Relationships between behaviour and health in working horses, donkeys, and mules in developing countries

Burn, Charlotte C.; Dennison, Tania; Whay, HR

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.06.007

Cited by 116 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…It is commonly known that a low BCS can have detrimental effects on animal welfare (Pritchard et al, 2005;Burn et al, 2010). However, there is also growing evidence that obesity due to over nutrition among horses is increasing (Lesimple et al, 2010;Ireland et al, 2012) and represents a significant detriment to health of equines in a manner similar to that by which it is affecting the human population.…”

Section: Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk factors associated with health disorders in sport and leisure horses in the Netherlands1

Visser

Neijenhuis

Graaf-Roelfsema

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Science

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ABstRACt:Horses are used for a wide variety of purposes from being used for recreational purposes to competing at an international level. With these different uses, horses have to adapt to numerous challenges and changes in their environment, which can be a challenge itself in continuously safeguarding their welfare. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of health disorders with clinical examination and identify possible risk factors of health disorders affecting horse welfare in professional husbandry systems in the Netherlands. With the use of fixed protocols for recording health aspects in horses, 150 horse farms voluntarily participating in the study were assessed by trained assessors. On each farm, 20 horses were clinically examined, in total almost 3,000 animals. This study recorded on the basis of the clinical examinations: the respiratory system (i.e., , and ocular discharge (12%). Risk factor analysis, stepwise using mixed model regression, demonstrated several risk factors for health aspects. Horses used for instruction (riding lessons) were almost two times more at risk to develop moderate to severe back pain compared to horses used for recreation (odds ratios [OR] = 0.54) or for competition (OR = 0.61). Horses used for instruction (riding school lessons), breeding, or recreation all had a higher risk for irregular locomotion or lameness compared to competition horses (OR = 0.42, OR = 0.55, OR = 2.14, respectively). Horses used for recreation were more prone to have a higher BCS compared to horses used for breeding (OR = 3.07) and instruction (OR = 2.06). The prevalence of health problems and the identified risk factors are valid for the horses in the present study in which farms voluntarily participated. Furthermore, the results may provide the basis for horse welfare and health programs on farm and horse industry levels. With the development of a valid welfare monitoring system for the horse industry, the welfare of horses can be increased through improving awareness and stimulating changes in management.

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Section: Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In developing countries, where working horses are mainly used as a resource for transport, health issues such as body lesions, wounds, poor body condition, and abnormal gait cause decreased welfare. In these countries the health problems are being assessed by direct observations (Pritchard et al, 2005;Burn et al, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors associated with health disorders in sport and leisure horses in the Netherlands1

Visser

Neijenhuis

Graaf-Roelfsema

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Science

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“…Harmonized data collection is essential in order to obtain a reliable picture of horse welfare conditions in different countries on which to base a roadmap to its improvement. Although significant progress has been made in this field over the past 15 years (Pritchard et al, 2005;Burn et al, 2010;Neijenhuis et al, 2011;Vervaecke et al, 2011;Popescu and Diugan, 2013;Visser et al, 2014), limited data on welfare of European horses is yet available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial outcomes of a harmonized approach to collect welfare data in sport and leisure horses

Costa

Dai

Lebelt³

et al. 2017

Animal

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A truthful snapshot of horse welfare conditions is a prerequisite for predicting the impact of any actions intended to improve the quality of life of horses. This can be achieved when welfare information, gathered by different assessors in diverse geographical areas, is valid, comparable and collected in a harmonized way. This paper aims to present the first outcomes of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) approach: the results of on-farm assessment and a reliable and harmonized data collection system. A total of 355 sport and leisure horses, stabled in 40 facilities in Italy and in Germany, were evaluated by three trained assessors using the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses. The AWINHorse app was used to collect, store and send data to a common server. Identified welfare issues were obesity, unsatisfactory box dimensions, long periods of confinement and lack of social interaction. The digitalized data collection was feasible in an on-farm environment, and our results suggest that this approach could prove useful in identifying the most relevant welfare issues of horses in Europe or worldwide.

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“…When playing we expect animals to experience positive emotions, triggered by the underlying neurotransmitters (Trezza et al, 2010), but this may not reflect their chronic welfare state that results from their daily experiences. Both stereotypic behaviors and play are associated with endogenous opioids (Burghardt, 2005), but it is generally admitted that stereotypic behaviors reflect inappropriate living conditions (Mason & Latham, 2004;Mason & Rushen, 2006).…”

Section: Co-occurrence Of Adult Play and Welfare Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is generally admitted that adult captive animals play more because they are stress free, having no predation pressure nor need to search for food (Burghardt, 2005;Graham, 2010). This is possible because experiencing less fear and having more time and energy for non-vital activities could lead to an increase of "luxury" behaviors, such as play.…”

Section: Conclusion: Domestication or Living Conditions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Welfare: Could Adult Play be a False Friend?

Blois‐Heulin¹,

Rochais²,

Camus³

et al. 2015

AB&C

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-There is no consensus regarding the functions of play. As play behavior is a characteristic of young stages of development, it has been suggested that the higher prevalence of adult play observed in domestic animals could be the result of their "neotenic retardation." Functional hypotheses have dealt with the long term benefits, such as "rehearsal," "motor training" for future adult competencies or "training for the unexpected." However, there is little consistent experimental evidence favoring a particular hypothesis. The present study aimed to test the functional significance of adult play as a potential reliable indicator of good welfare, a by-product of domestication or a tool for social cohesion. Observations of both a domestic species (the horse) and wild/captive animals (cercopithecids) confirm the literature data that show the greater prevalence of adult play in the domestic/captive situations. This convergence between a domestic and a wild species argue against the idea that adult play may be a mere product of domestication. Moreover, animals living in naturalistic situations had the same low level of adult play as observed in wild animals suggesting that captive/domestic animals do not play only because they are stress free or well fed. Play is not a reliable indicator of welfare: Horses and adult macaques that played the most were also those that exhibited the greatest signals of poor welfare as stereotypic behaviors. Furthermore, adult play was more frequent at times of social disturbances and instability. Adult play is a sign showing that the adult organism needs to evacuate stress.

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Relationships between behaviour and health in working horses, donkeys, and mules in developing countries

Cited by 116 publications

References 36 publications

Risk factors associated with health disorders in sport and leisure horses in the Netherlands1

Risk factors associated with health disorders in sport and leisure horses in the Netherlands1

Initial outcomes of a harmonized approach to collect welfare data in sport and leisure horses

Animal Welfare: Could Adult Play be a False Friend?

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