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equiculture

Horse Ownership - Responsible Sustainable Ethical©

Horse welfare

This section of the website is about horse welfare. The subject of horse welfare is multi-faceted. Yes it is about confronting and responding to instances of neglect, wilful cruelty and ignorance. However the positive aspect of learning about horse welfare constitutes good horse care or good horse training and challenging, and if necessary rethinking, traditional practices in light of what we know about horses today. It’s a rapidly evolving subject and can be highly contentious. What was thought to be good welfare practice 10 years ago may no longer be the case. Opinions can be divided and while there will never be a consensus about what constitutes good horse welfare (or animal welfare in general for that matter) the bar is being raised and conditions continue to be improved.

It is easy to get bogged down and think that there is nothing that you can do on a personal level but instead of feeling overwhelmed and powerless take an interest, find out about issues and discuss these with friends. In doing so you are bringing difficult issues out into the open and helping to get people thinking (and hopefully taking action). Many welfare issues are caused not through malice, but through a lack of education or understanding and we as a horse community must take responsibility for spreading knowledge and questioning some accepted practices.

Welcome to the horse welfare page. Make sure you put yourself on our free mailing list (subcribe) so that you receive notification about updates to this page and others on the web site via an email every one to two months.

We are now on Facebook with pages for both Jane Myers and Equiculture

Animal welfare agencies talk about ‘the five freedoms’. These are the five basic rights that all animals should have. Translated into horse parlance these are:

1. Freedom from thirst and hunger - A horse should have ready access to fresh, clean water and sufficient amounts of the correct foodstuffs. Horse feeding practices must take into account their requirements for a very high fibre diet as that is what they are biologically programmed to eat.
2. Freedom from discomfort - A horse should have an appropriate environment. Adequate space and shelter are important. Management systems must take into account horse behaviours. Horses are herd animals and are inherently social and require company. It is timely to rethink traditional management practices.
3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease - A horse owner or carer must know at least the basics of horse care and be able to recognise when a horse needs veterinary attention or is in need of a horse dentist or farrier or other horse health professional.
4. Freedom to express normal behaviour A horse owner or carer should understand horse behaviour. This knowledge is important not only to provide suitable living conditions for the horse/s in their care but also to train them humanely. Understanding horse behaviour is also essential for a rider or a handler’s safety.
5. Freedom from fear and distress - A horse owner or carer should not place a horse in a situation where is continues to suffer stress/distress. Nor should a horse owner or carer use training methods that cause fear, pain or distress. By using humane training methods horses can be trained effectively and safely.

See also the more welfare info page and the more care info page (for links to more information) the horse welfare agencies page where professional horse welfare organisations (that are also a registered charity) can list their organisation and their mission.