Information for participants at The Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation Equine Welfare Workshop

Abstract

The Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation Equine Welfare Workshop was held on 10-13 August 2015, Galiano Island, British Columbia. 15 horse welfare scholars, veterinarians and animal welfare inspectors assembled on Galiano Island with a common interest in the welfare of the domesticated horse. The aim of this workshop was to conduct a series of assessments of the negative (adverse) welfare impacts of common interventions on horses (horses and ponies) across a broad range of different contexts of equine care, activity and training. Our plan was to spend four days as an expert panel: · presenting some core information on common interventions (and constraints) that are imposed on the domestic horse in various contexts · evaluating the impact of each intervention, as a function of its duration · anticipating the duration of the impact for the animal’s life, using scenarios · recording any gaps in the scientific literature · and potentially, developing a scoring system so that horse carers can map-out the welfare impacts of their activities. These assessments focussed on interventions for which there is some peer-reviewed literature; but it will also provide best-guess assessments where such literature is absent. The current document represents the summary of the relevant literature that the assembled panellist shared before the workshop.