Study finds horse owners rate welfare highly but want better evidence-based guidance

A qualitative study into how horse owners understand welfare has found that owners care deeply about it and hold views that align closely with the scientific evidence base — but that turning those intentions into everyday routines remains the harder part. The research, carried out by Hartpury University alongside Swedish and Dutch universities and the equestrian marketing company EQuerry, was published in the International Journal of Equine Science in June and reported by Horse & Hound on 10 August.

Rather than a standard tick-box survey, the team put eight open-ended, real-world questions to 341 respondents — for example, what advice they would give a friend choosing a livery yard with welfare as the top priority, and what they wish they had known when they first started with horses. Co-author Dr Victoria Lewis told Horse & Hound she was impressed by how closely owners' descriptions of good welfare tracked the published research. Regular turnout and access to other horses came through as priorities owners hold firmly but often find difficult to secure, particularly at livery yards. Owners also said they want coaches who combine good technical knowledge with high ethical and welfare standards.

The study's wider point is that welfare is not only a matter of management technique. Owners' beliefs about sentience, emotion and how to read behaviour shape what horses actually experience day to day, and those who actively seek out new scientific knowledge appear more willing to question inherited practice. The authors conclude that the gap to close is between intention and action — through accessible, evidence-based guidance rather than more exhortation. For anyone breeding or selling horses, that is a useful reminder that what a new owner is given at the point of handover, and how well it is grounded in evidence, has a long tail.