“What can we do to actually reach all these animals?” Evaluating approaches to improving working equid welfare

What Is a Working Equid? Analysis of Current Terminology and a Suggested Definition

Equids are engaged in myriad types of work across the world, with contexts and industries varying widely between high-, middle- and low-income countries as classified by the World Bank. Through a comprehensive abstract search and literature review, we examined the usage and context of terms associated with working equids in high-income countries (HICs), upper-middle-income countries (UMICs), lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), and low-income countries (LICs). Analysis showed that the search term used was significantly associated with World Bank country income classification. All search terms except two returned a significantly higher number of papers for higher-income countries compared to lower-income countries. The two exceptions were "working equid" and "draft equid", which returned significantly more papers for lower-income countries than higher-income countries. Both terms also returned papers from high-income and upper-middle-income countries, but these were always in the context of low-resource settings and rural or marginalised communities, of which we provide examples in the discussion. We propose that the term "working equid" should be used to describe "any equid engaged in physical labour that provides a significant or direct contribution to the economic livelihood, sustenance or support of the owner/user's family, typically within a low resource setting". Our review highlights the intricate interplay between socioeconomic factors and examines how equids are described in the literature. The lack of a universally accepted definition leads to challenges in policy formulation, resource allocation, and welfare standards development, particularly in LMICs and LICs where working equids are crucial to livelihoods. This study underscores the need for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to terminology, advocating for future research to bridge linguistic and cultural gaps in understanding working equids globally. Such efforts are vital for equitable and effective welfare standards and policy development for these animals.

"We forgot about the donkeys!" An institutional analysis of the shift in animal welfare from direct implementation towards advocacy-based programming

Shifts from direct implementation to advocacy-based programming have been documented across many non-governmental organisation (NGO) sectors, including animal welfare. Semi-structured interviews with 32 staff from different positions within animal welfare NGOs explored recent programming changes. Maintaining a balance between direct implementation and advocacy-based activities emerged as a strong theme. The findings suggest that risks are associated with both the direct implementation status quo and transitioning to an advocacy-based focus. Risks of the former include treating symptoms rather than root causes of welfare problems. Organisational change can be disruptive and necessitates realignment of core competences, in turn influencing NGO mission. Identified risks of transition include loss of individuals whose values fail to align with new programming directions, increased upwards accountability requirements for accessing institutional donors and difficulties when phasing out direct implementation approaches. Whilst having to be dynamic, NGOs need to evaluate the risks associated with programming decisions, considering their vision, mission and staff identity in order to ensure that welfare programming is as effective as possible.

Perceptions of Cross-Cultural Challenges and Successful Approaches in Facilitating the Improvement of Equine Welfare

Projects that aim to improve the welfare of equids worldwide usually involve people from different countries and cultures working together. Given that professionals involved with multi-stakeholder projects often work cross-culturally, this study examined their experiences regarding the challenges involved in, and their reflections on, how to work in a culturally sensitive way. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants working in a total of 29 countries and analysed using thematic analysis. Key response themes emerged from the responses to questions covering the areas of perceptions of animal welfare, challenges working cross-culturally and embracing cultural sensitivity. The overriding theme regarding perceptions of animal welfare was that of barriers to animal welfare, under which emerged the subthemes of limited financial and material resources, limited understanding of the tenets of animal welfare, and attachment to traditional medicines and practices. Exploring the key challenges resulted in two themes: challenges regarding the local context and etiquette, and those regarding working with different stakeholders. Considering cultural sensitivity, again, two themes emerged: the importance of trust and respect, and of working with local partners. Previous works have highlighted the importance of shared linguistic knowledge, interpersonal skills and cultural knowledge, and these elements also emerged in this research. As well as providing insights into the challenges of working cross-culturally, the findings of this study have enabled the development of suggestions for how this work could be taken forward in a practical way to be of use to professionals in this sector.

Welfare assessment of horses and mules used in recreational and muleteer work in the Colombian coffee region

The welfare of working equids in developing countries is sometimes threatened due to the limited resources and/or knowledge of their owners. The objective of this study is to evaluate the welfare of creole horses and mules using a validated protocol that assesses animal-based indicators. A total of 160 horses and 40 mules from three municipalities in the Colombian coffee-growing region were evaluated by means of direct observation of health and behavioral parameters. A descriptive analysis of the variables expressed in proportions was performed. Interactions between the different measurements were examined using the Chi-squared test. Spearman correlations were used to relate the measurements. Horses and mules demonstrated friendly behavior in front of the evaluators (78.13 and 61.54%, respectively); apathetic or severely depressed behavior was low (10.7 and 17.5%, P > 0.05). Significant differences in body condition score (BCS) were observed between mules and horses (P < 0.05); eighty percent of the mules and 54.4% of the horses exhibited a healthy body condition score (3 or more on a scale of 1 to 5). Less than 15% of the animals had eye problems, limb deformities, and gait abnormalities. Injuries to the head, withers, spine, ribs/flank, hindquarters, and hind legs were observed in a frequency between 12.5 and 30.43% of the animals, with a higher frequency in horses (P < 0.05). Weak correlations (R2 coefficient < 0.5), although statistically significant, were observed between low body conditions and the presence of skin and deeper tissue lesions, systemic health abnormalities, and limb problems (P < 0.05). The results indicate that owners care for their animals. However, the presence of skin and deep tissue lesions, especially in horses, suggests that they are subjected to high workloads. Therefore, it is essential to train owners in aspects related to the importance of providing their equids with adequate rest periods to recover from work and develop actions to strengthen human-equine interaction.

Perceptions of Fear and Anxiety in Horses as Reported in Interviews with Equine Behaviourists

Simple Summary

Previous studies have identified that people are poor at recognising fear and pain in horses, consequently leading to one of the key welfare concerns for horses in the United Kingdom. Given that equine behaviourists are uniquely placed to understand how horse caregivers perceive fear and anxiety in their horses, this study examined the experiences of registered equine behaviourists working with horse caregivers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants and analysed using thematic analysis. Three key response themes emerged: caregivers are extremely poor at recognizing fear and anxiety in horses; some clients do recognise behavioural signs indicating fear and/or anxiety but only the overt signs (e.g., rearing, running away) rather than the more subtle signs (e.g., tension in face, subtle avoidance behaviours such as a hesitant gait); and fear and/or anxiety behaviour is often misinterpreted or mislabelled. This study has provided initial insights into the lack of recognition of fear and anxiety of horses by their caregivers in the United Kingdom, together with tried and tested approaches to conversations to change this.

Abstract

One of the key welfare concerns for horses in the United Kingdom is lack of recognition of fear in horses. This study aimed to gain an understanding of how well horse care givers recognise fear and/or anxiety in horses by interviewing equine behaviourists (who interact with large numbers of horse care givers and talk to them about this topic routinely). The experiences of Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC)-registered equine behaviourists working with horse caregivers were examined, including the ability of clients to recognise fear and/or anxiety in horses, how clients respond when discussing fear as the reason for their horse’s behaviour, and what explanations the participants use to explain fear and anxiety. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants and analysed using thematic analysis before being written up to reflect the discussion points. When asked how well horse caregivers recognise fear and/or anxiety in horses, three key response themes emerged: caregivers are extremely poor at recognizing fear and anxiety in horses; some clients do recognise behavioural signs indicating fear and/or anxiety but only the overt signs (e.g., rearing, running away) rather than the more subtle signs (e.g., tension in face, subtle avoidance behaviours such as a hesitant gait); and fear and/or anxiety behaviour is often misinterpreted or mislabelled. These key themes recurred throughout several other interview questions. This study has provided initial insights into the lack of recognition of fear and anxiety of horses by their caregivers in the United Kingdom as well as tried and tested approaches to conversations to change this. Such synthesis of experience and techniques across the equine behaviour sector, together with the information gained regarding perception of equine caregivers, could be a valuable approach to improve the effectiveness of behaviour consultations and welfare initiatives.