The Interrelations Of Good Welfare Indicators In Working Horses
This study assessed the well-being of 697 working horses in Romania. The horses ranged in age from 2 years old to more than 15 years old, and included mares, stallions, and geldings. The assessments were conducted while the horses were working, and welfare indicators were recorded only in positive terms (i.e., as the presence of positive indicators for welfare, or the absence of negative indicators) to reduce defensiveness and encourage better care behaviors among guardians. Most horses responded with more friendliness to the unfamiliar assessor than to their guardian. The horses were generally well fed (the study was conducted at a time of year with high food availability and decreased work). Most horses did not receive adequate water or unfettered exercise, and their guardians seemed unaware of their needs in these and other respects. Performing the heaviest work correlated with lower welfare assessment scores.
[Abstract excerpted from original source.]
This paper presents a different approach to the welfare of working horses through the indicators of good welfare, their interrelations and their relationships with the type of work performed by the horses. 697 working horses were assessed by using observation, behavioural tests, clinical exams and questionnaires. The correlated results highlight the complex and multiple interrelations between the good welfare indicators, showing once again that animal welfare is under the influence of all its three dimensions (physical and emotional wellbeing and naturalness). In working horses, the heavier the work they perform is, the more important it is for horse owners/breeders/farmers to fulfil their inherent needs so as to help them cope with the multiple specific risks imposed by their work.