Welfare of Equids: Guidance

Grooming and daily checks

Importance of daily checks

Daily checks are a vital part of good equid care, helping to prevent welfare issues and can provide positive opportunities for owners and keepers to bond with their equid.

Good practice:

• Owners and keepers should check their equids at least twice a day - ideally morning and evening – to reduce the likelihood of an injury or illness being left untreated for long periods of time.
• Owners and keepers should observe behaviour and movement carefully to detect any subtle changes.

Trimming or removal of hair

An equid’s hair plays an important role in not only maintaining physical health, but also in behaviour and communications. It may be beneficial for some body hair to be removed at certain times of the year to prevent overheating or to aid weight loss. However there are certain areas of hair, particularly the tail, that should not be removed as this is detrimental to welfare. Clipping and pulling is likely to be stressful for equids, even for those who are accustomed and appear to tolerate it.

An equid’s tail is extremely important and useful in terms of communication and maintaining health. Equids use the tail to remove flies from around their bodies, as well as in communication with other equids and handlers. Similarly, they use their whiskers, especially those around the muzzle and eyes as important sensory tools to detect their environment.

Good practice:

• Equids should not have their tail hair shaved or have the majority of it removed unless there is a clear veterinary or welfare reason.
• Equids should not have their sensory whiskers (muzzle or eyelid vibrissae) trimmed or removed as this can compromise their ability to navigate the environment and may cause stress or injury.
• Owners and keepers should shorten manes and tidy tails using techniques that do not hurt or cause distress (mane and tailing pulling should be avoided).
• Clipping by owners and keepers for medical, comfort or management reasons should be done with care and consideration for the equid’s needs.

Care of the retired equid

End of career responsibility recognises that owners, breeders, trainers and the wider equid industry have an ethical duty to safeguard an equid’s welfare beyond its competitive or working life. This includes planning and funding appropriate retirement, rehoming or, where necessary, humane end of life decisions, ensuring the equid is not exposed to neglect, unnecessary suffering or abandonment once it can no longer be ridden or worked. Responsible end of career management reflects a lifelong commitment to the equid – from birth to death.