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Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life

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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Equids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (2 March 2023) | Viewed by 14860

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hayley Randle

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Guest Editor

School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
Interests: equine and animal welfare; wellbeing; behaviour; cognition; training and education; horse–human interaction; social licence to operate
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jane M. Williams

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Guest Editor

Head of Research, Associate Professor, Equine Department, Hartpury University, Gloucester, UK
Interests: equestrian performance and training; rider impacts; reliability assessment; human–horse interaction; equine welfare
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Natalie Waran

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Education, Humanities and Health Sciences, Napier, New Zealand
Interests: one welfare; equitation science; equine behaviour and welfare; applied companion animal behaviour; welfare assessment; quality of life and positive emotions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite a growing interest in equine welfare, research into equine quality of life remains limited. The academic discipline of Equitation Science is now well established and generating research outcomes that can be used to improve equine quality of life. Equestrianism is a discipline that involves horses and humans, and the interaction between them is critical to success. In order to improve welfare outcomes for the horses used in equestrian activities, there needs to be better communication of research needs, ideas and outcomes between researchers and practitioners. This Special Issue will include papers detailing topics associated with the 2021 International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) conference (www.equitationscience.com) entitled “Advancing Equestrian Practice to improve Equine Quality of Life”. This Special Issue is aimed at providing selected contributions on the importance of leveraging the emerging science with regard to improving equine welfare and, specifically, equine quality of life. Contributions that address the challenge of communicating scientific results in order to improve and enhance equine quality of life will also be included.

All submissions need to have a clear section on the application of the study findings to Equine Quality of Life within the context of Equestrian Practice. This special issue will include a collated set of conference abstracts and invited papers from ISES 2021; we would also welcome papers in the following areas:

Equine welfare indicators (animal based);
Equine quality of life;
Affective state in equids;
Positive versus negative affective states;
Use of technology in equine welfare assessment;
Facilitating change in practice;
Impacts of a greater understanding of equine welfare on performance;
Social licence to operate—leveraging the science;
Effective communication to bring about change and advancement in equestrian practice.

We are delighted to announce that Nova (https://www.vianovatraining.com/), Hartpury University (https://www.hartpury.ac.uk/), Haygain (https://haygain.co.uk/), World Horse Welfare (https://abtc.org.uk/advisory-and-supporting-members/), Equestrian Canada (https://www.equestrian.ca/), Goodbye Flys (https://www.goodbyeflys.com/), The Horse Trust (https://horsetrust.org.uk/), Horse Journals (https://www.horsejournals.com/), and Charles Sturt University (https://www.csu.edu.au/) are generously providing sponsorship for this Special Issue "Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life".

Dr. Hayley Randle
Dr. Jane M. Williams
Prof. Dr. Natalie K. Waran
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

equine
welfare
wellbeing
quality of life
influencing change
communication
science

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1746 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Stabling Routines on Potential Behavioural Indicators of Affective State in Horses and Their Use in Assessing Quality of Life

by Ella Bradshaw-Wiley and Hayley Randle

Animals 2023, 13(6), 1065; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13061065 - 15 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2849

Abstract

Increasing interest in equine welfare has emphasised the need for objective and reliable behavioural indicators of horses’ affective state. However, research has yielded mixed results regarding behaviours suited for industry use largely because they are subject to anthropomorphic interpretation. Stabling is commonly used to manage domesticated horses despite research indicating that it can negatively impact horse welfare, but its effect on their affective state is yet to be quantified. Ten adult horses (11.8 ± 4.4 years) were observed either on a day- (DS) or night-stabling (NS) schedule over two consecutive 24 h periods. NS horses were kept confined for significantly longer (13.60 ± 0.04 h) than DS horses (7.73 ± 0.07; t₇ = 5.70; p = 0.0004). Eight behaviours occurred significantly more often during NS than DS: forward ears (t₇ = 3.32; p = 0.001), neutral ears (t₇ = 3.47; p = 0.001), stepping forward (t₇ = 2.62; p = 0.001), stepping laterally (t₇ = 2.39; p = 0.001), sternal recumbency (t₇ = 2.64; p = 0.001), yawning (t₇ = 2.69; p = 0.001), non-nutritive chewing (t₇ = 2.49; p = 0.001), and closing eyes (t₇ = 2.71; p = 0.001). These behaviours may be candidates for indicators that can be used to determine the affective state in horses and subsequently be used to assess equine quality of life and to optimise individual horse welfare. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life)

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17 pages, 2060 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Noseband Fit: Measurements and Perceptions of Canadian Equestrians

by Katrina Merkies, Caleigh Copelin, Nicolas Small and Joelene Young

Animals 2022, 12(19), 2685; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192685 - 6 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2804

Abstract

Recent concerns regarding horse welfare during competition has highlighted the occurrence of overtightened nosebands on competition horses. Current rules are often vague—e.g., “nosebands may never be so tightly fixed as to harm the horse.” To investigate the need and acceptance prior to any rule changes Equestrian Canada (EC) launched a pilot noseband measuring project. Nineteen officiating stewards measured noseband fit using the ISES taper gauge (TG) at 32 equestrian events of various disciplines in 2021. Additionally, stakeholder surveys collected data from 1528 EC members and 27 stewards regarding opinions and perceptions on noseband use, fit, measurement and rules. Descriptive and qualitative statistics along with Pearson chi-squared examined relationships between specific variables. Of the 551 horses tested with the TG, 71% passed the 1.5 cm (two-fingers) measurement and an additional 19% passed the 1 cm (one-finger) measurement. Stewards unanimously agreed that overtightened nosebands present a welfare issue although 63% believed this to represent only a small subset of riders. While 60% of stewards believed the current rules were sufficient, 40% did not. Despite the fact that 84% of stewards believe there should be a standardized fit across disciplines, 52% felt the use of the TG should be at their discretion. The top three reasons riders indicated for using nosebands were discipline expectation (41%), requirement for competition (39%) or for control/safety (32%). Open comments referred to an option to not wear a noseband in competition. Professional riders believed overtightened nosebands were less of a welfare issue than amateur riders (76% vs. 88% respectively; p < 0.025) and correspondingly did not feel the TG was a fair method (44% vs. 68% respectively; p < 0.001). Slightly more than half of the respondents (51.5%) believed that measuring noseband fit on the frontal nasal plane was the appropriate location. To advance equestrian practice, more education is needed to inform stakeholders of the reasons for noseband measurements and appropriate fit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life)

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18 pages, 758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Composite Pain Scale in Foals: A Pilot Study

by Aliai Lanci, Beatrice Benedetti, Francesca Freccero, Carolina Castagnetti, Jole Mariella, Johannes P. A. M. van Loon and Barbara Padalino

Animals 2022, 12(4), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12040439 - 11 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2296

Abstract

Prompt pain management is crucial in horses; however, tools to assess pain are limited. This study aimed to develop and pilot a composite scale for pain estimation in foals. The “Foal Composite Pain Scale” (FCPS) was developed based on literature and authors’ expertise. The FCPS consisted of 11 facial expressions, 4 behavioural items, and 5 physical items. Thirty-five pain-free foals (Control Group) and 15 foals experiencing pain (Pain Group) were used. Foals were video-recorded at different time points: the Control Group only at inclusion (C), while the Pain Group at inclusion (T1), after an analgesic treatment (T2), and at recovery (T3). Physical items were also recorded at the same time points. Videos were scored twice by five trained observers, blinded to group and time points, to calculate inter- and intra-observer reliability of each scale item. Fleiss’ kappa values ranged from moderate to almost perfect for the majority of the items, while the intraclass correlation coefficient was excellent (ICC = 0.923). The consistency of FCPS was also excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.842). A cut-off ≥ 7 indicated the presence of pain. The Pain Group scores were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the Control Group and decreased over time (T1, T2 > T3; p = 0.001). Overall, FCPS seems clinically applicable to quantify pain and improve the judgment of the quality of life in foals, but it needs modifications based on these preliminary findings. Consequently, further studies on a larger sample size are needed to test the feasibility and validity of the refined FCPS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life)

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Review

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16 pages, 1681 KiB

Open AccessReview

Changing Hearts and Minds in the Equestrian World One Behaviour at a Time

by Inga A. Wolframm, Janet Douglas and Gemma Pearson

Animals 2023, 13(4), 748; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040748 - 19 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5129

Abstract

Equestrianism is currently facing a range of pressing challenges. These challenges, which are largely based on evolving attitudes to ethics and equine wellbeing, have consequences for the sport’s social licence to operate. The factors that may have contributed to the current situation include overarching societal trends, specific aspects of the equestrian sector, and factors rooted in human nature. If equestrianism is to flourish, it is evident that much needs to change, not the least, human behaviour. To this end, using established behaviour change frameworks that have been scientifically validated and are rooted in practice—most notably, Michie et al.’s COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel—could be of practical value for developing and implementing equine welfare strategies. This review summarises the theoretical underpinnings of some behaviour change frameworks and provides a practical, step-by-step approach to designing an effective behaviour change intervention. A real-world example is provided through the retrospective analysis of an intervention strategy that aimed to increase the use of learning theory in (educational) veterinary practice. We contend that the incorporation of effective behaviour change interventions into any equine welfare improvement strategy may help to safeguard the future of equestrianism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equestrian Practice to Improve Equine Quality of Life)

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