Equine

The social dimension of equine welfare: Social contact positively affects the emotional state of stalled horses

The housing conditions of domestic animals influence their welfare; their emotional state can be negatively affected if their needs are not met. This can lead to behavioural changes or disorders that can damage the animal–human relationship. In social species such...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Flamand, A., Robinet, L., Raskin, A. et al. 2025. The social dimension of equine welfare: Social contact positively affects the emotional state of stalled horses. Animal Behaviour 221, 123055.

Shelter use in horses: Time spent indoors and factors of variation – Results from a one-year longitudinal study

Stabling is a common lifestyle for horses, yet numerous studies show that it negatively impacts their welfare, leading to behavioural and health issues. In this study, we aimed to determine how much time horses choose to spend inside their stalls...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lansade, L., Lemarchand, J., Ruet, A. 2025. Shelter use in horses: Time spent indoors and factors of variation – Results from a one-year longitudinal study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 290, 106699.

The ability to interpret affective states in horses’ body language is associated with experience with animals.

In light of an increasing interest in the human ability to read equine emotions, Braun et al. (2024) recently showed that horse-experienced individuals performed better in interpreting affective states in horses’ body language than horse-inexperienced individuals. Further, individuals with a...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Braun, M. N., Bülow, S., Müller-Klein, A. et al. 2025. The ability to interpret affective states in horses’ body language is associated with experience with animals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 290, 106716.

A literature review on equine bedding: Impacts on horse and human welfare, health, and the environment (2025)

Bedding is an important component of equine accommodation management. Choosing the right bedding is important for stable management and its selection may include considerations such as the sourcing of the material, the capital investment and ongoing costs, delivery, storage, installation,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Masebo, N. T., Benedetti, B., Mountricha, M. et al. 2025. A literature review on equine bedding: Impacts on horse and human welfare, health, and the environment. Animals 15(5), 751.

Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses

Facial expressions in prey animals such as equines can convey information regarding their internal state and are therefore often used as cues for welfare and pain evaluation. The state of pain is commonly compared to a neutral state with little...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lundblad, J., Rhodin, M., Hernlund, E. et al. 2025. Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses. Scientific Reports 15(1), 5373.

Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens (2025)

There is increasing focus on how to induce and measure positive affective states in animals and the development of social license to operate has brought this to the forefront within equestrianism. This study aimed to utilise a range of methods...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Personality, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Loftus, L., Newman, A., Leach, M. et al. 2025. Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens. Scientific Reports 15(1), 18550.

Auditory enrichment on facial and physiological responses of Pantaneiro geldings and mares under short-term stress (2025)

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of auditory stimuli on mares and geldings during social isolation and movement restriction, and their ability to promote the reduction of stress responses. The research was conducted with eight Pantaneiro horses, divided into...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Fé, V. C. S. da, Santos, V. M. O. dos, Lima, A. C. B. de et al. 2025. Auditory enrichment on facial and physiological responses of Pantaneiro geldings and mares under short-term stress. PLOS ONE 20(5), e0323649

The power of interspecific sociality: How humans provide social buffering for horses (2025)

In this study, we assessed the interspecific “social buffering effect” of humans on horses, exploring how human presence influences stress responses in horses in an unfamiliar environment using the “isolation paradigm.” We examined nine Haflinger horses under two counterbalanced conditions:...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Di Lucrezia, A., Scandurra, A., Lotito, D. et al. 2025. The power of interspecific sociality: How humans provide social buffering for horses. Animal Cognition 28(1), 20.

Tracking the track: the impact of different grazing strategies on managing equine obesity (2025)

Horses evolved to live in herds, continuously moving and foraging. Domestic horses often have limited social contact and movement, with high calorific intake, contributing to obesity. “Track grazing” is an increasingly popular management system, but evidence of its impact on...

Year Published: 2025Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Cameron, L., Challinor, M., Armstrong, S. et al. 2025. Tracking the track: the impact of different grazing strategies on managing equine obesity. Animals 15(6), 874.

Forage, freedom of movement, and social interactions remain essential fundamentals for the welfare of high-level sport horses

Societal concerns for animal welfare extend to all domestic species, including high-level sport horses. The welfare of these horses, notably highlighted during the recent Olympics, has garnered significant public interest, prompting inquiries into their living conditions. Animal welfare studies have...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Phelipon, R., Hennes, N., Ruet, A. et al. 2024. Forage, freedom of movement, and social interactions remain essential fundamentals for the welfare of high-level sport horses. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.