Welfare assessment of horses and mules used in recreational and muleteer work in the Colombian coffee region.
Authors: Romero Marlyn H, Meneses Fernando, Sanchez Jorge A
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Working equids in the Colombian coffee region—160 creole horses and 40 mules across three municipalities—were assessed using validated animal-based welfare indicators including behavioural observations, body condition scoring, and systematic evaluation of injuries and clinical abnormalities. Whilst the majority of animals demonstrated positive behavioural indicators (78% of horses and 62% of mules showed friendly behaviour) and a reasonable proportion maintained adequate body condition (54% of horses and 80% of mules scored 3 or higher on a five-point scale), skin and deeper tissue lesions were prevalent across 12–30% of animals, with significantly higher injury rates in horses than mules. Weak but statistically significant correlations emerged between poor body condition and systemic health problems, skin lesions, and limb pathology, though the authors suggest these low correlations may reflect owners' baseline investment in care rather than absence of welfare concerns. The injury patterns—concentrated on the head, withers, spine, and hindquarters—implicate high workload and inadequate equipment fit or recovery time rather than simple neglect, indicating that intensified owner education regarding work cycles and rest requirements represents the most practical intervention point. For equine professionals supporting working animals in resource-limited settings, these findings suggest that welfare compromises often reflect systemic pressures and knowledge gaps rather than indifference, making targeted training in workload management, saddle fit assessment, and recovery protocols potentially high-impact approaches to improving on-farm welfare outcomes.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Working equids in this region show signs of overwork despite adequate basic care—owners need education on mandatory rest periods and recovery time to prevent cumulative injury
- •The high prevalence of localized injuries (especially in horses) warrants regular assessment of tack fit, workload distribution, and terrain suitability for the animals' condition
- •Owner engagement is positive (animals are friendly and mostly well-fed), making this population responsive to targeted training interventions on welfare, ergonomics, and humane workload management
Key Findings
- •80% of mules and 54.4% of horses had healthy body condition scores (≥3/5), indicating moderate overall care quality
- •Injuries to head, withers, spine, ribs/flank, hindquarters, and hind legs occurred in 12.5–30.43% of animals, with significantly higher frequency in horses (P<0.05)
- •Weak but statistically significant correlations exist between poor body condition and presence of skin/deep tissue lesions, systemic abnormalities, and limb problems
- •Most animals (78.13% horses, 61.54% mules) displayed friendly behavior, but 10.7–17.5% showed apathetic or severely depressed behavior