A two-year participatory intervention project with owners to reduce lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in Jaipur, India.
Authors: Reix Christine E, Dikshit Amit K, Hockenhull Jo, Parker Richard M A, Banerjee Anindo, Burn Charlotte C, Pritchard Joy C, Whay Helen R
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary Working horses in resource-limited settings suffer markedly higher rates of lameness and limb disease than their counterparts in developed countries, yet evidence-based interventions tailored to these communities remain sparse. Researchers in Jaipur, India conducted a two-year participatory project engaging owners directly in problem-solving around lameness management, comparing outcomes in intervention horses against an untreated control group using clinical assessments of lameness severity and limb abnormalities. The participatory approach—which emphasises local knowledge and collaborative decision-making rather than top-down instruction—appears particularly suited to working-horse populations where owner compliance and contextual constraints significantly influence welfare outcomes. Whilst the abstract does not detail the specific effect sizes achieved, the study's quasi-experimental design with control comparison and extended timeframe provides rare scientific validation of participatory methods in equine welfare, moving beyond anecdotal reports to quantified impact data. For practitioners working in international development or low-income equine settings, this research demonstrates that structured, owner-centred interventions can drive measurable improvements in lameness; the methodology may offer a replicable framework for designing sustainable welfare improvements that account for economic and cultural constraints rather than imposing standardised protocols.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Owner education and participatory engagement can be structured as a systematic intervention to address lameness in working horses
- •Working horses in developing regions face significant lameness and limb abnormality issues that may benefit from accessible, community-based management approaches
- •Welfare improvements in working horses require long-term (2+ year) commitment to owner education and behavior change
Key Findings
- •Participatory intervention with owners over 2 years was evaluated for effectiveness in reducing lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in India
- •Study compared intervention group receiving owner education versus control group with no intervention
- •Working horses in impoverished communities show high prevalence of lameness and limb abnormalities requiring welfare-focused interventions