Evaluation of the Feasibility, Reliability, and Repeatability of Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses: A Pilot Study.
Authors: Harley Jessica J, Stack J David, Braid Helen, McLennan Krista M, Stanley Christina R
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Whilst robust welfare assessment protocols exist for intensively managed horses, free-roaming and conservation-grazing populations have largely been overlooked, leaving practitioners without standardised tools to evaluate their wellbeing. Harley and colleagues addressed this gap by developing and piloting a welfare assessment template on Carneddau Mountain ponies, combining 12 animal-based indicators (including modified body condition and mobility scoring) with 6 resource-based measures, then testing inter-assessor reliability and repeatability across multiple evaluators on 34–35 animals. The majority of indicators demonstrated good repeatability and reliability between assessors, though some measures—such as behavioural indicators with low occurrence in the study population—could not be adequately validated in this initial phase. These findings suggest that many welfare measures routinely used in stabled or intensively managed settings can be adapted for extensive grazing systems with minor modification, offering a practical foundation for developing a validated assessment protocol tailored to the specific management and environmental challenges of free-roaming herds. For professionals involved in conservation grazing, rangeland management, or welfare oversight of pastoral equine populations, this work represents an important first step towards evidence-based assessment tools currently lacking in their field.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Body condition scoring and mobility assessment are feasible and repeatable tools for monitoring free-roaming horse welfare, providing standardized methods for land managers and conservationists
- •A 20-question welfare assessment template can be reliably used across different assessors for range-based horses, enabling consistent welfare monitoring and comparison across populations
- •Some welfare indicators developed for stabled horses may require adaptation or alternative measures when applied to free-roaming populations, necessitating context-specific refinement
Key Findings
- •Many animal and resource-based welfare indicators demonstrated good repeatability and inter-assessor reliability in free-roaming Carneddau Mountain ponies
- •A prototype welfare assessment template comprising 12 animal-based and 6 resource-based indicators (20 total questions) was successfully trialed with minor modifications needed for range settings
- •Some indicators could not be verified for reliability due to low or absent occurrence in the free-roaming population
- •Welfare indicators validated in intensive equine settings can be adapted and applied to extensively managed and conservation grazing horses with modifications