Optimising the Efficacy of Equine Welfare Communications: Do Equine Stakeholders Differ in Their Information-Seeking Behaviour and Communication Preferences?
Authors: Pickering Persephone, Hockenhull Jo
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Understanding how equine professionals and horse owners actually seek information is crucial for improving welfare outcomes, yet most welfare guidance assumes that simply publishing guidelines will drive behavioural change. Pickering and Hockenhull surveyed three UK stakeholder groups—horse owners, livery yard operators, and equine veterinarians—via online questionnaire to map their information-seeking behaviours, awareness of welfare Codes of Practice, and preferred communication methods. All three groups showed a strong preference for learning from people rather than organisations or written/digital resources, with veterinarians consistently identified as the most trusted and frequently consulted source of equine information across all demographics. Whilst awareness of the equine welfare Code of Practice was reasonably high, actual engagement with the document was substantially lower—particularly amongst horse owners—with barriers including both the format of the Code and perceptions of the issuing organisation. Stakeholders also expressed a clear preference for neutrally-framed or positively-oriented welfare messaging over fear-based or deficit-focused approaches. These findings underscore that equine professionals, especially veterinarians, are effectively gatekeepers in the knowledge transfer pipeline to horse owners; improving welfare outcomes therefore depends on equipping these professionals with accessible, evidence-based information and recognising that communication style and delivery method matter significantly in achieving genuine behavioural change.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Veterinarians should prioritise staying current with evidence-based welfare information, as they are the primary trusted information source for horse owners and other equine professionals
- •When communicating welfare guidance and research findings to horse owners, frame information positively and neutrally rather than emphasising problems or failures
- •Consider that written guidelines and codes alone are insufficient to change owner behaviour; personalised advice from trusted professionals (particularly vets) is more effective than document-based communication
Key Findings
- •All three stakeholder groups (horse owners, livery yard owners, veterinarians) preferentially sought equine information from people rather than organisations or digital/printed resources
- •Equine veterinarians were the most utilised information source across all stakeholder groups, highlighting their critical role in knowledge transfer
- •Majority of participants were aware of equine welfare Codes of Practice, but fewer had actually read them, particularly among horse owners
- •Stakeholders expressed preference for information delivered in neutral or positive framing rather than negative messaging about welfare issues