Equids in Equine Assisted Services: A Scoping Review.
Authors: Rankins Ellen M, McKeever Kenneth H, Malinowski Karyn
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Equids in Equine Assisted Services: A Scoping Review Whilst equine assisted services (EAS) continue to expand as therapeutic interventions for human health conditions, relatively little research has examined how this work affects the horses and donkeys providing it. Rankins, McKeever and Malinowski conducted a systematic scoping review of 51 peer-reviewed articles to map what we actually know about equid welfare within EAS settings, identifying four distinct research categories: simple descriptions of EAS equids, acute physiological or behavioural responses to EAS work, effects of management practices, and chronic adaptations over time. The review reveals substantial gaps in our understanding, particularly regarding long-term welfare implications and how to differentiate between short-term stress responses and sustained effects of EAS participation. To move the field forward, the authors emphasise that future studies must employ multi-faceted assessment approaches (combining behavioural, physiological and affective measures), utilise appropriate control groups, and report comprehensive methodological details—equid demographics, workload quantification, and programming specifics—that would enable meaningful comparison and eventual meta-analysis. For equine professionals involved in EAS delivery, this scoping review underscores that current evidence remains insufficient to make evidence-based welfare recommendations, highlighting an urgent need for rigorous research to safeguard equid well-being whilst maintaining the therapeutic benefits these animals provide.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Equine professionals engaged in EAS must recognize that equid welfare research significantly lags behind human outcome documentation and should advocate for more rigorous welfare monitoring protocols
- •Implementation of standardized measurement protocols including equid demographics, workload data, and behavioral/physiological responses is critical for establishing best practices in EAS programming
- •Differentiation between acute and chronic effects of EAS work on individual horses is essential for designing sustainable programming that protects equid health and well-being while minimizing human injury risk
Key Findings
- •51 articles met inclusion criteria and were categorized into four groups: characterization of equids in EAS, acute responses to EAS, effects of management practices, and chronic responses to EAS
- •Research on acute and chronic effects of EAS on equids is inadequate, with less attention paid to equid welfare compared to human outcomes
- •Current studies lack detailed reporting of study design, programming characteristics, equid demographics, and workload metrics needed for meta-analysis
- •Multi-faceted assessment approaches with relevant control groups are required to evaluate the complex effects of EAS work on equid welfare and affective states