Abstract
Simple SummaryAlthough often highly rewarding, human-horse interactions can also be dangerous. Using examples from equine and other contexts, this article acknowledges the growing public awareness of animal welfare, work underway towards safer equestrian workplaces, and the potential for adapting large animal rescue skills for the purposes of horse event incident management. Additionally, we identity the need for further research into communication strategies that address animal welfare and safety issues that arise when humans and horses interact in the workplace.Human-horse interactions have a rich tradition and can be highly rewarding, particularly within sport and recreation pursuits, but they can also be dangerous or even life-threatening. In parallel, sport and recreation pursuits involving animals, including horses, are facing an increased level of public scrutiny in relation to the use of animals for these purposes. However, the challenge lies with event organisers to reconcile the expectations of the public, the need to meet legal requirements to reduce or eliminate risks to paid and volunteer workers, and address horse welfare. In this article we explore incident management at horse events as an example of a situation where volunteers and horses can be placed at risk during a rescue. We introduce large animal rescue skills as a solution to improving worker safety and improving horse welfare outcomes. Whilst there are government and horse industry initiatives to improve safety and address animal welfare, there remains a pressing need to invest in a strong communication plan which will improve the safety of workplaces in which humans and horses interact.
Highlights
DiscussionFaculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina NT 0810, Australia
Sports that use animals can operate only with a social licence [1]
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Summary
Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina NT 0810, Australia. Faculty of Veterinary Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney. Received: 4 November 2015; Accepted: 16 February 2016; Published: 24 February 2016. Simple Summary: often highly rewarding, human-horse interactions can be dangerous. Using examples from equine and other contexts, this article acknowledges the growing public awareness of animal welfare, work underway towards safer equestrian workplaces, and the potential for adapting large animal rescue skills for the purposes of horse event incident management. We identity the need for further research into communication strategies that address animal welfare and safety issues that arise when humans and horses interact in the workplace
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