{"id":1448,"date":"2024-06-06T20:30:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T18:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/?p=1448"},"modified":"2024-06-06T20:30:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T18:30:25","slug":"introducing-our-equine-welfare-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/2024\/06\/06\/introducing-our-equine-welfare-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing our equine welfare series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Addressing the most\u00a0important\u00a0topic in the horse industry\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equine welfare has always been a concern in horse sport, and here at HQ Pony we believe in putting our ponies\u2019 welfare first EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. As horse riders have become more aware of the importance of equine welfare, people are not only being called out for cruelty but also poor management of our horses and ponies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at HQ Pony, we’re delighted with this change and can\u2019t wait to see the improvements in horse management, care and treatment that we are sure will follow. We believe these changes are necessary and cannot come soon enough to protect the animals we love so much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our series<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media is buzzing with talk of the five domains of equine welfare, social license to operate, and the Ten Training Principles of the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES), but how much do we actually understand these frameworks, and what can we all learn from them in terms of our own ponies and riding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next few months, HQ Pony will look at some of the research on equine welfare to show us all on how to optimise our horses’ health and happiness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can’t wait to share this research with you and would love for you to send in your welfare-related questions so we can all learn how to create the best lives possible for our ponies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Five Domains of Equine Welfare<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our starting point for this new series is the Five Domains of Equine Welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Five Domains Model is a framework that was first developed to assess animal welfare, including that of ponies. It expands on the traditional ‘Five Freedoms’ model and considers both the physical and emotional state of the animal. Here’s a breakdown of each domain in the context of horse welfare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain 1: Nutrition<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This domain focuses on the horse’s access to fresh water and a diet that ensures their physical and mental wellbeing. It involves giving the right feed, in the right quantities to suit the horse’s nutritional needs, taking into account their age, weight, activity level, and health status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain 2: Environment\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This domain addresses the horse’s environment, emphasising the need for appropriate shelter and a comfortable resting area. It includes the management of bedding, stable conditions, and paddocks to ensure that horses are protected from harsh weather and that their living conditions are safe, clean, and allow them to express their natural behaviours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain 3: Health\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preventative measures, rapid diagnosis, and treatment are key aspects of the health domain. All horses and ponies should receive regular veterinary care, effective parasite management, vaccinations, hoof care, dental care, grooming and appropriate medication use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain 4: Behavioural Interactions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This domain emphasises the importance of providing enough space, proper facilities and friends of the same species (i.e. horses and ponies!). This domain includes grazing, social interactions, and sufficient physical exercise to promote mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain 5: Mental State<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This domain looks at the horse’s mental experiences, aiming to minimise conditions that cause mental suffering, such as fear, distress, and chronic stress. It involves gentle handling practices and training methods that consider the horse’s emotional states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By addressing each of these five domains, we can provide a \u2018whole-horse\u2019 approach to horse welfare that looks after not just physical health, but also psychological wellbeing of our equine friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned for our next edition, in which we will examine the Ten Training Principles of ISES.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Addressing the most\u00a0important\u00a0topic in the horse industry\u00a0 Equine welfare has always been a concern in horse sport, and here at HQ Pony we believe in putting our ponies\u2019 welfare first EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. As horse riders have become more aware of the importance of equine welfare, people are not only being called out for cruelty but also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,113],"tags":[265,266,263,264,262],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-pony-channel","tag-equine-welfare","tag-five-domains","tag-fivedomains","tag-horse-welfare","tag-welfare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions\/1450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}