Alistair R. S. Barr

The equine industry in Great Britain has not been subject to the same pressures as the farming industry to engage with welfare assessment, but this may change as concern about equine welfare increases. Stakeholder attitudes toward welfare assessment may impact the implementation of welfare assessment practices. Focus-group discussions regarding welfare assessment were conducted with 6 equine stakeholder groups: leisure horse owners (caregivers; n = 4), grooms (n = 5), veterinary surgeons (n = 3), welfare scientists (n = 4), welfare charity workers (n = 5), and professional riders (n = 4). Three themes emerged from the discussions: (a) Participants predominantly interpreted welfare assessment as a means of identifying and correcting poor welfare in an immediate way; (b) participants believed that horse welfare varied over time; and (c) attributes of the assessor were viewed as an important consideration for equine welfare assessment. The views of equine industry members give insight into the value welfare assessments may have to the industry and how equine welfare assessment approaches can achieve credibility within the industry and increase the positive impact of welfare assessments on equine welfare.

Summary: Background: Suspensory ligament branch ( SLB ) desmopathy is a common cause of lameness and an important cause of lost training in the Thoroughbred racing industry. Studies have assessed the impact of insertional injuries of the SLB on the careers of flat racehorses and established the prevalence of subclinical ultrasonographic SLB abnormalities in this population, but little work has investigated SLB injury in National Hunt ( NH ) racehorses. Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of subclinical ultrasonographic SLB abnormalities in NH racehorses with no clinical signs or history of SLB injury and to establish the cross‐sectional area ( CSA ) of SLB s in this population. Study design: Cross‐sectional study using data collected from horses on an NH yard. Methods: Ultrasonographic examination of forelimb SLB s in 62 horses on a single NH yard was performed. Images were graded according to a previously reported system. CSA measurements were obtained from transverse images. Results: Nineteen of 62 horses had at least one SLB with grade 2 ultrasonographic abnormalities. Grade 2 ultrasonographic abnormalities occurred more frequently in the medial than the lateral SLB (P = 0.05). The medial SLB insertional CSA was significantly larger (P<0.001) than that of the lateral SLB . Main limitations: Length of time on the yard (and therefore available veterinary history) is variable in this population. Conclusions: One in three NH racehorses without history or clinical signs of SLB injury had at least one SLB with a grade 2 ultrasonographic abnormality. The medial branch was over‐represented. The medial SLB insertional CSA is larger than the lateral and thus comparison with the corresponding branch in the contralateral limb is recommended to avoid misdiagnosis of medial SLB enlargement.

Investigating how those responsible for the care of nonhuman animals understand the concept of animal welfare is important for animal welfare improvement. In-depth interviews with 31 equine stakeholders were used to explore their perceptions and understanding of welfare. The results showed the stakeholders understood the concept of welfare in 4 ways. Firstly, welfare was understood in terms of the provision of resources—for example, food. Secondly, a “horse-centered” understanding of welfare was articulated; this understanding included the horses' mental state and was linked to natural behavior. Thirdly, the word welfare had negative connotations, and for some, good welfare was achieved through avoidance of negative states. Finally, interviewees discussed incidents that occurred in their own familiar contexts but suggested that these were not welfare problems. Evidence indicated that the ways in which equine stakeholders understood the concept of welfare might have been acting as a barrier to the alleviation of some equine welfare problems. There is a need for strategies aimed at improving equine welfare to consider stakeholder constructs of welfare and the ways in which these constructs are generated and acted upon.

To build on an active veterinary career, and to sidestep the risk of succumbing to a bout of what he calls ‘past‐presidentitis’ – failing to let go – Alistair Barr became a student again and did a law degree, before being called to the bar in 2012

Summary: Reasons for performing the study: Lameness is prevalent in working donkeys and has major welfare implications; however, a detailed study of the associated clinical signs is lacking. Objectives: To describe the range and prevalence of clinical signs and conformation associated with lameness in working draught donkeys. Study design: Prospective, cross‐sectional, observational study. Methods: Data were collected from 102 working draught donkeys in P akistan. A lameness assessment adapted for working donkeys was used to record clinical signs of lameness, gait, limb conformation and pain responses in the feet, limbs and spine using observation, palpation and manipulation. Lameness at the walk was scored from 0 to 10 (sound to nonweightbearing). Results: Every donkey examined had gait abnormalities, with 5% having a nonweightbearing limb. Lameness was significantly more severe with older age, lower body condition score and forward‐at‐the‐knee conformation. More severe lameness was also associated with pain responses in the hoof walls, palpation of limb joints and spinal flexion. Joint, tendon and foot pathology was highly prevalent, as well as pain responses to joint flexion and spinal manipulation. Conformational abnormalities showed lateral asymmetries. Conclusions: Over 98% of the world's 42.2 million donkeys are in low‐income countries, most being used for work. The high prevalence of lameness, pain and multiple limb and spinal abnormalities in working donkeys is of great welfare concern and highlights the complexity of addressing this problem. This standardised lameness assessment can be used when implementing and monitoring interventions to reduce lameness prevalence in working donkeys.

See also article by Bumbacher et al.

Click on the article title to read more.