Health is one of the components used in horse welfare studies to assess horse well-being. Health encompasses several factors, including avoiding injuries, illnesses, and pain. Pain can result from injury or illness, but it can also be caused by the equipment that is being used on the horse. Pain is one of the most significant …
There has been a lot of talk about the horses’ tongues and mouths recently, ranging from the Adreas Helgstrand documentary to Patrick Kittel’s horse repeatedly showing a blue tongue in competition. After the 2024 World Cup Finals in Riyadh, a Eurodressage-article also presented multiple photographs of top-level horse-rider-combinations, where the horses clearly have their mouth …
Health is a widely used component in equine welfare studies. It is mostly used to assess the well-being and welfare of horses. Health encompasses several factors, including avoiding injuries, illnesses, and pain. In addition to skin injuries and other strain-related injuries, we can commonly observe illnesses, such as respiratory or parasite infections in horses. Hoof …
Housing conditions have a significant impact on the welfare of horses. Not all factors affecting welfare have animal-based metrics in stable operations, thus making data collection and analysis of the specific stable resources and practices necessary. Stable management can affect fundamental aspects of equine welfare. These can be freedom of movement, opportunities for social interactions, …
The well-being of horses is strongly influenced by their housing conditions and management practices. In addition to the daily grooming practices, factors such as suitable temperature and bedding comfort affect the welfare of horses. Freedom of movement, the opportunity for social interactions, and the fulfillment of natural behavioral needs, also contribute to welfare, and depend …
The most suitable nutrition for a horse’s digestive system is fibrous feed that is available continuously. Extended times without feed, especially if lasting more than four hours, negatively impact the horse’s digestive system by compromising its microbial population and increasing acidity levels. This effect can be worsened if grain-based, high-energy feeds are being used. A …
Horses are non-ruminant herbivores, who are naturally designed to move long distances on foot while foraging for food. In the wild, they spend about 16-18 hours a day searching for food and can cover distances of up to 20 kilometers. In contrast, domesticated horses typically walk an average of only 7.5 kilometers per day 1. …
Horses are social herd animals. They are meant to move in a group for approximately 16-18 hours a day, looking for forage. Horses were domesticated 6000 years ago. They have evolved from being just useful for humans to becoming companions. Additionally, horses are used in many activities and disciplines either on a hobby-level or in …
Horses are often moved back to stable conditions as the grazing season comes to an end. As a result, horses are in closer proximity to each other, and available space per horse decreases. Especially in autumn, it is not uncommon that horses infect each other, and diseases spread. Usually, infectious diseases affect the respiratory system …
How using bits affects equine welfare The use of bits in equine sports has been a long-standing topic of discussion within the equestrian community. In Finland, issues related to bits have been raised in disciplines such as harness racing (Tuomola, Mäki‐Kihniä, et al., 2021a) and eventing/cross country (Tuomola, Mäki-Kihniä, et al., 2021b). Internationally, this topic …