Free-roaming Horses Research Articles

Immunocontraceptive Efficacy of Native Porcine Zona Pellucida (pZP) Treatment of Nevada's Virginia Range Free-Roaming Horse Population.

In North America, range constraints due to burgeoning development increasingly encroach on wild horse habitat and necessitate effective but humane reproductive management. The largest free-roaming wild horse fertility control program by population (>3500) and territory size (≈300,000 acres) is located within Nevada's Virginia Range. Data from a field study investigated porcine zona pellucida (pZP) immunocontraception via remote dart delivery to mares in this population. Analyses aimed to measure efficacy by treatment effects on annual birth rates and population demographics and to evaluate treatment frequency and season against these variables. Analyses included mares' monthly data (January 2019-December 2022; 48 months), characterized by cumulative vaccination numbers subset into four classifications considering the vaccine as having no loss of efficacy or a loss within a 6-, 12-, and 18-month period post vaccination; from foaling data, the likelihood of being in foal and of conceiving in that month; and from age, as mature or immature (<1 years-old). A downward foaling rate and trend in the numbers of mature mares, descriptively presented at monthly intervals, showed markedly declining annual seasonal breeding peaks, with no observed change in foaling season or duration. Within four years, population coverage surpassed 70% and was associated with a 58% reduction in foaling, with only a 10% conception rate. Vaccinated mares increased proportionally: assuming a 12-month decay rate, the system reached stability at an average ≈1.0 vaccination/mare/year, providing a robust recommendation for treatment frequency contributing to best management practices.

Wild Horse Roundups and Removals

Epistemological contestation about what – and whose – knowledge counts is central to the struggle about the future of wild horses on US public lands. In the politics of wild horse management, the construction of knowledge claims about wild horses as well as the formation of beliefs about their credibility is shaped by interspecies affective relations; relations that, we contend, are strikingly gendered. We seek to understand how these affective relations – the intermingling of facts and values – shape knowledge claims concerning wild horse roundups and removals carried out on federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Using data collected from 28 roundups and removals conducted between 2020 and 2022, in 7 states, we show that BLM’s disavowal of emotion in wild horse management places both wild horses and wild horse advocates in the same subaltern category of being destructive, disruptive, and out of place – in short, “feral.” The wild horse advocacy practices of witnessing roundups and removals of free-roaming horses from a position of “entangled empathy” discussed in this article reject this double-feralization of wild horses and the humans who care for them by establishing that wild horses are grievable, have ecological value, and are capable of participating in relations of interspecies kinship. We elaborate on these claims in terms of four major themes found in our data: protecting ecological integrity, regulating horses’ numbers, listening to nonhuman others, and debating advocacy strategies. Improved understanding of the political function of emotion helps identify a path toward managing wild horses more compassionately.

Western US Residents’ Knowledge of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Their Management on Federal Public Lands

Wild free-roaming (WFR) horses (Equus ferus caballus) occur on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service in 10 western US states. Little is known about public knowledge concerning management of WFR horse populations. In 2020, we conducted a survey to assess public knowledge with the intent of establishing baseline information that may be used to shape horse management programs and policies on the nation's public lands. We obtained responses from 1 124 residents of the western United States. Our survey asked eight knowledge-based questions of WFR horse ecology and management in the western United States. We conducted chi-square analyses to determine the influence of age, gender, region of residence, and income on respondents’ ability to answer these questions appropriately. Our results indicate that these demographic characteristics had little predictive ability to explain the level of the western US public's knowledge of WFR horse ecology and management (for all comparisons, λ < 0.10). Furthermore, our respondents had little knowledge of WFR ecology and management. Approximately 30% of respondents correctly identified WFR horse origins, 8% correctly indicated WFR horse population size, and 37.5% indicated that they were unaware of legal management options. The lack of basic understanding of WFR horse ecology and management may influence the public's ability to support management efforts or determine fact from propaganda. Approximately 60% of the respondents indicated they primarily used government, university, and organization websites when seeking information. Efforts to increase dissemination of facts on multiple venues, such as social media, websites, and newspapers that link back to government and university websites, could increase public support of future management actions. Additionally, the announcement of management actions, such as round-ups, should consistently include basic background information regarding WFR horse ecology and populations to ensure that the public can make informed conclusions.

The Role of Prominent Mares in the Social Lives of Free-Roaming Horses

Free-roaming horses interact with one another as social subjects in their own right, communicating within family bands using social signals that are evident to them and to the humans who observe them. Ethnographers, like John Hartigan, who study these social dynamics provide a new approach to understanding their social lives. This exploratory study builds on that research, relying on records of past and current observations of a single band on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, with a particular focus on the role of a prominent mare in maintaining the social structure of her family.

‘Wild’ horses in medieval and early modern landscapes of Europe

ABSTRACT Historical mentions of herds of ‘wild’ horses in Europe are frequently taken unquestioningly as a reference for natural grazing in nature conservation. It is often assumed that such herds roamed the wilderness freely and functioned in a socially and ecologically unrestrained manner, uninfluenced by humans. On the basis of a survey of historical (primary) sources, it is examined if these assumptions are justified, or whether these herds should be considered as cultural artifacts. Truly wild horses seem to have disappeared from the North-West European landscape shortly after the Early Mesolithic. Meticulous examination of mentions of ‘wild horses’ in a wide variety of sources from the Early Middle Ages onwards testifies to the fact that these animals had owners and were actually domestic. They were intensively managed in enclosures in the wilderness and deployed in agriculture and warfare. The social functioning of these ‘wild horse’ herds has been influenced for centuries by restricting allowance of stallions, early withdrawal of foals, and protection against predators. In turn, this will have impacted the way these animals influenced the landscape. It does not, however, mean that grazing by free-roaming horses is a bad idea from landscape and nature conservation perspectives. On the contrary, it offers an excellent opportunity to combine protection of both nature and cultural heritage by reinstating the medieval agricultural technique that horse-keeping in the free factually is.

Establishing feasibility for porcine zona pellucida immunocontraception in a large population of free-roaming horses inhabiting the Virginia Range of Nevada, USA

In North America, range constraints are increasingly encroaching on wild horse habitat, necessitating effective but humane reproductive management (Kirkpatrick and Turner. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 1991; 23:445-452). The largest free-roaming wild horse fertility control program, both in terms of population (>4,000) and territory size (≈300 000-acres), inhabits Nevada's Virginia Range. This program, commenced in 2019, provided a unique opportunity for an extended temporal field study investigating feasibility of porcine zona pellucida (pZP) immunocontraception. Vaccine is administered via remote intra-muscular dart-delivery with an initial treatment of 0.5mL native pZP formulated with 0.5mL Freund's complete (primer) and incomplete (booster) adjuvant, respectively and thereafter at intervals ≈8-12 months. A database, continuously updated from field observations, provides individual animal records including date and type of intervention and of births, deaths and movements. This ongoing study aims to establish feasibility by evaluating vaccine efficacy measurable via annual birth rates and population demographics and concurrently analyze the effects of treatment frequency and season. For this reported initial phase, analyses included monthly data (January 2019 - December 2021; 36 months) for all females. This was characterized by:number of cumulative vaccinations subset into four further classifications considering vaccine having no efficacy loss or loss within a 6-, 12-, and 18- month period post vaccination; based on foaling data, likelihood of being in-foal; based on foaling data, likelihood of conceiving in that month; and based on age, considered as mature or immature (<1-year-old). Foaling rate and population size were descriptively presented over time at monthly intervals. Results described mean numbers of vaccinations per mature mare for any month, vaccination count in relation to conception rate (within mare) and population conception rates. A total of 1,501 individual mares were treated with administration of 4,795 vaccinations. Population data showed a decreased number of immature mares, declining pregnancy rate and a seasonal breeding peak that declined dramatically from 2020. The proportion of vaccinated mares increased steadily and by 2021 showed population coverage ≈40-80%. The most salient findings showed that the system reached stability, assuming a 12-month decay rate, at an average ≈1.0 vaccination/mare/year and can be recommended as a treatment frequency. As data collection and treatment is ongoing, future analyses will provide evidence-based and robust recommendations for best management practices.

Mental Experiences in Wild Animals: Scientifically Validating Measurable Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses.

The mental experiences of animals are what characterises their welfare status. The Five Domains Model for assessing welfare aligns with the understanding that physical and mental states are linked. Following measurement of indicators within each of the four physical/functional Domains (1. Nutrition; 2. Physical environment; 3. Health; and 4. Behavioural interactions), the anticipated negative or positive affective consequences (mental experiences) are cautiously inferred and assigned to Domain 5. Those inferences derive credibility from validated knowledge of the underlying systems of physiology, neurophysiology, neuroethology and affective neuroscience. Any indicators used for assessing welfare need to be scientifically validated. This requires, firstly, evidence of the links between a measurable/observable indicator and the physical/functional impact (in Domains 1 to 4), and secondly, a demonstrable relationship between the physical/functional impact and the mental experience it is inferred the indicators reflect (in Domain five). This review refers to indicators of physical/functional states in Domains 1 to 4, which have been shown to be measurable in free-roaming wild horses, and then evaluates the scientific evidence linking them to inferred mental experiences in Domain 5. This is the first time that the scientific evidence validating a comprehensive range of welfare indicators has been synthesised in this way. Inserting these indicators into the Five Domains Model enables transparently justifiable assessment and grading of welfare status in free-roaming horses.

The Social and Reproductive Challenges Faced by Free-Roaming Horse (Equus caballus) Stallions

In captivity, intact male horses, due to their sexual drive, are usually socially isolated from other horses. This lifestyle strongly contrasts with that experienced by horses living in free-roaming, feral, or semi-feral conditions, where adult stallions have several roles in their social group, with successful reproduction being their primary drive. Reproductive skew in wild populations is high; many stallions will fail to reproduce at all, while others achieve high levels of reproductive success, siring a large number of foals. Successful stallions are those with particular characteristics and abilities that facilitate harem formation and tenure, allowing them to successfully take over a harem or establish a new one, protect mares from rival stallions, employ appropriate social behaviour to maintain group cohesion, and avoid kin-mating, for example through kin recognition mechanisms. Whilst the life of free-living stallions is far from stress-free, they retain ancestral adaptations to selection pressures (such as predation and competition) exhibited by their natural environment over thousands of years. Here, we discuss the challenges faced by free-living horse stallions, the roles they play in social groups, and their resulting social needs. By understanding these pressures and how stallions react to them, we highlighted the importance of the social environment for the stallion. It is hoped that a better understanding of wild stallions' lives will lead to their needs being more clearly met in captivity, reducing stereotypical behaviour and improving welfare.

Reimmunization intervals for application of GnRH immunocontraceptive vaccine (GonaCon-Equine) in free-roaming horses (Equus ferus caballus) using syringe darts

Management of overabundant free-roaming horse (Equus ferus caballus) populations has become a divisive and challenging effort for natural resource managers worldwide. Controlling these populations requires land managers to balance socio-political issues, multiple use management concepts, and endearing affection of horses to some stakeholders against negative ecological alterations created by excessive densities of these animals. One potential solution to this dilemma is controlling the fertility of female horses. During 2013–2020, research was conducted to develop and test a prototype dart configuration system to deliver an effective dose of GonaCon-Equine to free-roaming horses. This remote dart delivery system was demonstrated to be safe and reliable in free-ranging horses with a 90% (71/79) success rate for first attempts and provided the opportunity to design an experiment to determine the long-term effectiveness, reversibility, and physiological side effects of different reimmunization schedules. Five experimental groups of mares were established consisting of a control (n = 25), and a 4-yr reimmunization interval (n = 25) of mares from a previous experiment that were treated with this same vaccine by hand injection in 2013. Additional booster intervals of horses were (2-yr (n = 11), 1-yr (n = 15), and 0.5-yr (n = 14) and vaccinated by remote dart delivery during 2013–2016. Weekly ground observations were utilized to estimate foaling proportions, foal survival, body condition, and injection site reactions related to treatment groups. All GonaCon-Equine booster intervals reduced (P ≤ 0.001) foaling proportions between treated and control mares for all years of the experiment. Effective contraception was also achieved when GonaCon-Equine was applied by remote dart delivery at post-primary intervals shorter than 4 years. Reversibility of GonaCon-Equine immunization occurred in all treatment groups and averaged 0.40 (26/65). The only detectable adverse side effect of vaccination was intramuscular swelling observed in 89% (115/129) of mares and occasional draining abscesses at the site of vaccine injection. However, regardless of method of vaccine delivery (hand vs dart), none of these mares displayed any evidence of lameness, altered gait, or abnormal range of movement during the 6 years of this study. These results support previous findings that effective contraception of free-roaming horses will require a primary vaccination followed by reimmunization but that timing from 6 months to 4 years result in similar success and together can achieve greater reduction in population growth rates.

Spatiotemporal Effects of Free-Roaming Horses on White-Tailed Deer Distribution in Northwestern Costa Rica

The study of interspecific interactions helps scientists and conservationists understand the ability of species to coexist in a given area, improving the conservation and management of ecological communities. Here we present a case study where we tested whether spatial and temporal interactions of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), an ungulate native to Costa Rica, and horses (Equus caballus), a domestic ungulate reintroduced to a protected area, might result in avoidance. We used a paired field design with 40 camera traps deployed in two adjacent 228-ha fields within northwestern dry forest of Costa Rica during the wet season. We used general linear models to evaluate the effect of horse presence and vegetation type on white-tailed deer spatial distribution, as well as the Pianka's index to assess evidence of spatial overlapping. In addition, temporal overlap between horses and deer was assessed using the overlap coefficient, and the temporal response of white-tailed deer to horse presence was assessed using a spatially explicit null model approach. Evidence indicated that white-tailed deer used sites with horses more than sites without horses and used grass and shrubland sites more than forested sites. Within the area with horses, spatial overlap between horses and white-tailed deer was intermediate, suggesting insights of a moderate degree of spatial partitioning. Horses and white-tailed deer both showed similar activity patterns with a high degree of overlap, but our null model approach suggested neutral interaction; thus, our results indicated non-negative effects of horse presence on white-tailed deer spatiotemporal activity. Our results are limited by spatial and temporal replication, so caution is recommended when using this information to make decisions in other sites where horses and deer coexist. However, this effort provides relevant and novel information for our study area and can help decision makers to better manage ecological communities in the northwestern dry forest of Costa Rica.

Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare.

A detailed understanding of what is usual for a species under optimal conditions is critical for identifying and interpreting different features of body function that have known impacts on animal welfare and its assessment. When applying the Five Domains Model to assess animal welfare, the key starting point is therefore to acquire extensive species-specific knowledge relevant to each of the four physical/functional Domains of the Model. These Domains, 1 to 4, address areas where objective information is evaluated and collated. They are: (1) Nutrition; (2) Physical environment; (3) Health; and (4) Behavioural interactions. It is on the basis of this detailed knowledge that cautious inferences can then be made about welfare-relevant mental experiences animals may have, aligned with Domain 5, Mental State. However, this review is focused entirely on the first four Domains in order to provide a novel holistic framework to collate the multidisciplinary knowledge of horses required for undertaking comprehensive welfare assessments. Thus, inferring the potential mental experiences aligned with Domain 5, the final step in model-based welfare assessments, is not considered here. Finally, providing extensive information on free-roaming horses enables a better understanding of the impacts of human interventions on the welfare of horses in both free-roaming and domestic situations.

Fertility Control and the Welfare of Free-Roaming Horses and Burros on U.S. Public Lands: The Need for an Ethical Framing.

Simple SummaryBecause the ethical foundation for the management of free-roaming horses and burros is very muddled, debates over approaches to their management, including fertility control, focus almost exclusively on practicality. In the U.S., this tendency is reinforced by the federal laws that govern public lands management, which center decision-making processes on calculations about how to divide yield among users. Inevitably, outside market forces bias these decisions towards overuse, which ultimately harms the land. In our view, the land and all its inhabitants, including free-roaming horses and burros, wildlife, and people, will only thrive if the pressures of commercial use are removed, and if management is guided by ethics of care, which have rich and diverse cultural origins. Application of care ethics will specifically provide more clarity to horse and burro management, including the selection of appropriate fertility control agents. To be effective and publicly acceptable, management of free-roaming horses and burros in the United States and elsewhere needs a consistent ethical framing of the animals and the land they occupy. In the U.S., the two laws that largely govern wild horse and burro management, the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act and the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act (“FLPMA”), rest on conflicting foundations, the former based on an ethic of care and the latter on largely utilitarian principles. These conflicts specifically fuel debates over the selection of appropriate fertility control agents for horse and burro management. Because land-use and management decisions are largely controlled by the FLPMA, and because the ethical treatment of animals is typically considered under conditions established by their use, both the larger debate about equids and land management and the specific debate about fertility control are dominated by cost/benefit calculations and avoid broader ethical considerations. In our view, the long-term health and ethical treatment of free-roaming horses and burros, the lands they occupy, and the wildlife and people they share it with will require the replacement of the resource-use model with a more holistic, care-based approach.

Grey wolf feeding habits and their geographical variation in Northwest Spain

This study investigates wolf (Canis lupus) dietary preferences and their geographical variation by calculating frequency of occurrence and biomass consumption in three areas in the north-western Iberian Peninsula that differ in terms of the type and abundance of potential prey. Wolf dietary preferences were expected to be related to the availability of a species of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus atlanticus) and much less to traditional livestock in each habitat.The diet of wolves was found to comprise mostly Galician feral horses when available, with a low proportion of livestock. The next most consumed species were wild boar (Sus scrofa) and cattle (Bos taurus taurus). A much higher consumption of traditional livestock (84% biomass) was observed in the one study area where there were no feral horses.The fact that access to feral horses may help decrease wolf predation on other species of livestock which are more economically important and the environmental benefits of horses in protecting against forest fires suggest that conservation and expansion of this endangered species of horses should be encouraged. Strengthening existing populations and possibly re-introducing native wild species within the wolf's range may be the most environmentally friendly way to reduce economic losses for farmers and cattle breeders.

Suppression of reproductive behaviour and gonadal function in female horses-An update.

The behaviour of mares is often detrimental to their performance resulting in frequent demand for methods to suppress gonadal function. In addition, prevention of unintended reproduction especially in feral horse populations may require methods for suppression of gonadal function. Surgical ovariectomy is a safe method but not an acceptable approach in feral mares and undesired in mares where future breeding is considered. There are different approaches for artificial prolongation of the luteal phase resulting in transient inhibition of oestrus and ovulation. Among those, treatment with natural or synthetic progestogens is considered the most common and successful method. Whereas application of intrauterine devices may result in prolongation of luteal function in non-pregnant mares, intrauterine insertion of glass balls is no longer recommended because of complications in individual mares. There are several safer alternatives that may be of interest, especially for population control in free-roaming horses. Treatment with long-acting deslorelin implants inhibited ovulation and oestrus behaviour in mares for limited and variable time intervals in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of GnRH vaccines varies considerably among individual mares, is age dependent, and oestrus-like behaviour may still occur. Contraception via immunization against native porcine or recombinant zona pellucida antigen is successful, but immunocontraception is as much a result of ovarian inactivity as an antibody-based block to sperm-oocyte binding. In conclusion, several treatments for suppression of gonadal function in mares are available, but there are advantages and disadvantages associated that have to be considered. The treatment of choice will thus differ with regard to the demands.

Evaluating changes in horse behavior as a response to small unmanned aerial vehicles

• The application of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) has expanded to include livestock management, however the effects of sUAS disturbance on domestic horses ( Equus calibus ) has not been well documented. • We developed an ethogram to classify and record horse behaviors and changes in response to disturbance using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro sUAS by monitoring horse behavior at 5 second intervals from 3 m, 15 m, and 33 m above ground level (AGL). • We found vigilance was the most common behavior after initial approach at all AGLs. • Horses took evasive measures after approximately 20 seconds at lower AGL (i.e., <3 m). • The recovery to the control behavior occurred sooner at higher AGLs and most horses recovered within 60 seconds. • sUAS could be a valuable tool in horse management, including their potential use during domestic and free-roaming horse roundups.

ST ˛EZENIE KWASU FOLIOWEGO W SUROWICY KRWI KONIKÓW POLSKICH UTRZYMYWANYCH ˙ W SYSTEMIE TABUNOWYM I STAJENNYM

Folic acid has multi-faceted effects on the body. Its biological activity ensures genome stability and the normal course of the cell cycle. A deficiency of this acid can lead to serious consequences for health and life. Folic acid is the most oxidized form of folates taken with food. Folic acid is not produced in horses and must be ingested with food. Its bioavailability is also affected by environmental factors. The aim of the study was to analyse the content of folic acid in the blood serum of Polish Konik horses kept in a free-roaming herd system and a stable system. The folic acid concentrations in all horses were within the normal range of reference values for the species. Higher folic acid concentrations were noted in the free-roaming horses. Variation in the content of folic acid in the serum of stabled horses was higher than in the free-roaming horses. The management system was not found to significantly affect the serum content of folic acid in the horses.

Preliminary study of the contraceptive effect of a self-assembling intrauterine device (iUPODs) in mares maintained in a paddock with a fertile stallion

There is an urgent need for practical methods of population control (i.e., contraception and/or sterilization) for free-roaming (i.e., “wild” or “feral”) horses and burros on Western Public Lands in the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contraceptive efficacy of a novel self-assembling three-part polymer-coated magnetic intrauterine device termed as an intrauterine POD (self-assembling; iUPOD) when there are natural breeding conditions when iUPOD use was managed by veterinary professionals with no prior experience with the device. Six mares were administered an iUPOD and were then housed continuously with a fertile stallion for 91 days. The intrauterine POD retention and contraceptive efficacy were 100%. Two mares had prolonged corpus luteum function (for 37 and 91 days) immediately after iUPOD placement. For the estrous cycles of the other mares, the duration of diestrus was 7.8 ± 2.7 days (mean ± S.D.). Four of the mares (67%) became pregnant when in a paddock with the same stallion the year after iUPOD removal. These results are encouraging for use of the iUPOD as a practical and reversible method of fertility control in free-roaming horses and burros.

Modification of O-ring intrauterine devices (IUDs) in mares: Contraception without estrus suppression

A significant welfare concern for those within the horse industry is that of the overpopulation in free-roaming horses in the western US. The goal of the present study was to identify a humane and inexpensive means of providing contraception and reducing pregnancy rates in a way that could be applied to free-roaming horses on the western U.S. open range lands. A series of studies was conducted utilizing the previously-described silastic O-ring intrauterine devices (IUDs). Throughout these studies pregnancy was successfully prevented in mares with an O-ring IUD, but collective retention rates failed to exceed 50% regardless of size or durometer (material hardness/malleability). When the O-ring IUDs were compared to the recently-described Y-design IUDs (Holyoak et al., 2021) the Y-design IUDs had a markedly greater rate of retention; therefore, the Y-design IUDs would be most appropriate for potential use in free-roaming horses. Assessment of mare records revealed that the vast majority of mares continued to have ovulations and mating continued to occur while the IUDs were in place. A few mares had multiple small ovarian follicles when the IUD was in utero. Findings indicate that utilizing an IUD with the expectation of estrus suppression in mares would fail to be fruitful.

Potential ecological effects of the free-roaming horses Equus caballus (Perissodactyla: Equidae) on wild mammals: a review of current knowledge

Introduction: The horse (Equus caballus) is an adaptable large herbivore distributed in a wide range of terrestrial biomes that negatively affects ecosystems around the world. Most research on horse–ecosystems interactions have been focused on plants and soils, whereas horse effects on vertebrate species are poorly understanded. Objective: We aimed to synthesize, at a global scale, the effects of free-roaming horses on wild mammals. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review that included these words; "feral horses + competition ", "feral horses + interactions", "feral horses + impacts", "feral horses + effects", based on the “Web of Science” internet search engine. Results: We located 366 articles in our search, but only 14 peer-reviewed documents described the effects of horses on local wild mammals. Most studies were published in the last decade (64%), and were located in United States (64%). Additional information showed most studies used correlational approaches while experimental approaches were used less. The effect of horses on mammal taxonomic groups varied significantly, suggesting changes on habitat structure mostly affects vertebrate species such as small rodents. Nevertheless, large ungulates exhibited interference competition derived from presence of free-roaming horses. Conclusion: This review identified patterns and gaps in our current knowledge about the effect of horse presence on wild mammals, and can help to readdress further research. Therefore, we recommend careful monitoring of horses and their potential effects on wildlife by using species proxies such as ungulates and rodents to determine if the presence of horses in protected areas affects conservation objectives

Evaluation of the Feasibility, Reliability, and Repeatability of Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses: A Pilot Study.

Simple SummaryAnimal welfare assessment is an essential tool for maintaining positive animal wellbeing. Validated welfare assessment protocols have been developed for farm, laboratory, zoo, and companion animals, including horses in managed care. However, wild and free-roaming equines have received relatively little attention, despite populations being found worldwide. In the UK, free-roaming ponies inhabit areas of Exmoor, Dartmoor, and New Forest, England, and Snowdonia National Park in Wales, amongst others. Visitors and local members of the public who encounter free-roaming ponies occasionally raise concerns about their welfare, as they are not provided with additional food, water, or shelter. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility, reliability, and repeatability of welfare indicators that can be applied to a population of free-roaming Carneddau Mountain ponies to address such concerns. Our findings indicate that many of the trialed indicators were successfully repeated and had good levels of inter-assessor reliability. Reliable and repeatable welfare indicators for free-roaming and semi free-roaming ponies will enable population managers and conservation grazing schemes to manage the welfare of free-roaming horses and ponies.Validated assessment protocols have been developed to quantify welfare states for intensively managed sport, pleasure, and working horses. There are few protocols for extensively managed or free-roaming populations. Here, we trialed welfare indicators to ascertain their feasibility, reliability, and repeatability using free-roaming Carneddau Mountain ponies as an example population. The project involved (1) the identification of animal and resource-based measures of welfare from both the literature and discussion with an expert group; (2) testing the feasibility and repeatability of a modified body condition score and mobility score on 34 free-roaming and conservation grazing Carneddau Mountain ponies; and (3) testing a prototype welfare assessment template comprising 12 animal-based and 6 resource-based welfare indicators, with a total of 20 questions, on 35 free-roaming Carneddau Mountain ponies to quantify inter-assessor reliability and repeatability. This pilot study revealed that many of the indicators were successfully repeatable and had good levels of inter-assessor reliability. Some of the indicators could not be verified for reliability due to low/absent occurrence. The results indicated that many animal and resource-based indicators commonly used in intensively managed equine settings could be measured in-range with minor modifications. This study is an initial step toward validating a much-needed tool for the welfare assessment of free-roaming and conservation grazing ponies.