Abstract
Simple SummaryResearch on the transportation of horses has largely focused on the movement of horses by commercial livestock carriers. Information on factors associated with horse injuries sustained during private (non-commercial) transportation in small horse trucks and trailers is limited. This study surveyed drivers transporting their horses to equestrian events in southeastern Australia. Information on drivers, travel practice, vehicle characteristics and horse injury was collected. A total of 55/223 (24.7%) participants reported transportation related injuries to their horses. Of these 72% were described as horse associated (scrambling, slipping and horse-horse interaction), 11% due to mechanical failure, and 6% due to driver error. The risk of horse injury was not associated with driver age or gender, or experience. Drivers that answer the telephone whilst transporting horses, were more likely to report a previous injury experience. There was a trend for participants with <8 hours sleep prior to the survey to have previously had a horse injured. There was a modest positive association between increasing trailer age and the number of injuries. The range of trailer models prevented identification of the importance of individual design features. The study highlights the potential for horses to sustain transportation injuries in privately owned vehicles and warrants further study to address this risk to their welfare.Equine transportation research has largely focused on the commercial land movement of horses. Data on the incidence and factors associated with horse injuries during non-commercial transportation (privately owned horse trucks and trailers) is scant. This study surveyed 223 drivers transporting horses to 12 equestrian events in southeastern Australia. Data collected encompassed driver demographics, travel practice, vehicle characteristics, and incidents involving horse injury. Approximately 25% (55/223) of participants reported that their horses were injured during transportation. Of these 72% were owner classified as horse associated (scrambling, slipping and horse-horse interaction), 11% due to mechanical failure, and 6% due to driver error. Horse injury was not significantly associated with driver age, gender, or experience. Participants that answer the telephone whilst driving were more likely to have previously had a horse injured (p = 0.04). There was a trend for participants with <8 hours sleep prior to the survey to have experienced a previous transportation-related injury (p = 0.056). Increased trailer age was associated with a greater number of injury reports (r² = 0.20; p < 0.04). The diversity in trailer models prevented identification of the importance of individual design features. This study highlights the potential for horses to sustain transportation injuries in privately owned vehicles and warrants further study to address this risk to their welfare.
Highlights
The use of horses for work, pleasure, sport or commerce necessitates their transportation, often on a regular and frequent basis [1]
As a result of previous research, it is widely accepted that the transportation of horses and other domestic animals frequently results in adverse welfare outcomes [3,10]
There was a trend for participants who had slept less than 8 hours in the night before the survey to be more likely to report having previously experienced an incident involving injury to a horse during trailer or truck transportation (p = 0.056)
Summary
The use of horses for work, pleasure, sport or commerce necessitates their transportation, often on a regular and frequent basis [1]. Previous research on the land transport of horses has focused primarily on welfare considerations for the movement of animals to slaughter or sale (commercial transport) in Europe and the North America [2,3,6,7]. These works have made it clear that multiple stressors may act on horses during transportation, with a cumulative effect on their welfare [4,5]. This includes injuries sustained by horses during transportation that result in temporary or permanent loss of function for the animals involved, and a range of effects (both emotional and financial) on those transporting them [5,10,12]
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