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A comparative study of the application of two horse welfare assessment protocols

  • Sofie Viksten
  • , E. Kathalijne Visser
  • , Harry Blokhuis

    Publication: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)56-65
    Number of pages10
    JournalActa Agriculturae Scandinavica - Section A: Animal Science
    Volume66
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

    Keywords

    • Animal-based measures
    • assessment guidance
    • equine welfare
    • legislation
    • welfare officers

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