Exploring Whether Education and Licensing of Horse-Owners Can Address Poor Horse Welfare in the UK

Horse welfare concerns have been a subject of increased 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, but each of these have their limitations. In this study, existing literature regarding horse welfare, and 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. Analysis found that the highest cited barrier to good welfare was a lack of knowledge, followed by lack of understanding. Further research into horse welfare 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 use as a consumer tool, but 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, but there are areas identified that merit closer consideration.