Animal category: Equines

Review exploring relational enrichment in ruminants and equines, examining current husbandry practices such as group housing and human-animal interactions. It highlights the importance of social relationships for animal welfare and identifies gaps in research. The study suggests ways to improve these practices, emphasizing the crucial role of farmers in promoting positive human-animal relationships.

Study developing a welfare protocol for horses raised for meat in semi-extensive systems, applicable to both pasture and stable housing. Based on an assessment cohort of 429 horses, differences were observed between the pasture and stable systems, mainly related to staff training and the feeding of the horses. This protocol could fill current gaps in equine welfare assessment and help to support veterinary controls.

Scientific study using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE), developed to assess musculoskeletal pain in competition horses. The study shows that horses participating in lower-level events show higher RHpE scores, manifesting more signs of pain, compared to those at higher levels. Recognizing these behaviors can improve horse welfare and rider safety.

Article proposing a non-anthropocentric justification for a tax on meat consumption to improve animal welfare. Functioning like a Pigouvian tax, this tax takes into account externalities on farm animals and could make intensive livestock farming unprofitable. Taxes would be particularly high for chickens and pigs, reflecting the differences in welfare between the species.

Scientific paper showing that horses are able to distinguish the facial expressions of joy or sadness humans. This discovery adds to our understanding of the cognitive processing of human facial expressions by horses.

Article describing horses' visual spectrum, their color preferences and the impact of environmental color choices on their welfare. 

Scientific article aimed at identifying the factors that influence horse owners' choice of training approach. An online survey revealed that the choice of approach depended on several factors: age, gender, goals, activities, role in the industry and whether or not respondents had undergone training in animal behavior. Beliefs about the sentience and cognitive abilities of horses, and the use of scientific data were correlated with the likelihood of applying aversive methods.

Article describing behavioral variations in stabled horses at 2-year intervals. Among the welfare indicators observed at the individual level, aggressive behaviour towards humans increased, while resting postures decreased. Other observed behaviours (stereotypies, withdrawal, alert and observation postures) did not change significantly over time.

Scientific summary article describing the AI bioacoustic tools that are currently available for the assessment and monitoring of the welfare of farm animals. The article does, however, stress that it is currently rare to see these methods used on the ground  to help farm management. 

Article proposing an analytical tool that sites the impacts of public policy on animal welfare within the same framework as impacts on human welfare, the environment and the economy. This would enable the advantages and disadvantages of public policies to be expressed both globally and more accurately, and would make it possible to compare different impacts. To this end, the authors propose a method for monetizing animal welfare that expresses the intrinsic value of impacts on animal welfare in monetary terms.