putting the safety of the handler at risk as a result. Members of equestrian Facebook groups were asked to view six videos and assess the horse's behaviour in each; the authors selected the videos and considered each video to demonstrate behaviour associated with negative affective states. An additional six equine behaviourists also completed the survey as an "expert comparison group" from whom ...
Wegner W.In 1893 a major component of veterinary practice derived from 4 million horses and from farm animals, whereas thousands of dogs were even slaughtered every year, especially in Saxony and Silesia. Nowadays companion animals figure as an element of ever growing importance for the practitioner. Teaching and research adapted themselves to this altered situation, research funding and professional politics not yet so completely. In former days veterinarians even presided the licensing committees for breeder animals--today the animal breeding act merely mentions them in connection with institutions o...
Despite some views to the contrary the working party of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers considers that it has been demonstrated that it is possible to prepare guidelines for the recognition and assessment of pain in experimental animals. The detailed information readily available on species specific signs is limited and it has been particularly difficult to obtain such signs for the smaller mammals and for the non-mammalian species.
Sweeney CR, McDonnell S, Russell GE, Terzich M.To evaluate the effectiveness of altering the pH of manure with sodium bisulfate, thereby decreasing ammonia concentration and fly population in a horse barn environment. Methods: 4 mixed-breed pony stallions. Methods: The 4-week study was scheduled with 2 weeks of treatment (with 2 application rates) and 2 weeks with no treatment (control weeks). During treatment weeks, sodium bisulfate was applied daily to the top of the bedding and straw, then spread on top. Ponies were kept in the stalls 24 hours a day during the 7-day test period and stall cleaning was not done. On day 7 of each week, amm...
Grillaert K.Erection and masturbation in horses are considered unwanted behaviors in training contexts, despite recognition that these are naturally occurring behaviors that are integral to the welfare of male horses. Equestrians, especially those who use positive reinforcement in their training, expressed concern that the presence of such behaviors might be associated with aggressive or sexual behaviors aimed at humans participating in horse-human interactions. The implications of such attitudes could negatively affect male horses by excluding them from welfare-friendly training systems. In this study, f...
Erasmus M, Rollins J.Public events such as state fairs provide valuable opportunities to provide informal animal welfare education, possibly changing people's decisions regarding animal welfare. This study evaluated whether an interactive animal-free exhibit increased visitors' self-reported knowledge and stated behavioral intentions related to animal welfare. The exhibit featured information about the behavior and welfare of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, poultry, horses, cats and dogs. Survey data were collected at two events in the Midwestern United States (Purdue University Spring Fest (FEST): n = 32; Indiana St...
Christie JL, Hewson CJ, Riley CB, McNiven MA, Dohoo IR, Bate LA.An equine abuse policy was developed as an adjunct to an equine management survey. If at least 3 of 5 categories caused concern, a report to the authorities was indicated. The policy was not used but, in the absence of other guidelines, it might assist veterinarians considering potential abuse cases. Dans une enquête sur la gestion équine, un volet portant sur une politique concernant les mauvais traitements infligés aux chevaux a été développée. Lorsqu’au moins 3 des 5 éléments étudiés semblaient problématiques, un rapport aux autorités compétentes était recommandé. La poli...
Flash ML, Crabb HK, Hitchens PL, Firestone SM, Stevenson MA, Gilkerson JR.The number of horses leaving the Australian Thoroughbred (TB) racing industry each year is of concern to animal welfare advocates, public and regulators. A horse's previous athletic performance is a significant driver of retirement from racing. Racehorse performance can be measured in terms of the total number of starts, duration of racing and prize money earned. This study investigated Australian racing records for the 2005 and 2010 Victorian TB foal crops to identify factors associated with total number of starts, racing career duration, prize money earned and age of last race start-up to th...
McIlwraith CW.The article discusses the key findings and discussions from the fifth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit. This summit presented several ways in which data collection and analysis can […]
During the last century and today, the Tennessee walking horse has been used primarily for pleasure and show competition. Unique and natural to the breed is a smooth four-beat “running walk” gait. In the 1950s the accentuated or exaggerated running walk, known as the “big lick” became popular at high-level competitions. The combination of exaggerated high-action step in front and long stride behind is still considered desirable in today's horse show competitions, and it is often achieved through soring. Soring is the practice of applying a substance or mechanical device to the lower li...
Riihimäki M, Fegraeus K, Nordlund J, Waern I, Wernersson S, Akula S, Hellman L, Raine A.Equine asthma (EA) is a heterogenous, complex disease, with a significant negative impact on horse welfare and performance. EA and human asthma share fundamental similarities, making EA a useful model for studying the disease. One relevant sample type for investigating chronic lung inflammation is bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), which provides a snapshot of the immune cells present in the alveolar space. To investigate the immune cell landscape of the respiratory tract in horses with mild-to-moderate equine asthma (mEA) and healthy controls, single-cell RNA sequencing was conducted on equ...
Gueguen L, Henry S, Delbos M, Lemasson A, Hausberger M.(1) Background: Since antiquity, it is considered that sounds influence human emotional states and health. Acoustic enrichment has also been proposed for domestic animals. However, in both humans and animals, effects vary according to the type of sound. Human studies suggest that frequencies, more than melodies, play a key role. Low and high frequencies, music tuning frequency and even EEG slow waves used for 'neurofeedback' produce effects. (2) Methods: We tested the possible impact of such pure frequencies on racehorses' behavior and physiology. A commercial non-audible acoustic stimulus, co...
Daniel CR, Taylor SE, McPhee S, Wolfram U, Schwarz T, Sommer S, Kershaw LE.Fatigue-related subchondral bone injuries of the third metacarpal/metatarsal (McIII/MtIII) bones are common causes of wastage, and they are welfare concerns in racehorses. A better understanding of bone health and strength would improve animal welfare and be of benefit for the racing industry. The porosity index (PI) is an indirect measure of osseous pore size and number in bones, and it is therefore an interesting indicator of bone strength. MRI of compact bone using traditional methods, even with short echo times, fail to generate enough signal to assess bone architecture as water protons ar...
Wolframm I.Sport performances judged subjectively often suffer from systematic errors due to biases, with the sport of equestrian dressage being no exception. This study examines whether international dressage judges display systematic errors while evaluating elite horse-rider combinations. Data from seven 5* Grand Prix dressage events between May 2022 and April 2023 were analyzed (510 judges' scores) using Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis. Five predictor variables-Home, Same Nationality, Compatriot, FEI Ranking and Starting Order-were studied in relation to Total Dressage Score (TS). The model a...
O'Brien M, Mochel JP, Kersh K, Wang C, Troy J.Pain management is critical to equine welfare with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) commonly used in horses. However, systemic NSAID use is limited by harmful gastrointestinal and renal side effects. Intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) is a technique used in horses that produces high, local antibiotic concentrations while limiting systemic circulation. NSAID-IVRLP would be a novel method of local pain management while limiting systemic NSAID side effects. To date, NSAID-IVRLP administration has not been reported in horses. This study aimed to identify the pharmacokinetics ...
Frabasile L, Amendola C, Buttafava M, Chincarini M, Contini D, Cozzi B, De Zani D, Guerri G, Lacerenza M, Minero M, Petrizzi L, Qiu L, Rabbogliatti V....Biosensors applied in veterinary medicine serve as a noninvasive method to determine the health status of animals and, indirectly, their level of welfare. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been suggested as a technology with this application. This study presents preliminary time domain NIRS measurements of optical properties (absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient, and differential pathlength factor) and hemodynamic parameters (concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin, total hemoglobin, and tissue oxygen saturation) of tissue domestic animals, specif...
Carvalho Seabra J, Martinez do Vale M, Spercoski KM, Hess T, Patricio Viviani de Moura P, Dittrich JR.Keeping horses in single stalls can lead to the development of abnormal and stereotypic behaviors (ASB). Opportunities for social interactions and stall architecture can influence behavior. The current study aimed to identify how three different stall architectures influenced time-budget and physiological parameters in horses. Stall types included: (1) 3.2 × 3.7 m with tactile contact between horses (B1); (2) 2.6 × 3.5 m with visual contact between horses and outside view (B2); (3) 2.3 × 3.4 m with visual contact and outside view (B3). Ten horses from B1 and B3, and nine from B2 were ...
Spörndly-Nees E, Jansson A, Pökelmann M, Pickova J, Ringmark S.Barefoot racing is a common practice within the harness racing industry, but not all horses have hooves of sufficient quality to race sustainably without shoes. There is currently no objective approach available to assess whether a horse's hooves are suitable for barefoot racing, raising animal welfare issues if trainers misjudge the functional qualities of hooves. This study compared chemical composition of the hoof wall and fatty acid (FA) composition of the digital cushion in a group of horses that had raced barefoot often (RB) and a group of horses that could not race barefoot and therefor...
Pearson G, Douglas J, Wolframm I, Furtado T.The 2023 Grand National steeplechase race was delayed when protesters from the animal rights group, 'Animal Rising', gained access to the course just prior to the race. The international media spotlight was focused on what is already a high-profile event and the social licence of both this race and racing in general was scrutinised. Both at the time and for several days afterwards, the general public was exposed to two different narratives from pro- and anti-racing communities. This paper discusses these perspectives and the potential impact on the general public's relationship with racing. Wh...
Shan R, Steel CM, Sykes B.The impact of recommended withholding periods (RWPs) for omeprazole on the recurrence of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is unknown. The study was designed to compare the effect of two RWPs on EGUS recurrence post-omeprazole treatment and to determine if a nutraceutical supplement would reduce EGUS recurrence when administrated during an RWP. The study was a blinded, randomized clinical trial. Part 1: Horses were allocated to an RWP0 or RWP2 and crossed over after 4-weeks. Horses received oral omeprazole once daily, except during the RWPs at the end of the treatment periods. Part 2: Horse...
Kearney CM, Korthagen NM, Plomp SGM, Labberté MC, de Grauw JC, van Weeren PR, Brama PAJ.This study investigates repeated low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injections in equine joints as a model for recurrent joint inflammation and its impact on animal welfare. Joint inflammation was induced in eight horses by injecting 0.25 ng of LPS three times at two-week intervals. Welfare scores and clinical parameters were recorded at baseline and over 168 h post-injection. Serial synoviocentesis was performed for the analysis of a panel of synovial fluid biomarkers of inflammation and cartilage turnover. Clinical parameters and a final synoviocentesis were also performed eight weeks after t...
Mellish MA, Lucas Z, Lancaster L, Stull JW, Floyd A.To visually evaluate and morphometrically describe a sample of abnormal hooves from Sable Island horses that died between 2007 and 2013. Equine. An opportunistic sample of 356 abnormal hooves from horses inhabiting Sable Island National Park Reserve (Canada) was collected postmortem between 2007 and 2013 from 101 Sable Island horses. These hooves were assessed for abnormalities in conformation through visual and morphometric evaluation. On visual and morphometric evaluation, 100% of horses (101/101) had abnormal hoof conformation when compared to a domestic horse hoof model. Specific abnormali...
Nyberg L, Linnavalli T, Hartmann E, Kalland M.Many horse enthusiasts have insufficient knowledge about horse behavior and welfare (BW) and learning and human-horse communication (LC), which poses a risk for both horse welfare and human safety. The main objective of this study was to investigate why riding school pupils participate or do not participate in non-riding education in BW and LC, using Self-determination theory (SDT). SDT posits that the quality of motivation is related to the individual's basic psychological needs. A convenience sample of 568 riding school pupils from Finland and Sweden completed an online questionnaire. The re...
Di Genova C, Sutton G, Paillot R, Temperton N, Pronost S, Scott SD.Infection with equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), a DNA virus of the Herpesviridae family represents a significant welfare issue in horses and a great impact on the equine industry. During EHV-1 infection, entry of the virus into different cell types is complex due to the presence of twelve glycoproteins (GPs) on the viral envelope. To investigate virus entry mechanisms, specific combinations of GPs were pseudotyped onto lentiviral vectors. Pseudotyped virus (PV) particles bearing gB, gD, gH and gL were able to transduce several target cell lines (HEK293T/17, RK13, CHO-K1, FHK-Tcl3, MDCK I & II), de...
Williams JM, Berg LC, Clayton HM, Kirsch K, Marlin D, Randle H, Roepstroff L, Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MSV, Weishaupt MA, Munsters C.The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism's social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts ( = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agree...
Goma AA, Uddin J, Kieson E.Lateralised behavioural responses to environmental stressors have become more frequently used as indicators of social welfare in animals. These lateralised behavioural responses are under the control of asymmetrical brain functions as part of the primary functions of most vertebrates and assist in primary social and survival functions. Lateralised behavioural responses originating from the left hemisphere are responsible for processing familiar conditions, while the right hemisphere is responsible for responding to novel stimuli in the environment. The forced lateralisation and side preference...
White N, Pelzel-McCluskey A.Horses are transported in the United States more than any other livestock species and co-mingle at various events; therefore, they are considered to be at an increased risk for infectious disease transmission. The fragmented movement of horses combined with numerous sites of co-mingling makes tracing the potential spread of a disease outbreak a necessary part of an infection control plan, both locally and nationally. The cross-movement of personnel with horses and the persistence of endemic diseases make biosecurity implementation an ongoing challenge. Although many of the risks for infection ...
