Exercise as a welfare strategy? Insights from horse (Equus caballus) owners in the UK

Obesity and its comorbidities (e.g. laminitis) are identified as major welfare issues among domestic equids in the United Kingdom (UK) and abroad. Weight-management typically focuses on restricting consumption (e.g. limiting pasture grazing), often facilitated through stabling. This leads to social isolation, prompting other welfare issues. Increased exercise may be a preferable solution for equine obesity, if viable. The aims of this study were to explore horse (Equus caballus) owner perceptions regarding the importance of exercise, and to investigate how exercise provision related to welfare outcomes. Data obtained via an online survey from 804 UK horse owners indicated that most respondents' horses were managed in obesogenic conditions, and 40% were owner-reported as overweight/obese. Exercise-related variables (e.g. if a horse was ridden) correlated with physical health problems, including decreased reports of laminitis and Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Approximately 90% of respondents reported that barriers outside of their control substantially limited opportunities to provide human-led exercise (e.g. riding, lunging). Analysis of a hypothetical weight-management scenario found owners with horses at livery yards felt significantly less able to increase horses' self-directed exercise (e.g. free movement in fields/pastures) than owners keeping horses on their own properties. These findings indicate that while increased exercise may improve welfare, owner knowledge is not the only barrier that must be overcome to implement this prospective solution. Both human-led and self-directed exercise appear limited by a lack of opportunities available to horses and humans. These results justify future investigations into alternative management strategies as potentially viable methods of increasing exercise to improve welfare.