Ask a farrier what’s wrong with your horse and the answer starts in the feet. Ask a nutritionist and it starts in the feed bucket. It’s funny because it’s true — and it’s true because it’s biology. This article explores how your experience and expertise shape what you detect in your horse, what you miss, and why a whole-horse welfare assessment process changes everything.
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Horse people are often told a practice is “evidence-based” — but how can you tell whether research truly puts horses’ welfare first? This article explains why behaviour and equipment studies carry hidden risks, introduces the COMPASS Guidelines, and shows how non-researchers can ask better, welfare-focused questions before trusting claims or volunteering their horses.
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In this final paper, the late Dr Robert Cook reviews decades of anatomical, physiological, and behavioural research showing how bits cause pain, breathing restriction, and performance loss in horses. He argues that allowing bit-free options across all disciplines would improve welfare, enhance safety, and restore public trust in equestrian sport.
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Tough question time. Which horses have better health and welfare: leisure-riding horses? Or...
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Can sport horses be happy? The first ever Equitation Welfare Workshop took place on 1st & 2nd...
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Brumby welfare If people would just leave brumbies, mustangs, and other free-roaming horses alone,...
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As horse owners, we aim to provide the best welfare for our horses, but, what is good horse...
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During the Victorian era, many people had little empathy for their beasts of burden, but all that...
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