Exercise as a welfare strategy? Insights from horse (Equus caballus) owners in the UK
Authors: C. J. Naydani, Tamsin Coombs
Journal: Animal Welfare
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Exercise as a Welfare Strategy in UK Horse Management Obesity-related conditions, particularly laminitis and Equine Metabolic Syndrome, represent significant welfare challenges across the UK equine population, yet conventional weight-management approaches that rely on pasture restriction and stabling often inadvertently compromise other aspects of wellbeing through social isolation. Naydani and Coombs surveyed 804 UK horse owners to examine whether increased exercise might offer a more holistic alternative, exploring both owner attitudes towards exercise and the relationship between activity levels and measurable health outcomes. Among respondents, 40% reported their horses as overweight or obese, and horses that were regularly ridden showed substantially lower incidence of laminitis and EMS—suggesting exercise does confer protective metabolic benefits. However, approximately 90% of owners identified external barriers significantly limiting their ability to provide structured exercise, with livery yard residents particularly constrained in their capacity to increase self-directed movement compared to those managing horses on private land. These findings highlight that promoting exercise as a welfare intervention requires systemic changes to yard infrastructure and management practices rather than relying on owner education alone, pointing towards the need for facility-level innovations that facilitate both human-led and unrestricted movement opportunities.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Exercise is strongly associated with reduced laminitis and metabolic disease risk, but implementation barriers (yard facilities, time, access) are the main limiting factor—not owner knowledge alone
- •Livery yard management and facilities are critical constraints; if you operate a livery yard, consider whether your facilities enable adequate self-directed exercise as a welfare priority
- •Simply restricting feed through stabling creates welfare problems; exploring how to increase exercise opportunity (both ridden and free movement) should be part of your weight-management strategy
Key Findings
- •40% of surveyed horses were owner-reported as overweight/obese despite most being managed in obesogenic conditions
- •Horses that were ridden showed significantly decreased reports of laminitis and Equine Metabolic Syndrome compared to non-ridden horses
- •Approximately 90% of owners reported that barriers outside their control substantially limited opportunities to provide human-led exercise
- •Owners keeping horses at livery yards felt significantly less able to increase self-directed exercise compared to owners with horses on private properties