We have just published a paper that describes our research to determine what are the more important welfare issues for horses in the UK (funded by the Animal Welfare Foundation of the British Veterinary Association). In this study, we used a ‘Delphi’ technique to gather the opinion of a wide range of experts on what were the biggest issues they perceived for horse welfare. The study found that, in the opinion of experts, horses were at risk of poor welfare from a range of issues including poor biosecurity, lack of owner knowledge of behaviour and welfare issues for horses, a reluctance to euthanise horses when they were suffering, and an inability of owners to recognise pain behaviour in their horses.
These may lead to specific welfare outcomes, the most important of these were considered to be health related, such as obesity, and large worm burdens, and emotional including pain, fear and stress from use and training, and management in ways that did not suit evolved behavioural responses. This paper is freely available to those who might want to learn more about the work here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/4/647
In addition, we currently have three PhD students studying horse welfare. In particular, these studies are tackling issues that our research has shown to be important welfare issues: developing methods to recognise pain and stress in horses, and investigating the knowledge and understanding of different horse-owning communities to horse welfare issues and behaviour. These studies will feed into our educational work to help owners understand horse behaviour and welfare needs, and improve the welfare of this group of animals.
