From Human Perception of Good Practices to Horse (Equus Caballus) Welfare: Example of Equine-Assisted Activities.

Equine-assisted intervention (EAI) studies deal with clients, whereas very few studies focused on the effects on animals. EAI equids are also submitted to management, which influences their welfare. Management and working conditions depend on human decisions and perception.

Horses' Tactile Reactivity Differs According to the Type of Work: The Example of Equine-Assisted Intervention.

Tactile perception in humans varies between individuals and could depend on extrinsic factors such as working activity. In animals, there is no study relating the influence of animals' work and their tactile reactivity . We investigated horses' tactile reactivity using von Frey filament in different body areas and compared horses working only in equine-assisted interventions (EAI), in riding school (RS) lessons, and in both activities (EAI-RS).

Testing individual variations of horses' tactile reactivity: when, where, how?

Tactile perception is involved in a variety of contexts (adaptations to climatic conditions, protection of the body against external dangers…) and is as important as the other sensory modalities for the survival of an individual. This tactile modality has been particularly well studied in humans, revealing high individual variations modulated by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as age, sex, pathological disorders, or temperament. Tactility is also involved in animals' social lives, although there are disparities between species.

Interest in Humans: Comparisons between Riding School Lesson Equids and Assisted-Intervention Equids.

Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids' perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human-horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded.

On-Farm Welfare Assessment of Horses: The Risks of Putting the Cart before the Horse.

Although the question of animal welfare has been an important source of concern in the scientific community for several decades, many aspects are still under debate. On-farm assessments have to be rapid, acceptable to farmers and safe for both the assessors and animals. They are thus very demanding, with multiple decisions to make, such as the choice of appropriate indicators, sampling methods and scoring.