Optimising Everyday Welfare in Horses

with Dr Kate Fenner

B. Equine Science (Hons). PhD Horse Behaviour and Training

Often, we are bewildered by our horse’s behaviour. Usually it is because it is behaving badly, but very occasionally it behaves as if it already knows what we want of it. Mostly, we don’t know the cause of the horse’s behaviour, and we just mark it as a bad horse or a surprisingly good one. In both instances we are ignorant, and we really need to know the reason for the behaviour, so in the first instance, we can change what we do to avoid the unwanted behaviour and, in the second instance, understand what we did that achieved the positive outcome. Understanding the Five Domains of Horse Welfare can help unlock many behavioural issues because when a horse’s welfare needs are not met, conflict behaviours often result.

The Five Domains to assess a horse’s welfare are:

1 - Nutrition
2 - Physical Environment
3 - Health
4 - Behavioural Interactions
5 - Mental State

The Five Domains model was developed from the well-established and accepted Five Freedoms: Freedom from hunger and thirst, pain, injury and disease, distress and fear and freedom to express (most) natural behaviours. These were based on a 1965 investigation by Professor Roger Brambell into the welfare of intensively farmed animals, and they were formalised by the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. That was quite a long time ago, but still, there is a lot of work to be done with regard to animal welfare.

The Five Domains extend the Five Freedoms to include the concept of positive welfare states. The aim of the Five Domains model is to help animals thrive rather than just survive. There is no doubt that the physical affects the mental, and that can produce behaviours of concern. Although the Freedoms and Domains were not specifically created for horse welfare, they are as relevant to horses as they are to the commercial overcrowding of production animals.

Horse Deals asked Dr Fenner to go through the Domains with regard to horse welfare and behaviour.

“A lack of knowledge of the Five Domains can lead to behaviours that frustrate and alarm us as horse owners and riders,” begins Dr. Fenner. All the Domains are interconnected and take the horse’s mental experiences into account more so than the Five Freedoms. Rather than just meeting the horse’s basic welfare needs, what we are concerned about now is positive welfare, not a lack of negative welfare.

Nutrition

“This is fairly self-explanatory, but different horses require different feeding regimes. Feeding should be based on the fact that a horse is designed to be grazing for 16 hours a day. They are not bred to stand in stables and have three meals a day. Overfeeding can cause well-known behavioural issues, such as bucking. There is so much written today about gut health and the relation between poor gut health and behaviour. Good gut health goes back to the amount of time the horse is able to graze, as in the wild they would spend 70% of daylight hours and 50% of night hours grazing. The horse has evolved to graze for about 16 – 17 hours a day.

“Horses that are overweight have extra stress on their joints that will produce discomfort before actual lameness, and that discomfort will cause behavioural issues. In the UK they are aware of this, and a horse that is overweight will be penalised in the show ring. Be aware of what your horse needs, educate yourself and feed according to the work done.

“Water can be an issue too, and horses drink a lot. A 15hh horse will drink, on average, 30-50 litres of water a day, more in hot weather. A constant supply of clean water is a must. Sometimes what happens is we take the horse away to competitions, away from their fresh rainwater tank, for example, and offer the horse city tap water. Some horses will refuse to drink, and dehydration will cause health and behavioural issues. If you can take some water from home with you, which is doable for a day show, it might be enough to wean it onto the new water if you’re away for longer periods. Alternately, people have taught their horses to drink water with a little molasses in it, which masks the taste of the chlorinated city water. However, it is best to seek the advice of a veterinarian as to how best to persuade your horse to drink foreign water.

Physical Environment

Fencing to contain our horses can be problematic. How many horses have you seen with wire scars on their legs? We must have the safest fencing we can manage and suitable for the horse you wish to contain. Sheep and cattle fencing is not suitable for horses.

The rubber flooring now popular in stables certainly makes us feel better and is beneficial to the horse’s leg health. It does, however, need to be non-slip and sealed to prevent urine from leaking through and remaining underneath it. But when used for stabled horses, it is not a substitute for bedding. Horses nap on their feet, but they need to lie down to get vital REM sleep and a generous straw or shavings etc. bed will encourage them to lie down. A more open-plan design of the stables where the horses can not only see others but touch them for mutual grooming is beneficial to their mental health.

“There is so much written and advertised about riding surfaces these days. A riding surface will affect how your horse travels and behaves. Is the surface too deep, too hard, too rocky? It will impact your horse’s health, and if the horse is uncomfortable it is not going to learn what you are trying to teach it. Further, if the horse is uncomfortable it can lead to conflict behaviours, which can then make us think the horse has a bad attitude when the problem is simply discomfort. You do not have to have an expensive work arena, but you do have to be mindful of where you work your horse and for how long.

Health

“If the horse is not healthy, their welfare, training and behaviour will all suffer. We always need to be looking for indications of ill health and they are often behavioural. The first element of the Health Domain is learning to recognise pain and discomfort in your horse. If the horse suddenly starts to behave differently, for example, toss their head, swish their tail, or lean on the left or right rein, you need to check them for injury or illness, and you need to check your training. Usually the sudden onset of a behaviour of concern indicates pain or discomfort.

“The weight of the rider too can be an issue, and the combined weight of the rider and saddlery should be less than 20% of the horse’s weight. You may say that some heavier people ride light, and certainly, riding ability has an impact on horse comfort, as does saddle fit, but the 20% rule is generous and should be adhered to. Also, be sure that your gear fits correctly. The weight of the horse versus the weight of the rider; if the limit is exceeded it causes pain, lameness and behavioural issues. This can lead to a downward welfare spiral, as we often then think the horse is ‘naughty’ or ‘trying to hurt us’, which in turn makes the rider reactive and more likely to punish the horse.

“Regular visits from the farrier and dentist, as well as advised vaccinations, all contribute to keeping your horse healthy. Grooming and rugging, the do’s and don’ts. Do groom the horse; don’t just hose it. Grooming stimulates the natural oils in the coat and also provides a light massage, which the horses actually enjoy. It also provides quality time with your horse, so you get to know one another without the demands of training or riding. Don’t trim the insides of its ears or shave your horse’s whiskers – these are important for the horse. Rugs need to be well-fitting and regularly removed, and if that is not possible, the horse may be better off without a rug.

Behavioural Interactions

“This domain encompasses the behavioural interactions your horse has with both their environment, other animals and with humans. Horses require access to what we refer to as the 3Fs – Friends, Forage and Freedom.
“Horses are social animals, communicating through body language, touch, vocalisation and facial expressions. They need to live in a herd where they can engage with others and enjoy those relationships.

“We need to make sure that the horse has good interactions with other horses, other animals and humans. It is important that we understand learning theory and understand the use of combined reinforcement (pressure/release/reward). This way, we can be more proactive when training the horse; with an understanding of learning theory, we can avoid punishment or correction and focus on reinforcement.

“I always try to do as much groundwork as possible, as it is always more difficult for the horse to learn the concept under saddle. It is easier for the horse to learn when you are not on top of them. You can teach, go forward, turn, stay in frame, and transition from the ground, and it is easier for the horse to understand and more likely to achieve a positive outcome and, thus, a more positive learning experience for the horse.

“Try to spend time with your horse when you are not asking them anything; just be with them and observe them and get to know your horse. The more you get to know your horse, the easier it will be to communicate with them. It’s also advisable to keep track of changes in your horse’s behaviour. A good way to benchmark your horse’s behaviour is to use the free tool, E-BARQ.

Overall Mental Health

“By addressing all the domains above, we are trying to maximise the positive experiences the horse has. While we want to minimise the negative, a lack of negative is not necessarily good welfare. We want to always be on the lookout for any negative experiences the horse might encounter so that they can be addressed quickly. As owners, it’s our responsibility to safeguard our horse’s mental wellbeing.

“Can you tell if your horse is happy? Horses don’t wag their tails like dogs. They also don’t complain as a dog would if you strapped its mouth shut with a noseband, for example. The dog would whine and complain; you would know that they were unhappy with the situation. The horse doesn’t whine etc, so does that mean they’re happy to have their mouth strapped shut? Knowing whether your horse is happy or not comes down to how well you know your horse. The best we can do is be aware of our horse’s behaviour and their general state of being so that we notice changes.

“Each Domain is interconnected with the others and impacts behaviour. We need to set our horse up for success by addressing each of the Five Domains.”

Article: Anna Sharpley.

Enjoyed this article?
Subscribe to our email newsletter to get more articles like this straight to your inbox!