The Concept of Welfare Assessment Protocol for Horses in Herd

The scientific community has developed several concepts to characterize and appreciate animal welfare. Behavioural approaches state that animals should live accordingly to their nature and should be able to perform all necessary behaviours without aversion. Physiological approaches based on the concepts of homeostasis and allostasis have been developed. In developing the concept of the welfare assessment protocol for horses in the Kyrgyz Republic, it is necessary to take into account the special climatic and technological conditions for keeping horses in herds. The purpose of this article is to define the concept of the protocol for assessing the welfare of herd horses bred in mountain pastures. Scientific review of sources in accordance with the research topic was conducted in scientific libraries and Internet sources. Criteria or indicators for assessing the level of well-being of horses bred in pasture conditions were clarified using direct and indirect methods of observation. The obtained data were analyzed using the comparative method. The study identified the following concept of well-being based on the principles of the "five freedoms": 1) It is expedient to adopt the AWIN (2015) protocol as a basis for assessing the level of welfare of horse-herd in the Kyrgyz Republic; 2) Since horses are bred in a herd, all mares and stallions should be examined; 3) The principles of evaluation are as follows: I. Good pasture; II. Good health; III. Proper behavior; 4) In assessing the level of well-being of horses, it was found appropriate to use 20 indicators, each of which is assessed on a 5-point scale within the framework of 7 criteria. The protocol for the assessment of the well-being of horse-herd consists mainly of indicators reflecting the physiological condition and behavior of the horse (85%), supplemented by indicators covering the condition of pastures, conditions of breeding and feeding horses (15%).

Keywords:

herd of horses, animal welfare, animal welfare assessment, animal welfare assessment protocol equine welfare assessment protocol concept,

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