People's perceptions of equine welfare
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2447-6218.2023.45347Keywords:
Behavior, Handling, Horse, HousingAbstract
The objective was to demonstrate the perception of the welfare of horses by people with different relationships with these animals. A questionnaire was carried out on an online platform with electronic dissemination. The questionnaire contained 15 closed ended questions whose theme was welfare associated with pain, stereotypies, hooves, social interaction, accommodation and body condition score of horses. A total of 319 responses to the questionnaire were obtained. A statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's chi-square test considering 5% significance. The responses were statistically influenced by the type of relationship with the animals on: level of sensitivity to pain in horses (P = 0.0047), pain caused by harness (P = 0.0045), stereotypes (P = 0.0231), perception of hoof with excessive growth (P = 0.0001), perception of hoof with normal growth (P = 0.0416), factors influenced by excessive hoof growth (P = 0.0673), social interaction (P = 0, 0001), quality of accommodation (P = 0.0001), dimensioning of stall (P = 0.0002) and aspects that influence the body condition score (P = 0.0529). The scores for questions related to the horse’s ability to feel pain (P = 0.8346), the importance of social interaction (P = 0.4507), the ideal option for social interaction (P = 0.1320) and body condition score (P = 0.2750) were not significant. The type of relationship between people and horses interferes with their perception of animal welfare. People who have some kind of direct relationship with horses are more aware of the basic aspects of welfare than those who have no direct relationship with horses.
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