Occupational Safety Climate in the Swedish Equine Sector

Abstract

The Swedish equine sector is considered a high-risk work environment, with relatively high injury rates and high severity of injuries. General safety research has identified a correlation between the safety performance and safety culture, but little is known about the intricacies of the safety culture in the Swedish equine sector, especially concerning managers’ and employees’ perceptions of their work environment. The safety climate assessment is recognised as an effective tool for identifying potential problems in the workplace, thus enhancing safety behaviour and decreasing the frequency and severity of injuries. The aim was to evaluate the safety climate at riding schools and trotting stables through the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) diagnostic tool, and to get a better understanding of the workers’ perceptions regarding safety and safety management at their workplace through complementary interviews. The results showed that the safety climate was generally positive and that employees were aware of the risks relating to their work. Riding schools commonly had routines in place for risk assessment and work environment management, but such routines were often lacking at trotting stables, indicating inadequate prioritisation of safety by the management. The main area that should be targeted to improve safety in the sector is employees’ prioritisation and non-acceptance of risks. Proactive instead of reactive safety management should be promoted, where safety is an integral part of daily work and all employees are encouraged to identify factors contributing to occupational injuries and develop strategies for injury prevention.

Human Injuries Associated with the Transport of Horses by Road

“…Caution should also be exercised when interpreting hospital-or registry-based data and relying upon them for estimates of risks because, as found in our study and others, many injuries are either not treated or medical assistance is not sought [46]. This behaviour may be a manifestation of the normalisation of risk in equestrian culture and/or the acceptance that horse-related activities such as riding are high risk, both of which have been considered obstacles to improving equine-related safety [2,14,38,47].…”

“…Injury types and severity are important in estimating the prognosis for owners and carers and assessing the associated economic and personal costs [6,9,[40][41][42]. They also inform recommendations for improved equestrian and worker safety [1,2]. Bruising and soft tissue injuries, occurring singly or concurrently with other tissue damage, were most common and resulted from traumatic contact with the horse (i.e., a kick, bite, or being crushed) or inanimate structures [41].…”

“…There is a resurgence in interest in the risk and prevention of human injury associated with equestrian activities [1,2]. This is partly because, despite advances in the design and use of safety equipment for participants in equine activities, the frequency of humanhorse-related injuries has not declined [3][4][5].…”

“…This is partly because, despite advances in the design and use of safety equipment for participants in equine activities, the frequency of humanhorse-related injuries has not declined [3][4][5]. Furthermore, equine-related injury is now recognized as a serious occupational risk in related industry sectors and farming [2,5,6]. The approaches to its study have moved from merely descriptive [7] to more in-depth analyses of associative factors [5,8].…”

“…Results of multivariate logistic regression analyses of associations between human injury sustained during the road transport of horses, industry-related training qualifications, driving experience, and reporting a transport-related equine injury or behavioural problem. Coefficient estimate 2. Standard error 3.…”