Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2016
A comparative study of the application of two horse welfare assessment protocols
Viksten, Sofie; Visser, E. Kathalijne; Blokhuis, HarryAbstract
Two assessment protocols for horse welfare were compared: the Swedish official protocol (OP) and a newly developed horse welfare assessment protocol (HWAP). The protocols differ in composition: the HWAP contains 20 animal-based (35.7%), 28 resource-based (50.0%) and 8 management-based (14.3%) measures whereas the OP has 4 animal-based (8.9%), 21-resource-based (46.7%), 16-management-based (35.6%) and 4-uncategorized measures (8.9%). The HWAP detected more welfare issues than the OP for 11 out of 12 welfare criteria. The OP took less time to assess (2-4h) compared to the HWAP (3h 20min to 8h 40min). The added level of detail and more animal-based measures means that the HWAP provides a more thorough assessment of welfare of the individual animal than the OP.Keywords
Animal-based measures; assessment guidance; equine welfare; legislation; welfare officersPublished in
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science2016, volume: 66, number: 1, pages: 56-65
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS
Authors' information
Viksten, Sofie
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health
Visser, E. Kathalijne
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health
Associated SLU-program
Centre of Excellence in Animal Welfare Science
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Other Veterinary Science
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064702.2016.1186726
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/77696