Working horse welfare in Senegal is linked to owner's socioeconomic status, their attitudes and belief in horse sentience.
Authors: Seck Mactar, Carder Gemma, Wathan Jennifer, Randau Marcela, Fletcher Kate, Proops Leanne
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary Understanding working horse welfare in low and middle-income countries requires examination of multiple interconnected factors rather than isolated variables. Researchers in Senegal surveyed 299 horse owners and assessed their animals' welfare status, simultaneously measuring owner attitudes towards horse sentience, household socioeconomic indicators (income, ability to meet basic needs, education level), and objective welfare parameters including body condition and general health. The findings revealed statistically significant associations: owners who held stronger beliefs about horse sentience and demonstrated more positive attitudes towards their animals maintained horses in demonstrably better welfare states, whilst higher household income and greater capacity to meet family needs correlated with superior equine general health and body condition scores. Belief in equine sentience emerged as a particularly robust predictor of body condition specifically, suggesting that psychological frameworks—how owners conceptualise horses as feeling, thinking beings—may drive management decisions as powerfully as economic constraints. For professionals working with equine populations in resource-limited settings, these results indicate that welfare interventions combining targeted owner education about horse cognition and sentience alongside socioeconomic support may prove more effective than addressing either dimension independently.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Owner education programs focusing on horse sentience and welfare benefits may improve outcomes even in resource-limited settings
- •Welfare interventions should address the socioeconomic barriers to care (income, household resources) alongside attitude change for maximum impact
- •Working with community leaders and local organizations to shift cultural attitudes toward horses may be as important as direct veterinary intervention in low-income regions
Key Findings
- •Owners with stronger belief in horse sentience had horses in significantly better body condition
- •Higher household income and greater ability to meet household needs were associated with better general health status in owned horses
- •More positive attitudes towards horses correlated with improved overall welfare outcomes
- •Socioeconomic status, owner attitudes, and belief in sentience together form a complex interconnected system affecting working horse welfare