Welfare assessment of stabled horses in five equestrian disciplines

In Serbia, at present, there is very little information about the welfare of horses. The aim of this study was to identify the main welfare issues likely to be encountered in five different categories of horses (Western riding horses, riding school horses, leisure horses, jumping horses, and endurance horses) kept in stabled housing systems. A total of 50 horses were evaluated using the Animal Welfare Indicator (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses. Identified welfare issues in horses were inadequate box dimensions (52%, 26/50), insufficient quantity of bedding material (34%, 17/50), dirty bedding material (52%, 26/50), integument alterations (68%, 34/50), lameness (16%, 8/50), stereotypic behaviors (28%, 14/50), and negative response to human presence (24%, 12/50). The mean scores for alopecia, skin lesions, hardened spots at the mouth corners, horse grimace scale, and human-animal relationship tests in riding school horses were significantly higher (P<0.05; P<0.001) than for other categories of horses. The leisure horses exercised significantly less often (P<0.001) compared with other categories of horses. Additionally, important risks to welfare, identified across all groups of horses, were insufficient social interaction where 14 horses (28%) were unable to have any visual or physical contact with other horses. The results of this study provide the first analysis and valuable insight into the impact of the individual stable housing system on the welfare of different categories of horses in the Balkan region.