Identification of Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Issues by Industry Stakeholders

Abstract

Identifying key welfare issues for thoroughbred racehorses could lead to an improvement in standards. A lack of scientific information on the relative importance of key issues was addressed by soliciting the views of, first, welfare experts in the industry and, second, a broader group of stakeholders, who selected the best welfare options by adaptive conjoint analysis. The experts represented racehorse breeders, veterinarians, trainers, owners, government officials, salespeople, farriers, transporters, and horse re-trainers for post-racing activities. In a focus group meeting, the experts identified fourteen key welfare issues, each with two to four levels that related to common husbandry practices. Then, in an internet survey, 224 stakeholders ranked the issues using adaptive conjoint analysis, in declining importance, as: horsemanship > health and disease > education of the horse > track design and surface > ventilation > stabling > weaning > transport > nutrition > wastage > heat and humidity > whips > environment > gear. Relatively uniform responses to the survey by the different stakeholder groups suggested that there was a common view on what had the biggest impact on welfare. An exception was a greater rating given by women than men to the importance of correct horse nutrition. The rating of importance for welfare of different levels of provision of each issue mostly conformed to the scientific evidence, with the exception of weaning. This understanding of the importance of welfare issues for thoroughbred racehorses could be used to target interventions to the most serious problems.

Horse Husbandry–Nutrition, Management and Welfare

“…In westernised countries, horses are utilised largely for leisure activities with horse racing being readily identified as a major industry. This industry is often challenged by the general public on issues of welfare arising for horses being highly trained for racing [3]. Identifying key welfare issues facing racehorses should assist in improving welfare standards, but there is still a lack of scientific evidence on what the key issues are and their relative importance [3].…”

“…This determination is made using objective measures such as hair cortisol concentrations [5] and time budgets [6]. The welfare status and care of two very different groups of horses, working horses in Honduras [2] and racing Thoroughbreds in Australia [3] is presented, demonstrating the importance of sound welfare in both situations. Despite the two groups of horses seemingly being worlds apart, there are striking similarities in what is considered important for the care and management of these two groups.…”

“…Two studies investigated human aspects of equine welfare in two vastly different contexts. Wild et al [2] investigated owners' knowledge and approaches to colic in working equids in Honduras, while Mactaggart et al [3] aimed to identify the key welfare issues of Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia by industry stakeholders.…”

“…Thoroughbred racehorses also face compromised welfare due to being highly trained and transported regularly to race meetings. However, there is little documented information on the most serious welfare issues confronting racehorses [3]. A panel of experts working in the Thoroughbred racing industry determined the key welfare issues that were prioritised using a wider stakeholder survey.…”

“…For each key issue, up to four levels of husbandry provision were identified. The first of the levels represented the ideal husbandry situation for racehorse welfare, which we might term 'best practice', and the last represented the least desirable husbandry option [3].…”