Education and Licensing of Horse Owners: Addressing Poor Horse Welfare in the UK

Horse welfare concerns have been a subject of increasing discussion for decades. The issue of compromised horse welfare in the UK and across the globe is complex as welfare concerns are varied, wide-ranging and nuanced. Several solutions to combat compromised horse welfare have been suggested by existing research; however, each of these has its limitations. In this study, existing literature regarding horse welfare, education and licensing as potential solutions were analysed. Distress behaviour was the most-cited welfare concern in the literature, narrowly followed by health issues and behavioural issues. The citations for causes of poor welfare were dominated by management and training practices. The analysis found that the highest cited barrier to good welfare was a lack of knowledge, followed by a lack of understanding by horse owners. Further field research into horse welfare causes was most commonly suggested as the best step to address welfare concerns, and increased awareness of welfare issues was suggested as the best solution to prevent welfare issues. In terms of education, the most-cited positive outcomes were increased knowledge, awareness or understanding. However, the most prominent limitation of education was an unclear effect on behaviour as well as other notable factors, such as availability. The most-cited licensing success was used as a consumer tool to aid decision making; however, licensing was limited by enforcement. Taking the relevant literature as a whole, there is no single evident solution that can solve the horse welfare problem; however, there are areas identified that merit closer consideration.