The World Breeding Federation for Sports Horses is employing its unique position as the representative body of 86 studbooks in 36 countries to become a driving force for better equine health and welfare in the sports horse industry worldwide. True to the organisation’s fundamental values, this ambition is supported and aided by scientific data and research to develop fact-based recommendations and ensure measurable positive outcomes for the millions of sports horses worldwide.
The WBFSH has therefore commissioned a far-reaching research project by Hartpury University. Led by Prof. Jane M. Williams with contributions from Janet Forbes, Lorna Cameron, Maria Donovan and Erica Febery, ‘Evidence-based recommendations for the enhancement of sports horse welfare in breeding’ were developed to inform the preparation of a WBFSH Welfare Charter and a series of draft Welfare Codes of Conduct, alongside recommendations for areas requiring future research to enhance the welfare of sport horses within breeding. The team also envisages a scientific publication in due course.
The project findings are summarised in an executive summary, produced in six languages.
Says WBFSH President Jan Pedersen:
“We are very grateful to the team at Hartpury University for their hard and groundbreaking work. We are fully committed to supporting all our member studbooks and 150,000 breeders worldwide in making the best choices in breeding for welfare. This starts with the selection of breeding stock most likely to produce horses able to lead a long and healthy life, but it affects every aspect of our activities, from breeding techniques to ongoing management to end-of-life care.”
Research Project Overview
The project adopted a 3-stage methodology combining consultation with industry participants with review of the existing academic literature. Initial interviews with17 WBFSH members established key welfare considerations from industry. A subsequent systematic review of the scientific literature was based on the key themes that emerged from the interviews, including scientific evidence on breeding practices, conditions, and interventions that impact horse wellbeing and quality of life. Mellor’s Five Domains Model as a framework provided a framework for management recommendations. A final series of focus groups was held with key industry stakeholders and academics recognised as thought leaders in equine welfare before the project’s recommendations were presented to WBFSH members at the 2024 General Assembly.
Project Findings
The initial interviews highlighted three key welfare areas based on the different stages of the breeding cycle. In the area of selection of breeding stock, main themes for consideration were genetics, grading assessments and end of life management. In the field of management of breeding stock, key areas were conception and use of artificial reproductive techniques, as well as the welfare of mares and stallions. In the area of foal and youngstock management foal and youngstock socialisation and training were seen as important, among other management considerations.
A systematic review of literature of these welfare themes found that across all three stages of the breeding cycle, research studies were not designed to consider horse welfare needs. Published papers tend to focus on the execution or efficacy of specific techniques and practices, or on health and disease outcomes rather than applying a more holistic evaluation of how the welfare of horses was impacted. Current welfare guidelines recommended best practice within a broader welfare context but lacked specific detail or explicit options to implement these measures. This highlights the need for future research and industry guidance in areas associated with breeding to integrate specific consideration of horse welfare and recommend best practice approaches to provide horses involved with an overall good life.
Two online focus groups consulted with global experts in equine welfare to review the results of the systematic reviews. Their aim was to focus on advising about the implementation of the findings through guidelines for the welfare of breeding sports horses and how to encourage worldwide uptake by the breeding industry.
They recommended implementing a contextualised welfare definition for the WBFSH and to keep messaging simple and focused around the Five Domain’s Model by generating core welfare principles and values to provide a contextualised welfare framework for WBFSH members. Once established, these need to be made globally accessible through translation and through providing concrete examples and scenarios to showcase how the principles can be achieved practically.
Says Professor Jane Williams:
“Our research has demonstrated that welfare in horse breeding practices is still under-researched. Our systematic review of the existing literature has highlighted areas where further work is needed. We also found that in order to translate our findings into improving horse welfare in practice, we need to support a strong implementation strategy that is accessible and achievable. We are grateful for the support from the WBFSH not only in funding this research project, but also in their unwavering commitment to ensuring its findings lead to real improvements in horse welfare worldwide.”
Project Outcomes and Recommendations
The WBFSH Welfare Statement is underpinned by the organisation’s welfare values.
Welfare Principles
- In all circumstances consider and prioritise the welfare of individual horses.
- Promote indicators of health, welfare and longevity as well as performance into breeding strategies, breeding stock selection and grading.
- Prepare horses for breeding practices through ethical, evidence informed and age-appropriate training.
- Engage in responsible and ethical breeding practices that generate a sustainable breeding industry.
- Engage in effective and informed health and welfare assessment of individual horses to support robust decision making across breeding practices and management of breeding stock.
- Meet individual horses’ needs: Provide horses with friends, forage, and freedom to facilitate function without force by providing mares, stallions and young horses with choice.
- Provide appropriate nutritional plans for individual horses’ life stage and management to optimise welfare and that do not solely prioritise production outputs.
- Promote best practice in weaning approaches to optimise the welfare of foals and mares.
- Provide horses with a foundation for a good life through evidence based early handling and training of youngstock / young horses.
- Commit to ethical and informed lifelong care of breeding stock including effective retirement and end of life planning.
Enablers Underpinning and Supporting the Welfare Principles:
- Education: Develop knowledge and practical skills in interpreting horse behaviour indicators, welfare assessment, and ethical training methods.
- Evidence: Generate through targeted and funded research that can inform practice and human behaviour change.
- Ethics: Adopt ethical approaches across breeding practice and stock management using first principles (do no harm) to arrive at logical and defensible decisions.
- Execution: Pragmatic, economical and sustainable approach.
Next Steps
In the next phases the WBFSH will work with its member studbooks on implementation strategies for the project findings. This includes integration of a welfare statement into its statutes. In consultation with its member studbooks, the WBFSH will support the inclusion of behavioural, health and longevity related attributes within breed strategies to promote responsible and sustainable breeding.
The organisation will continue to work with industry partners to use its influence to ensure prioritisation of equine welfare as a key consideration across all aspects of the breeding industry. It will keep working with leading scientists in supporting and disseminating research to generate evidence that can inform and advance equine welfare in the breeding sector to promote responsible breeding.
Last but not least the WBFSH will continue to support all breeders of sports horses across the world through accessible communications, information and webinars to provide guidance and support to empower breeders to promote a good life for horses.
