Working equines: Assessment of welfare and management practices in and around Debre Markos District, Northwest Ethiopia.
Authors: Bihon, Amognehegn, Derbew, Yirsa
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Welfare and Management Practices in Working Equines, Northwest Ethiopia Despite their critical economic importance across developing regions, working equines frequently receive inadequate management—a gap this 2025 cross-sectional study sought to quantify in Debre Markos District, Ethiopia. Researchers physically examined 384 equines (186 donkeys, 144 horses, and 54 mules) and conducted structured interviews with their owners between December 2022 and April 2023, documenting management practices and welfare indicators. The findings revealed substantial deficiencies: over half the animals (60.4%) were engaged in goods transport without saddles in 54.2% of cases, whilst hoof care was neglected in nearly three-quarters of holdings and enclosure sanitation was absent in 13% of facilities—collectively contributing to a 52.1% prevalence of various lesions. Notably, donkeys showed significantly elevated risk of skin, mouth, and foot lesions compared to horses (adjusted OR 3.008), whilst owner education and livelihood type markedly influenced check-up practices, with literate farmers 3.9 times more likely than unschooled merchants to conduct regular assessments. These findings highlight critical leverage points for intervention: targeted education programmes addressing hoof care protocols, appropriate saddle usage, and preventive health monitoring could substantially reduce preventable morbidity in working equine populations, particularly where literacy and extension support are limiting factors.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Implement targeted hoof care education programs — 72% non-compliance represents the largest preventable welfare gap; work with farriers and community health workers to normalise regular trimming schedules
- •Saddle usage and harness fit must be promoted as welfare essentials; lesion prevalence directly correlates with poor tack management, suggesting significant economic and ethical losses for owners
- •Design owner education interventions stratified by literacy level and livelihood type (farmer vs. merchant); literate farmers showed 8.75× higher compliance with check-ups, indicating education investment will yield rapid returns in health outcomes
Key Findings
- •60.4% of working equines were used for transporting goods in the study area
- •52.1% prevalence of various lesions overall, with donkeys 3× more likely than horses to develop skin, mouth, and foot lesions (OR 3.008, p=0.001)
- •72.4% of owners did not engage in hoof care and 54.2% refrained from using saddles
- •Farmers practised regular check-ups more than merchants (OR 0.441, p<0.001), and literate owners more than unschooled owners (OR 3.867, p<0.001)