POST-RACING thoroughbreds (TBs) are increasingly being considered for Equine Assisted Services (EAS), but their use and welfare within the sector has not yet been widely characterised. A new study has examined the selection, training and welfare of thoroughbred horses as they transition from racetrack to EAS horse.

EAS careers can include work with a diverse group of people, from veterans and disabled children to those struggling with mental health issues. The research, funded by the John Pearce Foundation, is the first of its kind to study EAS across 15 countries, including the UK, USA, France and Ireland, to understand the impact of EAS on the horses involved.

Scientific article

Recent findings from the first (survey) phase of this pioneering project led by charity Racing To Relate, in collaboration with academics at the University of Bristol’s Veterinary School, are now published in a first scientific article in Animal Welfare Journal. The article, The selection, training and welfare of post-racing thoroughbreds and other breeds used in Equine Assisted Services, highlights detailed data on TBs and other breeds of horses actively participating in EAS programmes.

The main aim of the research is to create a global standard for selection and training, to help improve welfare support for off-track racehorses going into a career in EAS. The research will help industry and stakeholders to improve thoroughbred welfare through a successful transition to their new career in EAS.

Reactivity to humans

The findings of the survey highlight the importance of personality as a selection criterion for horses in EAS programmes. Participants identified various personality traits, such as reactivity to humans and emotivity, as key components of an EAS horse’s personality.

The study also revealed concerns regarding horse training and the consequences for human safety during EAS sessions. It appears essential to have a reliable assessment process for selection and monitoring of the horse’s adaptation to EAS programmes, ensuring their welfare and the safety of beneficiaries and practitioners.

Participants emphasise the importance of ensuring that EAS horses’ living conditions are in line with horses’ physiological and behavioural needs, that appropriate working conditions are provided, that horse training methods are appropriate, and that horse health is monitored.

These findings highlight the need for ongoing education and training of EAS practitioners and staff for optimal horse welfare outcomes. When compared with other breed horses, TBs were found to have different living conditions, a higher prevalence of stereotypic and abnormal behaviours, and more health issues, such as poor body condition or gastric ulcers. These differences may be attributed to breed-specific factors, as well as past and current management practices.

Finally, the results of the present survey show that TBs are already used in various EAS programmes and that they have the potential to be incorporated into EAS programmes, with many participants expressing openness to work with TBs in the future. However, careful consideration of their behavioural and physical characteristics, as well as appropriate retraining processes, are necessary to help ensure their suitability and success in EAS programmes.

In terms of animal welfare and beneficiaries’ safety, a selection process could therefore be designed and implemented to choose the most adapted horses for each EAS centre, according to living conditions and EAS activities practised (ridden or not ridden).

Claire Neveux, Bristol Vet School PhD student for the project, told The Irish Field: “Our survey is the first to gather data on equine assisted horses at an individual level and evidences a broad array of practice encompassing a variety of activities, modalities, working and living conditions, health and welfare.

“One third of the TBs in the survey were used in ridden programmes for various categories of beneficiaries, with survey participants enthusiastic to work with TBs.

“The second phase of the study involved fieldwork at various programmes and tested personality of TBs, the results of which will help us to expand further on the findings published in this first scientific article.

“I’m thrilled to contribute to research in the increasingly popular field of EAS, and wish to thank Racing to Relate and The John Pearce Foundation for making this pioneering and collaborative research project possible. A better understanding of thoroughbred personality traits, their suitability, and indeed those of all horses destined or active in EAS roles, is essential for equine and human welfare.”

Racing To Relate’s co-founder Jennifer Barker, told The Irish Field: “We are delighted to announce this first scientific article from the survey phase of the research project and look forward to sharing further useful resources, tools and full results of the PhD in early 2025.

“Racing To Relate identified a specific and recognised need clearly expressed by racing authorities and official aftercare bodies nationally and internationally for a robust evidence-based approach to transitioning and re-training former racehorses to ensure a better understanding of and connection with EAS.

“The impressive depth and breadth of this timely body of work is testament to the huge willingness among international EAS and thoroughbred communities to contribute to this horse-centred research.

“Equine Assisted Services have never been more popular and we have observed tangible global efforts in this sector to establish standards of excellence and by the Racing industry in relation to the welfare of former racehorses.

“We look forward to ongoing collaboration with these sectors to ensure that the science is accessible and implemented with successful translation into best practice for thoroughbreds transitioning from racing careers and all horses in this very impactful embodiment of the horse-human relationship.

“We must thank the Down Royal Corporation of Horsebreeders and the John Pearce Foundation and The University of Bristol Veterinary School, The Childwick Trust and The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust for all of their support in this important research.”