Enhancing equine welfare: a qualitative study on the impact of RAiSE (Recognizing Affective States in Equine) as an educational tool
Authors: A. Wells, K. Hiney, C. Brady, K.P. Anderson
Journal: Translational Animal Science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: RAiSE Educational Tool for Equine Affective State Recognition Growing public scrutiny and industry pressure to demonstrate genuine welfare improvements have highlighted a significant knowledge gap: many horse owners lack consistent ability to accurately interpret equine affective states, particularly those with limited hands-on experience. Wells and colleagues developed RAiSE (Recognizing Affective States in Equine), an online educational intervention, and evaluated its effectiveness through qualitative interviews with ten participants, employing inductive thematic analysis to identify patterns in user experience and learning outcomes. Participants reported meaningful improvements in their capacity to assess horses' emotional states through enhanced observation of body language, interpretation of sensory responses, and recognition of pain-related behavioural changes—with most expressing clear intent to modify their management practices accordingly. Five core themes emerged from the analysis: emotional state awareness, comprehensive body language reading, equine sensory interpretation, pain recognition, and understanding human influence on behaviour and welfare. For farriers, veterinarians, physiotherapists, and other equine professionals, this research underscores that structured, accessible education substantially improves owner decision-making and welfare practices, suggesting that recommending or integrating evidence-based tools like RAiSE into your client engagement could meaningfully amplify the impact of direct professional advice on actual horse outcomes.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Educational tools focused on affective state recognition can help horse owners make better welfare-based management decisions
- •Learning to recognize pain indicators and emotional states in horses through structured education improves owner awareness and decision-making
- •Online educational platforms like RAiSE can be effective for reaching horse owners with limited access to consistent hands-on instruction
Key Findings
- •Participants reported improved ability to assess equine affective states after completing the RAiSE online educational tool
- •Key themes emerged including awareness of emotional states, body language interpretation, pain recognition, and human influence on behavior
- •Users expressed intent to alter their management and behavioral practices based on learning from RAiSE
- •Thematic analysis identified both improvements achieved and challenges with online learning delivery