The role of the veterinary surgeon in equine welfare cases

Assessment of quality of life in equine patients

“…More importantly, measures such as radiographic or biochemical changes may not be directly important to the patient or affect QOL at all. For example, poor body condition or coat overgrowth may not constitute suffering (Green and Tong 2004; see Supplementary Case 2 ) and ‘benign’ pathologies may not be painful. Other findings such as gastric ulceration may relate to QOL in several ways, both as a cause of pain and malaise and as a marker for previous stresses.…”

“…Natural environments may avoid some negative experiences because horses have adapted to them (Fraser et al 1997) but may cause other problems (Broom 2008), including unpleasant experiences (Yeates 2010b). Other inputs may be legally specified (Green and Tong 2004). For example, codes of practice may state that horses should be inspected at least twice daily if stabled, every 24 h if at grass and weekly if semi-feral on heath or moorland (Anon 2009).…”

Horse impoundments under Control of Horses legislation in the Munster region of Ireland: factors affecting euthanasia

“…The study is based on interpretation of pound admission forms, based on data that were manually transcribed by the authors from the pound admission forms. The BCS system was changed in the Cork County Council horse pound in 2010, from the Kronefield system to the Carroll and Huntington system (both systems are described by Green and Tong 2004). These were subsequently combined into three consistent categories (poor condition, acceptable condition, over-conditioned).…”

A review of approaches to assessing equine welfare

“…Welfare assessments within these 2 freedoms typically employ resource-based rather than animal-based measures (Samuel et al 2012), focusing on the suitability of the animal's physical environment, including the provision of essential amenities such as water, shelter and a comfortable area to rest, and the appropriateness of the animal's diet (FAWC 2003). However, assessments should also employ animalbased measures, such as the skin tent turgor test for dehydration (Hastie 2001) and body condition scoring (Green and Tong 2004). Such an assessment should also consider whether the horses species specific needs are being met; for example, does their feeding regime include sufficient forage to meet their physiological requirements as well as satisfy their behavioural need to graze throughout the day (Benhajali et al 2009).…”

“…A number of scales have been derived to measure equine body condition; however, to date, no single scoring system has been agreed or universally adopted. Different body condition scoring systems may utilise 5, 6, or 9 point rating scales (Green and Tong ), making it difficult to compare reports based on different scales. The validity of the pinch (or skin tent turgor) test has also been disputed in the context of working equids (Pritchard et al .…”