Enhancing equine welfare: a qualitative study on the impact of RAiSE (Recognizing Affective States in Equine) as an educational tool.
Abstract: The horse industry's growing focus on improving horse welfare stems from stakeholders' desires, increasing public scrutiny, and potential threats to its Social License to Operate. Correctly assessing equine affective states is crucial for enhancing horse welfare. However, horse owners often struggle with this assessment, especially those with limited consistent access to horses. To address this gap, RAiSE (Recognizing Affective State in Equine) was developed as an educational tool aimed at improving horse industry participants' ability to recognize these states. After development of the educational tool, its effectiveness was assessed using an inductive qualitative approach to define themes and patterns. Interview responses were collected through open-ended questions and interviews, with thematic analysis revealing key improvements and challenges of online learning. Participants discussed feeling as if they had achieved improvements in their ability to assess affective states and expressed intent to alter their behavior. Important themes that emerged through the inductive analysis of open-ended questions included: a h e s c o h b l i e s r p i i e b wb h i b w Interviews of ten users highlighted key themes regarding improvements needed with RAiSE, as well as the shared positive experiences throughout taking the online course. This study emphasizes the critical role of educational tools like RAiSE and the importance of their evaluation in advancing horse welfare by improving owners' awareness and understanding of equine emotions, thus enabling owners to make better decisions and management practices.
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.
Publication Date: 2025-03-11 PubMed ID: 40242489PubMed Central: PMC12000717DOI: 10.1093/tas/txaf033Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research assesses the effectiveness of ‘RAiSE’, an educational tool developed to help horse owners better identify and understand their horse’s emotional state, with the broader aim to improve equine welfare. Through qualitative analysis of user feedback, the study highlights the potential for such tools, but also reveals room for improvement.
Background of the Study
- The focus on improving horse welfare within the horse industry is gaining momentum, driven by demands from industry stakeholders, increasing public scrutiny, and threats to its social license to operate.
- A key component to enhancing horse welfare is the accurate assessment of a horse’s emotional or affective state.
- Many horse owners struggle to correctly interpret these states, especially those with limited regular contact with horses.
Development of RAiSE
- With an aim to address the struggle horse owners face in assessing their horses’ emotions, the RAiSE (Recognizing Affective State in Equine) tool was developed as an educational resource.
- This tool focused on improving the ability of horse industry participants to identify and understand the affective states of horses, thereby promoting better practices related to horse welfare.
Evaluation of RAiSE
- Following its development, the effectiveness of RAiSE was evaluated using a qualitative approach that focused on identifying common themes and patterns among the responses.
- Data were collected through open-ended questions and interviews, with a thematic analysis applied to bring out key areas of improvement, as well as the challenges posed by the online learning approach.
- The participants revealed that they felt capable of better assessing affective states after taking the course and expressed their intention to change their behavior towards horses.
Key Outcomes of the Study
- The study deduced important themes around the perceived improvements and challenges of learning how to recognize affective states in horses through an online platform.
- Interviews with ten users of RAiSE highlighted both the improvements needed in the tool and the positive experiences they gained from the online course.
- This study underscores the significance of educational tools like RAiSE in advancing horse welfare. As per the study, such tools amplify the awareness and understanding of horse owners with respect to the emotions of their horses, thereby enabling better decision-making and improved management practices.
- By shedding light on the potential and areas of improvement for tools like RAiSE, the study contributes to the ongoing efforts to enhance equine welfare through education and awareness.
Cite This Article
APA
Wells A, Hiney KM, Brady CM, Anderson KP.
(2025).
Enhancing equine welfare: a qualitative study on the impact of RAiSE (Recognizing Affective States in Equine) as an educational tool.
Transl Anim Sci, 9, txaf033.
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txaf033 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
- Department of Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication, Purdue University, West Lafeyette, IN 47907, USA.
- Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583USA.
Conflict of Interest Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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